Natural gas

Gas produces around half the carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions of coal when burned to generate power. That means gas can make a major difference, as has happened in the US, where abundant use of gas from shale has helped drive the country’s CO₂ emissions back down to 1990s levels

Gas is the ideal complement to renewables as it can be a lower carbon, cost-effective back-up to the variability of wind, solar and hydropower generation. Emitting fewer pollutants, it is also better for air quality.

Just as importantly, gas is widely used for heating homes and businesses, as well as delivering the high temperatures needed in heavy industries like steel, cement and metals. And, gas is becoming more accessible around the world thanks to a growing global gas market connected by ship and pipeline.

BP is active in finding and producing gas, as well as its transport, storage and sale. This puts us in a good position as the gas market grows and becomes increasingly competitive. And, by tackling methane emissions, we are helping to make sure that gas is a major lower carbon resource for years to come.

See Helping consumers lower emissions for information on our renewable gas fuel.

A world that engages in deep decarbonization is a world that's going to become a lot more electrified. That puts gas at the centre – as a major source of generating electricity.

David Victor,leading contributor to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

TANAP pipeline, part of the Southern Gas Corridor, under construction

Focus on the Southern Corridor

The Southern Gas Corridor, one of the largest projects in BP’s portfolio, will connect gas from the Caspian directly to Europe for the very first time. Gas will travel 3,500 kilometres from our Shah Deniz field in the Caspian Sea across five countries to Italy. We plan to deliver gas supplies to Turkey in 2018 and to European markets in 2020.

Once it reaches its peak production, this project will provide enough natural gas to meet the needs of every capital city along the Southern Corridor – more than twice over.

Focus on Tangguh

At our Tangguh operation in Indonesia, we convert natural gas into liquid form to make it more practical and commercially viable to transport domestically and to other countries.

This can help countries in the region move more quickly towards gas, rather than using coal. Some of the gas is going to China, where we helped build the country’s first LNG import terminal, and some is making its way to South Korea. And, with our latest expansion activity at Tangguh, we’ll up the output by 50% – much of which will be for use in Indonesia.