The first carbon neutral LNG cargo using the emissions monitoring and verification framework set up in 2021 by an international industry body has been delivered to Taiwan.

The International Group of Liquefied Natural Gas Importers (GIIGNL) said in a statement on Jan. 25 that Shell Eastern LNG delivered a pilot "greenhouse gas (GHG) neutral" LNG cargo from the Gorgon LNG project in Australia to Taiwan's state refiner CPC Corp.

The delivery of the cargo is aligned with GIIGNL's Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MRV) and GHG Neutral Framework that was launched in November 2021.

"The framework assists the industry in achieving greater transparency and accuracy in reporting and compensating for emissions and we are very happy to see the first application of the GIIGNL Framework," said GIIGNL President Jean Abiteboul.

GIIGNL's framework requires companies to monitor and verify their greenhouse gas emissions intensity. To declare that a shipment is carbon neutral, companies need to show transparent emissions data, reduce emissions at its operations and use offsets for any remaining emissions for the cargo's lifecycle or those generated when the fuel is consumed.

Environmental groups however are skeptical about carbon offset usage, saying that the ability to pay for emission reductions elsewhere could prolong the use of fossil fuels.

Europe's energy crisis, which pushed global gas prices to record levels last year, had also dampened efforts to lower the carbon intensity of LNG shipments.