Rystad: Platform Electrification Could Slash Upstream Emissions by 86%

Oil and gas companies can slash emissions from producing facilities by as much as 86% by electrifying the platforms to run on renewables electricity or natural gas that would be flared otherwise, Rystad Energy said in a new report.  

Producing assets in the Norwegian Continental Shelf have seen their associated emissions drop by 86% when fully electrified compared to before the electrification, according to the Norway-based energy research company.

Rystad Energy’s research showed that the electrified assets offshore Norway emit 1.2 kilograms of carbon dioxide per barrel of oil equivalent produced (kg of CO2 per boe). This is an 86% decline from the 8.4 kg of CO2 per boe emitted by the same assets before electrification, the report states.

Norway is an early adopter of the electrification but there are other basins that could benefit from electrifying oil and gas production facilities, Rystad says.

“As the world confronts the pressing issue of climate change, the oil and gas industry is under increasing pressure to minimize its carbon footprint and align its practices with global sustainability objectives,” Palzor Shenga, vice president of upstream research with Rystad Energy, said, as carried by Offshore Engineer.

“Where it’s possible and economically viable, electrification has great potential to lower the industry’s emissions while maintaining production output,” Shenga added.

Many companies in the industry, including the largest multinationals and the national oil companies (NOCs) have pledged to reduce emissions from operations, the so-called Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions.

Electrification using renewable energy from the shore is one way to do so.

Norway’s Equinor has been working on electrifying some of its production assets on the Norwegian Continental Shelf.

Last week, the company announced that the Troll B and C fields became partly powered from shore. This reduces annual emissions from the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS) by 250,000 tons of CO2.

“Troll B and C electrification marks an important milestone in the efforts to halve the emissions from our operations by 2030,” said Geir Tungesvik, executive vice president for Projects, Drilling & Procurement.

“The project reduces CO2 emissions by the equivalent of those from 125,000 fossil-fuelled cars.”