The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Oil and Gas UK reveals emissions plan
The UK’s offshore oil and gas sector has made an ambitious pledge to slash half of its emissions over the next decade.
Representative body Oil and Gas UK (OGUK) added talks had “formally” begun with Westminster on a “transformational” sector deal.
It said the emissions reduction would have the same effect as taking nearly “two million cars off the road”.
But OGUK warned of a “gap” between “what is currently technically feasible and what is commercially feasible” to deliver its green goals.
It also acknowledged that between half and two thirds of emissions cuts in the next 10 years would come from fields ceasing production.
The new target builds on the September 2019 publication of North Sea industry’s “roadmap” to becoming a net-zero basin by 2050.
It came amid increasingly loud calls from green groups and investors for the oil sector to clean up its act.
Since then, the industry has been blindsided by a slump in crude prices, partly caused by the Covid-19 pandemic’s impact on demand, leading to thousands of job losses and projects being cancelled.
The sector intends to reduce flaring emissions by 30%, with operational improvements such as equipment upgrades making a “limited” contribution to the 2030 goal.
More capital intensive initiatives like carbon capture and storage will take longer to achieve scale, but should help the sector lower or offset its emissions by 90% by 2040.
Perhaps the most ambitious idea involves powering offshore platforms with low-carbon electricity from onshore grids or offshore wind farms.
Well over half of the industry’s carbon dioxide emissions come from offshore electricity generation supplied by gas turbines. A number of major operators have been exploring offshore electrification, but OGUK said the “technology, resources and infrastructure” were not ready and would be too expensive to implement, without policy support.
OGUK chief executive Deirdre Michie said a deal could “unlock” the full potential of the industry to support a green recovery.