Sept 19 (Askume) – Oil and gas production facilities could reduce emissions by more than 80% by switching to renewable energy or the planned burning of natural gas to generate electricity, a report by research firm Rystad Energy said on Thursday.
The report said that after fully electrifying oil production rigs and other assets on the Norwegian continental shelf, carbon dioxide emissions per barrel of oil equivalent were reduced by 86%.
Analysts say partial electrification would significantly reduce emissions, although other producing countries may face logistical hurdles.
Why is this important?
Scientists estimate that the world will need to cut greenhouse gas emissions by about 43% from 2019 levels by 2030 to meet the 2015 Paris Agreement goal of keeping temperatures well below 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels.
Over the past 10 years, the world has burned about 140 billion cubic meters of natural gas each year. Burning additional natural gas is equivalent to emitting about 290 million tons of carbon dioxide each year.
situation
Global oil companies are set to burn the most natural gas over the next five years to 2023, according to a World Bank report.
Top Oil and Gas CompaniesIt aims to accelerate emissions reductions to meet the goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
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The report says that if production assets in the world’s top oil and gas production regions reduce emissions by 50%, the reduction in carbon dioxide emissions would be equivalent to a reduction of about 20.025 degrees Celsius in global temperatures in 2050.
Key Quotes
Palzor Shenga, vice president of upstream research at Rystad, said: “Where feasible and economically viable, electrification has huge potential to reduce industrial emissions while maintaining production.”
