The North Sea oil and gas industry made further progress on its transition to net zero by cutting production emissions 4% last year, reported the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA). The drop in 2023 contributing to an overall reduction of 28% between 2018 and 2023.
This includes a 49% reduction in flaring in the same 5-year period from more efficient operations, stricter controls, and fines for unpermitted activity.
The North Sea industry has committed to reaching net zero by 2050, and a 90% emissions reduction by 2040, while agreeing to interim targets with government, including a halving of emissions by 2030. The latest Emissions Monitoring Report from the NSTA shows that progress has been made, and the 2030 target is within reach, but cautions that more work is needed to ensure that industry meets and surpasses key emissions targets and gets on long-term reduction trajectories.
“Cutting greenhouse gas emissions by more than a quarter in 5 years is an impressive achievement in the North Sea, where operators have taken real action and made substantial investments,” said Hedvig Ljungerud, NSTA director of strategy. “However, for domestic production to be justified, it must continue to become cleaner.”
Half of the reductions achieved between 2018 and 2023 were through active emissions reduction measures, the report says, and the decrease reflects a combination of the NSTA’s robust and proactive approach and industry efficiencies and investment in cleaner technologies.
On the other hand, even as overall emissions have gone down, emissions intensity—greenhouse gases emitted for every barrel produced—is projected to have increased, as production has also fallen.
Higher emissions intensity is common in more mature basins, but the report also cautions against using that as an excuse to let performance slip.
The NSTA has said it plans to continue to hold industry to account on net zero commitments and published its emissions reduction plan, or OGA Plan, in March to put operators on track to reach net zero.
“The NSTA will hold industry to account on emissions reductions, including on decisions today that could have an impact for decades to come, to ensure the nation can benefit from its domestic resource even as we transition,” Ljungerud said.
Electrification
Industry has been developing proposals for more than a dozen major decarbonization projects, mostly involving platform electrification and flaring reduction.
For example, on 7 September, Equinor’s Troll B and C platforms became partly powered from shore. The company says that electrification is expected to reduce annual emissions from the Norwegian continental shelf by 250,000 tonnes of CO2.
The development and operation plan for Troll West electrification was approved by Norwegian authorities in 2021.
“Troll B and C electrification marks an important milestone in the efforts to halve the emissions from our operations by 2030,” said Geir Tungesvik, Equinor’s executive vice president for projects, drilling, and procurement. “The project reduces CO2 emissions by the equivalent of those from 125,000 fossil-fueled cars.”
The electrification project has installed new modules on Troll B and C that adjust the voltage to the systems on board. The processing systems and other energy-intensive systems on both platforms are now driven by electricity, except for the large export compressors, which are still gas-powered.
“Troll West electrification has generated substantial business activity for Norwegian suppliers,” Tungesvik said. “Over 70% of the investments in the project have gone to companies in Norway. I am very pleased that we, along with our partners and suppliers, have succeeded in executing the project in a safe and effective manner.”
Equinor reports that the CO2 reduction is equivalent to about half a percent of Norway’s total annual emissions and that NOx emissions from the field are also reduced by around 850 tonnes per year.
“We have made several new discoveries in the Troll and Fram area in recent years. Thanks to Troll B and C electrification, we can develop and produce these resources with very low emissions,” said Kjetil Hove, Equinor’s executive vice president for exploration and production Norway. “The Troll area will continue to deliver large volumes of low-carbon, high-value energy for many years to come.”
The electrification project aims to continue to electrify the Troll C platform so that all power needs are met with electricity from land. The measure is expected to cut annual emissions by another 200,000 tonnes of CO2.
The Troll A platform (Troll East) was the first platform to be powered from shore on the Norwegian continental shelf and has been electrified since start-up in 1996.