PETRO INDUSTRY NEWS First well


decommissioning guidelines for CO2


storage


FUEL THOUGHT for ANNUAL BUYERS’ GUIDE 2023 Virgin Atlantic to purchase 70m US


gallons of sustainable aviation fuel Virgin Atlantic has today announced the purchase of 10m USG per annum of SAF to be produced by Gevo, Inc. and supplied by Virgin Atlantic’s joint venture partner, Delta Air Lines. The agreement with Delta builds on the existing long-term partnership between Delta and Gevo and increases the use of SAF from the US West Coast. SAF produced by Gevo will come from one of its future production facilities.


Gevo’s production process separates sugars and proteins from non-edible industrial corn grown using climate smart agricultural practices. The sugars are then used to make SAF and the proteins are fed to livestock, whose manure can be used in biogas digestors to produce renewable natural gas and agricultural fertilizer. Virgin Atlantic has been pioneering sustainability leadership for over 15-years and operates a 70% next generation fleet, making it one of the youngest and most fuel-efficient in the skies. This has contributed to a reduction in Virgin Atlantic’s total carbon emissions of 36% over the last decade.


After fleet transformation, SAF at scale represents the greatest opportunity to reduce carbon emissions in the next decade to help to achieve Net Zero 2050. This new SAF agreement with Delta represents 20% of Virgin Atlantic’s 2030 SAF target and is equivalent to fuelling more than 500 flights across the transatlantic from Los Angeles.


Global SAF production today represents less than [0.1%]1[1] of jet fuel, making it imperative for the aviation industry to accelerate change. This collaboration between Delta and Virgin Atlantic on a long-term supply of SAF to Virgin Atlantic is demonstrative of increasing demand and the willingness to invest today to support SAF production for the years ahead.


New guidance launched by Offshore Energies UK (OEUK) helps industry decommission North Sea oil and gas wells, so that subsurface formations like reservoirs can be repurposed as part of the infrastructure used to permanently store Carbon Dioxide (CO2


) offshore.


Working with well operations specialists, operator companies, consultancies and academia, OEUK was commissioned by the Department of Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) to produce the first ever ‘Well Decommissioning for CO2


storage


guidance’. The work drew on a government consultation on the re-use of oil and gas assets for Carbon Capture and Storage projects.


Carbon Capture and Storage is one of five commitments the offshore energy sector is delivering as part of the North Sea Transition Deal, with the aim of enabling large parts of UK industry and society to radically cut greenhouse gas emissions. The Deal is a transformational agreement between the UK Government and the offshore energy industry to make energy cleaner, support jobs, deliver net zero emissions and ensure energy security.


The new guidance outlines what oil and gas operators must consider for decommissioning wells with a view to retain structural integrity


when repurposing depleted reservoirs. For CO2 storage developers, the guidelines help support the verification process and permitting procedures for CO2


storage projects.


Mark Wilson, OEUK’s HSE & Operations Director, said: “Carbon capture and Storage can play an essential role in helping the UK meet its target of net zero emissions by 2050. These guidelines demonstrate how OEUK and our members are using existing offshore energy expertise to support the development of carbon capture projects at scale. By sharing our growing decommissioning expertise, we can help the UK supply chain develop world- class decommissioning capabilities that have great potential for exporting in the future.”


As part of the industry’s ongoing commitment to continually review and improve the performance of all aspects of offshore operations, OEUK is releasing new editions of its ‘Well Decommissioning Guidelines’ and its guidance for ‘Use of Barrier Materials in Well Decommissioning’. The updates share expertise to help manage these activities more effectively, while maintaining the highest safety and environmental standards.


In addition to well operations specialists, operator companies, consultancies and academia, OEUK’s guidelines have been produced with the support of the Health and Safety Executive, the North Sea Transition Authority and BEIS.


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Holly Boyd Boland, VP Corporate Development at Virgin Atlantic commented: “We know that SAF has a fundamental role to play in aviation decarbonisation. The demand from airlines is clear and Virgin Atlantic is committed to supporting the scale up of SAF production at pace. We cannot meet our collective ambition of Net Zero 2050 without it. “We’re proud that our fleet leads the way on fuel and carbon efficiency, but we know that more needs to be done. We’re excited to be partnering with Delta to further reduce our carbon emissions on flights across the transatlantic.”


Two thirds of UK and Norway North Sea oil and gas production has lower than average greenhouse gas intensity, new analysis finds


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A new analysis of North Sea oil and gas production by S&P Global Commodity Insights illustrates the degree that greenhouse gas (GHG) intensity can vary from one oil and gas asset to the next, and the factors that ultimately determine it.


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The average GHG intensity of production in the UK and Norwegian areas of the North Sea was 12 kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalent per barrel of oil equivalent (kgCO2e/boe) in 2021. A deeper analysis revealed that nearly 2/3 of total production was found to have an intensity below that basin-wide average. Meanwhile, assets responsible for just 20 percent of total production generated half of the basin’s total GHG emissions.


Overall, individual assets across the basin displayed a wide variability, ranging in GHG intensity from less than 1 kgCO2e/boe to nearly 150 kgCO2e/boe. Such a wide range is consistent across all the regions that have been explored to date and highlights the challenges of averages, the report finds.


The findings are derived from a new S&P Global Commodity Insights capability that provides a novel and comprehensive approach to estimating upstream oil and gas production emissions. The new capability, built upon existing proprietary upstream databases and emerging sources such as reported emissions and satellite flaring data from the Earth Observation Group, makes it possible to estimate the totality of an upstream oil and gas play’s emissions and emissions intensity—from across the play, down to individual assets and the sources of emissions, such as the fuels, that underpin each operation.


“In every play where we have looked, we continue to find wide variability in the greenhouse gas intensity with any one asset potentially being significantly different from the average,” said Kevin Birn, Global Head for S&P Global Commodity Insights newly formed Centre of Emissions Excellence. “The new S&P Global Commodity Insights capability delivers a level of granularity that is essential for governments, investors, and frankly the market to truly understand the nature of upstream oil and gas emissions, down to individual assets and the drivers behind each assets emissions, such as fuels that get used.”


The considerable variability of the findings illustrates several key factors that ultimately influence the GHG intensity of an asset. These include productivity, where younger and more productive fields tend to be less GHG intensive than older, more geologically challenging fields. The latter also may require energy-intensive enhanced recovery techniques, increased drilling to maintain productivity, and older technology can also put upward pressure on emissions intensity. Other factors that impact the GHG intensity of individual assets include the degree to which operations can be electrified and the degree of venting and flaring.


“The scale and complexity of operations across the North Sea—a complex network of offshore platforms, drilling operations, subsea recovery units and pipelines—demonstrate how myriad factors influence the greenhouse gas intensity of any one asset,” Christopher Kennett, associate director, S&P Global Commodity Insights. “The potential for wide variability makes understanding these factors at the asset-to-asset level all the more essential.” The S&P Global Commodity Insights analysis compared production in the United Kingdom and Norwegian areas of the North Sea to illustrate the influence of these factors.


The analysis found that, on average, UK production in the North Sea was nearly 3 times more GHG intensive (23 kgCO2e/boe) than Norwegian production (8 kgCO2e/boe). Norwegian operations were advantaged on a GHG intensity basis as, on average, fields tended to be less mature and with a greater share of output from larger, more productive, and technologically advanced operations. Additionally, Norway benefited from electrification projects that tie back to Norway’s relatively low-emission, hydro-dominated power grid.


By comparison, UK North Sea output tended to come from smaller, more mature or more geologically challenging fields, as well as from fields with older infrastructure and technology. These factors resulted in lower productivity and thus higher GHG intensity, the analysis finds. UK operations also had wider use of flaring—flaring and venting accounted for 28% of total UK North Sea emissions compared to 9% for Norway— and, unlike Norway, did not benefit from electrification projects to offset emissions from fuel combustion.


“With the acceleration of global ambition to tackle climate change, there is increasing need by market participants to better understand the GHG competitiveness of oil and gas assets globally,” Birn said. “S&P Global Commodity Insights is supporting this process by shedding new light and understanding on the true nature of upstream GHG emissions at an unprecedented level of granularity.”


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