Electrification key to cut UK offshore emissions: NSTA
The UK offshore oil and gas industry must make "decisive emissions reduction actions now and on an ongoing basis", with asset electrification and low carbon power central to making cuts, regulator the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) said today.
"Where the NSTA considers electrification reasonable, but it has not been done, there should be no expectation that the NSTA will approve field development plans", the regulator said in a new emissions reduction plan.
The NSTA set out "four clear contributing factors to decarbonising the industry" — including asset electrification, investment and efficiency and action on flaring and venting. It will also look at "inventory as a whole", ramping up scrutiny on assets with high emissions intensity. Relevant companies must produce emissions reduction action plans for offshore assets, the NSTA said.
New developments with first oil or gas after the beginning of 2030 must be either fully electrified or run on "alternative low carbon power with near equivalent emission reductions", the NSTA said. New developments with first oil or gas before 2030 should be electrification-ready at minimum. If electrification is not reasonable, other power emissions reductions must be sought, the regulator said.
The offshore industry must from 1 June provide "a documented method of the split of projected flaring and venting figures into categories", and must from 1 June 2025 have a plan and budget to "deliver continuous improvements in flaring and venting", it said. New developments — including tie-backs — must be planned on the basis of zero routine flaring and venting, which every asset must reach by 2030. Industry flaring almost halved between 2018-22, the NSTA said. The regulator has flagged a particular focus on methane emissions.
The NSTA may require developers to agree to cease production of assets with high emissions intensity "with reference to societal carbon values", it said. Societal carbon values are calculated by the UK government to reflect the marginal cost to society of additional CO2 emissions.
It will discuss end dates for production for assets with greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions intensity 50pc over the average for the UK offshore, and which intend to produce oil or gas beyond 2030. This represents a slight watering down of the initial plan the NSTA consulted on last year.
The North Sea Transition Deal, agreed in 2021, commits the UK offshore industry to reducing its production emissions of GHGs by 10pc by 2025, by 24pc by 2027 and by 50pc by 2030, from a 2018 baseline. Industry has itself committed to a 90pc reduction by 2040 and a net zero basin by 2050, the NSTA said. It "would welcome industry owning and delivering these reductions", it said, adding that its plan is focused on emissions cuts and "emissions offsetting will not be considered towards meeting the obligations."
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Australia’s ANZ bank to end new gas, oil lending
Australia’s ANZ bank to end new gas, oil lending
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LNG imports loom as Australia unveils gas strategy
LNG imports loom as Australia unveils gas strategy
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Baltic April gas consumption rises on year
Baltic April gas consumption rises on year
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Net injections have since averaged 46 GWh/d on 23 April-6 May, the latest data from EU transparency body GIE show. Stocks at Incukalns ended the withdrawal season on 30 April at 11.29TWh, the highest since at least 2014 and well above the previous high from last year of 9.03TWh. Large volumes of gas that had been stored over the previous summer for export to Finland over the winter were left stranded in Incukalns after the Balticconnector went off line. And the Klaipeda LNG terminal began maintenance on 1 May, which will last until 15 June, as the terminal's Independence floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) departed for dry-docking in Denmark. As a result, there were net exports from Poland to Lithuania for the first time since early November, at an average of 17 GWh/d on 1-7 May. Some of this gas could have been withdrawn from Ukrainian storage, with flows from Ukraine to Poland averaging 10 GWh/d over the same period. Lithuania's largest supplier Ignitis has said it stored some volumes in Ukraine. And flows at the Kiemenai border point with Latvia have also flipped towards Lithuania, averaging 11 GWh/d on 1-7 May, compared with net flows towards Latvia of 15 GWh/d in April. That said, there were no flows at the point on 6-26 April. By Brendan A'Hearn Finnish, Baltic average gas-fired power generation MW Apr-24 Apr-23 Mar-24 ± Apr 23 ± Mar 24 Estonia 5 6 7 -1 -2 Latvia 49 18 215 31 -166 Lithuania 46 47 52 -1 -6 Finland 205 230 277 -25 -72 Total 305 301 551 4 -246 — Entso-E Daily average minimum temperature in FinBalt capitals °C Apr-24 Apr-23 Mar-24 ± yr/yr ± m/m 2014-23 Apr avg Vilnius 5.22 3.83 0.93 1.39 4.29 2.63 Riga 5.01 4.98 1.93 0.03 3.08 3.65 Tallinn 2.00 1.46 -0.59 0.54 2.59 1.17 Helsinki 0.11 -0.45 -2.55 0.56 2.66 0.12 — Speedwell Finnish and Baltic April consumption by country GWh Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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