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The UK North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) – which regulates the oil and gas, offshore hydrogen, and carbon storage sectors – has announced that specific pathways on greenhouse gas emissions reduction for the oil and gas industry have been proposed amid concerns targets will be missed without further action.
In a statement posted on its site, the NSTA revealed that it had launched a consultation on a proposed new emissions reduction plan “to encourage oil and gas operators to take action today and in future investment decisions to cut their greenhouse gas emissions and get on long-term reduction pathways”.
The draft plan sets out the NSTA’s proposed requirements for how industry can meet its obligations regarding emissions reductions from oil and gas production, the organization noted in the statement. The plan is broken down into four areas – “investment and efficiency, platform electrification and low carbon power, inventory, and flaring and venting” – and lays out “detailed requirements, with supporting actions from the NSTA”, as well as the potential consequences which could follow from failing to meet requirements, the organization outlined.
“The proposed requirements around platform electrification, for example, specify dates for new fields to come online electrification-ready and then be electrified,” the NSTA said.
The NSTA pointed out in the statement that power generation was responsible for 79 percent of platform emissions in 2022, adding that electrification could deliver carbon savings of up to two million tons per annum by 2030, “equivalent to removing one million cars off the road for a year”, and a total of up to 22 million tons by 2050, “greater than the annual emissions of Northern Ireland”.
The organization also highlighted that proposals for electrification requirements in the plan follow a recent letter to operators from the NSTA which warns that production consent could be withheld if fields are not electrification ready.
In its statement, the NSTA noted that production emissions have reduced significantly in recent years but added that they still account for around three percent of total UK greenhouse gas emissions. The organization also stated that, even as demand declines during the energy transition, domestic oil and gas will still be required for decades to come, “emphasizing the importance of the industry continuing to cut emissions”.
“Significant progress has been made, but there is more work to be done and the NSTA estimates that without further initiatives, the 2030 emissions reduction target agreed between government and industry as part of the North Sea Transition Deal may be missed,” the NSTA said in the statement.
“Industry is already taking decisions that will have a bearing on their ability to meet the commitments not just up to but also beyond 2030, and to play their part in ensuring the UK meets its net zero by 2050 target,” it added.
“Continuing to clean-up production is necessary to preserve an ongoing social license to operate in UK waters, and therefore to secure domestic production during the time our consumption transitions away from fossil fuels. The NSTA is taking a basin-wide approach to emissions reductions, and pressing industry using robust regulation and management and launching the plan consultation,” it continued.
The North Sea Transition Deal (NSTD), which is an agreement between the UK government and the offshore industry, targets a 10 percent emissions reduction by 2025, 25 percent reduction by 2027, and 50 percent by 2030.
“It is essential that industry continues to reduce its emissions,” NSTA Chief Executive Stuart Payne said in an organization statement.
“Progress is tough and will require investment, collaborative effort, and detailed planning. We are publishing the draft plan … for consultation, to give clarity on requirements now and for the long term,” he added.
“UK industry is already doing some very impressive things. North Sea gas is almost four times cleaner than importing LNG, emissions have been cut three years in row, and flaring has been near halved in four years, and with this plan we set out what is necessary to continue the downward trajectory,” he continued.
“I ask for real engagement in the consultation as the input will be crucial to develop this approach,” Payne went on to note.
When Rigzone asked industry body Offshore Energies UK (OEUK) for comment on the NSTA’s latest announcement, the organization’s Sustainability and Policy Director, Mike Tholen, said, “the offshore oil and gas sector is committed to decarbonization, achieving a third consecutive year of emissions reductions in 2022 through progressive investments, operational improvements, and cuts to methane, flaring and venting”.
“But many of the low-hanging opportunities have been seized. The next wave of emissions reduction will increasingly rely on major capital projects such as electrification of offshore production facilities to deliver its 2030 targets,” he added.
“These electrification-led solutions will rely on achieving timely access to the national grid as well as an attractive commercial framework to support installation of windfarms,” he continued.
“The decarbonization of our sector, and indeed the entire UK economy, will rely on supportive energy policy across the whole energy landscape, so we welcome any action from government that aims to attract investment into carbon cutting solutions and accelerate our drive to net zero,” Tholen went on to state.
“We look forward to contributing to this consultation to ensure domestic energy remains the more attractive, cleaner, and economical option so that we can continue producing energy in the UK, for the UK,” the OEUK director noted.
To contact the author, email andreas.exarheas@rigzone.com
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