Start-up issues hike Norway’s offshore emissions

May 31, 2016
Petroleum activities on the Norwegian continental shelf generated 13.5 million metric tons of CO2 emissions last year, according to the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate.

Offshore staff

OSLO, Norway – Petroleum activities on the Norwegian continental shelf generated 13.5 million metric tons (14.88 million tons) of CO2 emissions last year, according to the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate.

This represented a 3% increase – 400,000 metric tons (440,924 tons) more – than the previous year.

The main cause was difficulties on theKnarr field and start-up of the Valemon and Edvard Grieg fields, all of which began producing in 2015.

Total CO2 from producing fields operational prior to 2015 was similar to the figure for 2014. However, NOx (nitrogen oxide) emissions fell 11%, due primarily due to reduced drilling activity and use of mobile facilities.

Over the next five years NPD expects Norway’s CO2 emissions to stabilize around the 2015 level, even as more fields come onstream.

One reason is thatJohan Sverdrup, the country’s largest-scale offshore investment for decades, will be supplied with power from shore via an undersea cable link.

Edvard Grieg,Ivar Aasen, and Gina Krog in the same area will also switch to power from shore in connection with Johan Sverdrup’s second development stage.

Emissions offshore are due largely to combustion of gas and diesel in turbines, engines, and boilers that keep the facilities operational.

Other contributory factors are safety flaring of gas, and ventilating and diffusion of gas emissions from storage and loading of crude oil offshore.

Norway’s volatile oil compounds/oil vapor emissions last year amounted to 46,500 metric tons (51,257 tons), 6% less than in 2014, while methane emissions (CH4) were down 8% at 28,900 metric tons (31,857 tons).

05/31/2016

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