Month: September 2020

Posted on by regroup

Offshore Energy Integration ‘Could Boost Net Zero Carbon Targets’

Integrating offshore energy systems such as hydrogen and carbon capture and storage, renewables and oil and gas could help deliver around 30 per cent of the UK’s total carbon reduction requirements in order for it to hit its net zero carbon emissions target by 2050.

This is according to a new Energy Integration Report from the Oil and Gas Authority (OGA), revealing that there are now more than 30 energy integration projects already underway across the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS).

The conclusion was drawn that integration would help make technologies valuable where energy production is concerned, as well as reducing greenhouse gases and making them economically more attractive.

The white paper also highlighted the potential for offshore renewables such as tidal, wave and wind to contribute around 30 per cent towards the net zero target, as well – meaning the UKCS could support approximately 60 per cent of the country’s decarbonisation requirements.

OGA chief executive Dr Andy Samuel commented on the findings, saying: “The UKCS has the potential to make a deep and meaningful impact on the UK’s overall net zero target and offshore energy integration can be the game changer.

“By closely coordinating our energy systems, a secure energy supply can continue to be delivered from a diverse mix of production, while unlocking more and more of the green energy and carbon capture needed to help take the UK to net zero.”

Oil and gas capabilities, infrastructure and the supply chain are all essential for energy integration, the report found, with the potential to provide support for more offshore renewables expansion, such as floating wind power.

Carbon capture and storage can be accelerated by reusing oil and gas reservoirs and infrastructure, while blue hydrogen produced from natural gas could potentially decarbonise about 30 per cent of the country’s natural gas supply by 2050.

Production efficiency on the UKCS has improved for the seventh year in a row, reaching 80 per cent last year, three years ahead of its 2022 target. Every region of the UKCS saw a rise in 2019, apart from West of Shetland, which registered no change.

The rise was put down to a 25 per cent reduction in production losses, as well as a reduction in plant losses of 29 per cent, while planned shutdowns ran to schedule and just 1 per cent overran on planned time. Every region of the North Sea registered a rise in actual wellhead production, apart from the Southern North Sea.

Enhanced production efficiency is often linked to lower emissions intensity on production facilities. Since 2014, improvements of 23 per cent have been seen in this regard, contributing to approximately a ten per cent reduction in carbon emissions per barrel of oil produced over the same timeframe.

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Posted on by regroup

UK Lends Support To Mauritius Oil Spill Response

Ecology and marine legal experts from the UK’s Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas) have been sent in to lend their support to the next phase of Mauritius’s response to its recent devastating oil spill, which saw a ship run aground and break up close to environmentally protected coral reefs.

The country is a biodiversity hotspot, with a high volume of animals and plants unique to the region – and the oil spill has caused significant damage to local marine ecosystems. The UK has also provided £10,000 in new emergency support to the Mauritius Wildlife FUnd to help local nature reserves that have been affected by the spill.

The ecology experts will assess the extent of the damage and help the island work out the best ways to protect the species at risk of oil pollution and restore the coastline to its former glory.

Dr Sue Ware, senior marine monitoring scientist at Cefas and who has gone out to the island to help, said: “We have been observing the oil spill in Mauritius closely and will be offering our support to assist in environmental impact assessment and monitoring to help tackle the pollution – thereby, helping protect livelihoods, the environment and marine life.

“We will work closely with the expert team on the ground, and our colleagues back in the UK laboratory, to apply our experience in marine emergency response to the situation.”

Cargo ship MV Wakashio ran aground on a coral reef in the Indian Ocean towards the end of July, with the Japanese-owned vessel leaking an estimated 1,000 tonnes of fuel oil into the sea on August 6th, when the hull of the ship cracked, according to the Nature journal.

This is apparently the first reported spill of a new kind of low-sulphur fuel, developed to help reduce air pollution, with 15km of the coastline affected by the incident.

President of the Mauritius Marine Conservation Society Jacqueline Sauzier spoke to the news source, explaining that because this is the first time this type of oil has been spilled, there are no long-term studies on the potential impacts it could have.

Because the island isn’t equipped to deal with an incident of this magnitude, other countries have flown in to offer their support, she continued. Teams from France, the UK and Japan have arrived, while the UN also sent in a team of experts to help, working with communities, the government and the private sector to help coordinate the cleanup.

Local Mauritians have also been very proactive in their efforts, as well, with almost 80km of ocean booms crafted out of cane trash over the course of a single weekend to help contain the oil.

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