Carbon intensity of oil production

Oct 7 2021

The global impact of carbon intensity of oil production needs to be considered when granting approval for development.

Over the last couple of days I have attended the online ‘FT energy transition strategies summit’. Nick Walker, President & CEO of Lundin Energy, highlighted that the recent Johan Sverdrup development is powered by electricity from shore enabling production to be certified to be carbon neutral – that is “no carbon was emitted in the making of this barrel” (my paraphrasing of the declaration at the end of many films).

To put this in context, he indicated that typical CO2 emissions for producing a barrel of oil was 20kg and for some sources, as much as 60kg. (Considering a barrel contains 42 US gallons / 159L, and weighs around 150kg – the emission associated with production can be substantial compared to the emissions from its final consumption.)

This reinforced a concern I have had recently. The demand for oil and gas is not going to go away overnight, and there is still the need to produce it. It would be better for the planet if oil and gas is sourced from places where the emissions from its associated production is low, and the hydrocarbon that would otherwise have a large associated emission is left in the ground.

There has been opposition recently about developments around the UK (such as Shell’s Cambo field), with the argument that we should not be approving ANY new developments. However, the decision should be more nuanced, optimising on a global basis and taking into account the continuing (albeit declining) need.

#energytransition #oilandgas