OGUK Pathway to a Net-Zero Basin: Production Emissions Targets Report 2020

UK UPSTREAM OIL AND GAS SECTOR | Pathway to a Net-Zero Basin: Production Emissions Targets

Company: Premier Oil/OGTC Project: Powerbuoy Trial at the Huntington Field Since August 2019, Premier Oil has been trialling the PB3 PowerBuoy at the Huntington field. The project, supported by the Oil and Gas Technology Centre (OGTC), uses technology from wave energy developer Ocean Power Technologies in partnership with the Acteon Group. Whilst moored to the seabed, the Buoy uses wave power and an energy storage system to provide emissions-free power for sensors and instruments. The device constantly charges itself and streams data back onshore for review. In future, the system could be used to monitor live subsea information. The technology can aid decarbonisation and deliver other value-adding opportunities when paired up with different payload configurations, such as to support small field developments or as a charging/communications hub for autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) applications.

Work is already underway through the collective efforts of operators, contractors, the government regulators and supporting bodies such as OGUK and the Oil and Gas Technology Centre (OGTC). Installations across the UKCS are at different stages in addressing carbon abatement; some have already achieved significant reduction through operational improvements and are facing increasingly challenging choices, others are exploring the opportunities available. Operators are also investigating how the upstream sector can work with others to create combined initiatives to reduce emissions from the use of hydrocarbon products. Emissions reduction will be underpinned by innovation and technology developments through all three of the primary means – led by the OGTC Net Zero Solution Centre.

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