Wireline Issue 46 - Autumn 2019

Image right: Drax Power Station. Copyright Drax Group.

A push from policy It is in the industry’s interests to show investors and the wider public that it is acting to lower emissions at sites of production. Corporate environmental performance (which many companies disclose in annual reports and to regulators) is playing an increasingly important role in securing funding for projects, and as a result, making concerted efforts to reduce production- related emissions sends positive signals to investors and shareholders that industry is doing its part in addressing climate change. Ultimately, operators and contractors within the oil and gas industry globally act within the parameters that policy makers put in place. Therefore, it is vital that governments support the industry in adopting better practices that can reduce emissions and provide the support required to deliver more renewable energy. If emissions- reducing technologies are deployed rapidly and ubiquitously, their costs will fall quickly, setting up a self-reinforcing effect. This can only succeed if enabling policies are strengthened and enforced nationally. According to the report from CCC, current policy is insufficient even for the carbon targets that existed prior to the commitment to net zero by 2050. “Net-zero emissions by 2050 is a challenge to all industries across the UK. Whilst a huge amount of

emissions reductions have already been made across the nation, all sectors are working out exactly how they are to reach the necessary targets. Offshore oil and gas has many individual challenges relating to the difficulty in managing these changes on small structures hundreds of miles from shore. Collaboration and lesson sharing will be key in driving the cultural step change required to enable emerging solutions,” Thorne adds. Collaboration as a solution The Humber partnership exemplifies the need for operators to adopt collaboration to implement the necessary changes in practice that will support the UK’s low-carbon ambitions. By teaming up, operators can offset the potential costs associated with moving on from old practices. Ultimately, the competitiveness of the UK as a basin will depend on lowering emissions from production — and providing evidence of how it can be achieved. Forming strategic partnerships with companies that already have the required expertise and infrastructure will strengthen businesses. As Remi Eriksen, Group President andCEOof DNVGL, says: “Existing technology can deliver the future we desire — including meeting the 1.5°C target set out in the Paris Agreement.” When operators share their knowledge and successes in the process of fighting climate change, great strides can be made.

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