A growing number of oil and gas businesses are testing and succeeding with various technologies and solutions that are assisting them in becoming more sustainable, lowering costs, and ultimately reducing their carbon footprint. Beyond small operational advantages, the O&G industry's accelerating digitalization has made it possible to create the "digital oilfield," a process that is beginning to gain attention.
Fremont, CA: A growing number of oil and gas businesses are testing and succeeding with various technologies and solutions that are assisting them in becoming more sustainable, lowering costs, and ultimately reducing their carbon footprint. Since so many OPEC members from the Middle East are accelerating the adoption of their economic diversification plans, we can anticipate seeing a lot more instances of businesses looking into the following:
1. Better data use
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McKinsey estimated the performance gap in the oil and gas sector at $200 billion at the end of last year. According to their analysis, offshore platforms typically operate at 77% of their capability for maximum production. By minimizing wastage, accidents, and bottlenecks, properly deployed data analytics systems and tools can generate returns of up to 30–50 times the initial investment and reduce the ecological effect of O&G operations.
2. Reducing the use of freshwater
Water is crucial in many oil extraction processes, including fracking and extracting oil from other substances found in oil sands. Every day, hundreds of millions of barrels of water are used, and while the worldwide oil and gas industry now recycles between 80 and 95 percent of this water, businesses are redesigning the extraction process to use less freshwater from the beginning.
3. Increasing efforts to recycle water
O&G firms are looking at more efficient methods of recycling and reusing water for their operations to reduce freshwater consumption. By developing filtration oxidization techniques and cutting-edge chemical-free water treatment options to remove bacterial contaminants, including sulfate-reducing and iron-oxidizing bacteria, businesses seek to use 100% non-potable water in the future.
4. Getting rid of methane leaks
The sector has a good opportunity to find cost-effective strategies to limit methane leaks. According to recent data from the International Energy Agency, reducing oil and gas methane emissions through current and new technology is financially feasible.
5. Process streamlining/improvement
By enabling more economical procedures, even advances that don't expressly make oil and gas processing greener and cleaner can nonetheless assist in enhancing the industry's overall sustainability. New ultrasound technology, for instance, enables businesses to produce 3D views of the interior of oil wells, allowing them to make more educated and economical production decisions.
6. Building virtual oilfields
Beyond small operational advantages, the O&G industry's accelerating digitalization has made it possible to create the "digital oilfield," a process that is beginning to gain attention. The digital oilfield enables real-time monitoring, analysis, and utilization of all operational data through cloud technology and big data, resulting in safer and more environmentally friendly decisions.
7. Increasing the purchase and usage of renewable energy
Like many O&G businesses are attempting to diversify into the renewables industry, they are attempting to reduce emissions. BP stated at the start of 2018 that $0.5 billion of its capital investment fund would be devoted to sustainable energy, and the business just purchased a $200 million interest in the biggest solar energy producer in Europe. In the future decades, O&G businesses are expected to grow into a key investor base for renewables as more high-profile investments like this become the norm.