As energy companies adapt to the new realities emerging out of the global energy marketplace, this month sees even more evidence of companies stepping up their sustainability commitments. Governments across the Middle East and around the world are setting targets to reduce carbon emissions and increase the proportion of renewable energy in their national energy mix, prompting the oil and gas industry to explore cleantech innovations to find innovative ways to accelerate the shift to this new energy vision.
A growing number of oil and gas companies are testing and recognizing the benefits of a wide range of new technologies and solutions to help them reduce their carbon footprints, minimize costs and become more sustainable. Go through www.digitaloilandgas.solutions to know more. With many OPEC countries in the Middle East accelerating their economic diversification initiatives, the industry is responding by adopting even more and faster sustainability criteria, therefore we can expect to see lots more corporations looking into the following:
- Making better use of data
The oil and gas industry had a $200 billion performance gap at the end of last year. It was found that offshore platforms typically operate at only 77% of their maximum capacity. Using proper analytics systems and tools, you can manage the operational complexity of oil and gas operations, quickly generating returns on investment of 30-50 times your investment and substantially reducing environmental impact by reducing wastage, accidents, and bottlenecks.
- Reducing freshwater consumption
Fracking, separation of oil from other elements in oil sands, and other oil production processes all require the use of water. There are hundreds of millions of barrels of freshwater used every day by the global oil and gas industry. While most of this water is currently recycled (between 80-95%), companies are redesigning the extraction process to minimize freshwater from the very beginning.
- Increasing efforts to recycle water
Companies in the O&G industry are investigating more effective ways to reuse and recycle water for their operations to reduce freshwater consumption. Companies are increasingly trying to use only non-potable water by improving filtration and oxidation methods and by implementing advanced chemical-free water treatment solutions to remove sulphate-reducing and iron-oxidizing bacteria from water.
- Reducing the leakage of methane
A cost-effective way for the industry to reduce methane leaks is to find ways to prevent them. It has been revealed that oil and gas methane emissions can be reduced financially through existing technologies and emerging ones, according to figures from the International Energy Agency.
- Recycling used oil
In order to convert waste oil into diesel fuel, companies are using more small-scale micro-refineries. The approach is both environmentally friendly and relatively cost-effective as an alternative to more traditional methods of removing oil.
- Efficient/improved processes
Efficiencies in cost-efficient processing can contribute to enhancing the industry’s sustainability even if innovations don’t specifically make oil and gas processing greener and cleaner.
New ultrasound technology, for example, allows for a more efficient and informed approach to production decisions by providing 3D images of the inside of oil wells. Additionally, IIOT, analytics, automation, reserve replacement and enhancement capabilities, as well as artificial intelligence programs can help uncover and eliminate inefficiencies in operations.
In addition to reducing energy consumption by a small fraction, O&G companies can produce the same amount with lower costs and lower energy expenditure, allowing them to reduce overall greenhouse gas emissions.
- Developing digital oilfields
Beyond incremental improvements in operational efficiency, the increasing rate of digitalisation in the O&G industry has allowed the emergence of a new industry concept, known as the ‘digital oilfield’. Cloud technologies and big data allow for digital oilfields to monitor, analyze, and utilize all operational data in real-time, resulting in safer, more sustainable decisions.
- Increased use of renewable energy
Even as oil and gas companies strive to lessen their carbon footprints, many are also searching for ways to diversify into renewable energy. Over the next few decades, O&G companies will become a major investor in renewable energy with more high profile investments like this one.
In addition, biofuel is advancing at a rapid rate, which could facilitate larger scale production levels soon. An entirely sustainable and renewable biofuel industry is a major step forward with this move.
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