[ Oil & Gas ]
[ Oil & Gas ]
The giant Zohr offshore gas field in Egypt , operated by Eni , was discovered in 2015 . Commissioned in December 2017 , in August 2019 gas production exceeded 2.7 billion cubic feet per day . Photo : Eni .
Australia and the Far East are likewise seeing a number of projects . Shell is to develop the Crux gas field in Western Australia ; India ’ s Hindustan Petroleum Corp ( HPCL ) plans to start its Barmer refinery and petrochemical project in Rajasthan state by January 2024 ; Indonesia approved a revised plan of development for its Merakes and Merakes East gas fields .
Emissions abatement Oil & gas development has transformed the economies of many countries and regions that were previously poor or import-dependent . But given the climate emergency , should these new developments be happening at all ? In fact , many oil & gas companies are investing in green energy and are struggling to reduce their ecological footprint . “ Sustainability ” is a buzzword in the oil & gas industry as stringent emissions targets become ever more demanding . Just in the last year , many CO 2 sequestration and storage ( CSS ) projects have been initiated all over the world . In the Houston area , 11 companies have joined forces to reduce emissions around the Gulf of Mexico . One of the first such projects offshore is Chevron ’ s Bayou Bend Carbon Capture and Sequestration hub in the Gulf of Mexico . Likewise , ExxonMobil has joined forces with MHI ( Japan ), Pertamina ( Indonesia ) and CNOOC / Shell ( China ), while similar projects are being developed in the North Sea : Equinor-Wintershall Dea , BP-Harbour Energy , TotalEnergies-Equinor-Shell ( Northern Lights ), to name only a few .
Taking one step further towards recycling , Chevron is also collaborating with Air Liquide , PetroChina and Keppel on a CCUS project ( carbon capture , utilization , and sequestration ) in Singapore . The CO 2 that is not sequestered will be used to make cement , plastics or fuels . Methane is 28 times more powerful as a factor in global warming than CO 2 . Technologies being developed to cut methane emissions include drones equipped with sensors , and TotalEnergies ’ AUSEA technology ( Airborne Ultralight Spectrometer for Environmental Applications ), which
Inside the Eni Zohr gas processing plant in Egypt . Photo : Eni .
detects and quantifies methane and CO 2 emissions .
3D printing In the last few years , especially the last 12 months , 3D printing ( or additive manufacture – AM ), has become mainstream in the oil & gas industry . This technology , already well established in the aerospace and medical industries , reduces the need for physical inventory , eliminates waste and can be several times faster than traditional methods . Parts can be manufactured on-site , eliminating timeconsuming toing and froing between remote offshore sites and manufacturing
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