Total To Reduce Gas Flaring by 50% by 2012; Overall Reduction of 70% Since 1998
15 December 2006
International oil major Total announced that it will reduce gas flaring by 50% at its operated facilities worldwide by 2012. In 2000, the company had introduced a zero-flaring policy for new projects.
Flaring is the burning of associated gas—produced whenever oil is produced—when it cannot be used for another purpose. Unlike oil, associated gas is difficult to store and transport to market. Options include:
Using it immediately, in local plants, for power generation or for industrial and domestic applications.
Exporting it to consumer countries, when large amounts of natural gas have been discovered in the region.
Re-injecting it in the field, which is not always technically feasible.
Disposing of it through flaring.
Another option under consideration and development by oil companies is the remote production of such stranded gas to products that are more easily shipped—Gas-to-Liquids fuels, for example.
In November 2005, Total launched a new R&D program on converting natural gas to liquids (GtL processes). The company signed a cooperation agreement with a number of partners in science and industry in this area, including Battelle subsidiary Velocys.
Total is working to develop a new technology that uses microchannel reactors and more active catalysts to produce the synthesis gas used in the Fischer-Tropsch process. Velocys is a microchannel technology specialist, with its chemical processors being characterized by parallel arrays of microchannels, with typical dimensions in the 0.025-cm to 0.5-cm (0.010- to 0.200-inch) range.
Microchannel-based reactors could reduce overall system volumes by 10- to 100-fold compared to conventional systems. Development of such compact synthetic fuel production systems would be suitable for installation on land or on offshore floating production facilities. This would offer Total a way to monetize stranded gas resources, much as Syntroleum is proposing with its compact GTL Barge. (Earlier post.)
Total joined the Global Gas Flaring Reduction Partnership (GGFR) in March 2004. Set up in August 2002 at the initiative of the World Bank, the public-private partnership facilitates and supports national efforts to use currently flared gas. Partners include governments of oil producing countries, state-owned companies and major international oil companies.
More than 150 billion cubic meters (bcm) (or 5.3 trillion cubic feet) of natural gas are being flared and vented annually worldwide—equivalent to 25% of the United States’ gas consumption or 30% of the European Union’s, according to the GGFR. The annual 40 bcm (or 1.4 trillion cubic feet) of gas flared in Africa alone is equivalent to half of that continent’s power consumption.
Flaring gas adds about 350 million tons of CO2 in annual emissions—more than the potential yearly emission reductions from projects currently submitted under the Kyoto mechanisms.
In 2001, Total made a commitment to manage its greenhouse gas emissions. Associated gas flaring accounted for 23% of its greenhouse gas emissions in 2005. Despite higher production, the amounts of gas flared in Total-operated facilities declined by 40% between 1998 and 2005.
I'm glad they're getting it done on their own -- it seems things like flaring would also be reduced with a carbon cap-and-trade regulation. After all, if it costs extra money to both burn off the gas and to extra money to buy electricity or other energy forms for the plant, it may very well become cheaper to "recycle" the waste gas.
End result: less total carbon emissions, which is precisely the point. Maybe Total sees the writing on the wall and is positioning itself to minimize impact of a carbon cap and trade scheme.
Posted by: stomv | 15 December 2006 at 07:08 AM
This is good to see. There was talk of using stirlings to generate power, but if you have met all your needs and are not near the grid, this does not work. Flare gas does not usually have the same energy content as NG, so GTL is a good idea. Being a for profit company, I would think that this company saw another revenue source that is cost effective.
Posted by: SJC | 15 December 2006 at 08:43 AM
"Unlike oil, associated gas is difficult to store and transport to market. Options include:
Exporting it to consumer countries.
Disposing of it through flaring."
These "options" are contradictory/redundant.
Posted by: fyi CO2 | 15 December 2006 at 10:56 AM
What they don't realize, IMO, is that there are ways you can "export" power without being on the grid. Think New Zealand. They produce excess hydro-power which they export in the form of aluminum (which, BTW, is very energy intensive to extract).
If a company, such as Total, were to setup an aluminum extraction plant on site, or in close proximity to several sites, they could use the excess electricity generated from gas to extract/refine aluminum.
Posted by: John | 15 December 2006 at 12:21 PM
That assumes that the amount of gas flared at any particular site is large enough to support a large-enough scale aluminum plant to compete commercially, that the shipping will be worth it, and that such a plant can even be constructed. I can't imagine building an aluminum smelting plant on an offshore platform.
Posted by: NBK-Boston | 15 December 2006 at 02:53 PM
I forget the figures, but worldwide flaring is HUGE. There is enough energy in flare gas to power whole countries. But it is not in large quantities in one spot. This is just one oil company, you would need all of the majors adopting a similar program to make a significant difference. I hope they do. This would be a major source of energy that is now wasted.
Posted by: SJC | 15 December 2006 at 04:04 PM
SJC,
Dang right.
Iran flare enough natural/petroleum gas from their gas/oil fields/refineries that if they were to use it for electricity, they would make more power than all their present and planned nuke plants combined.
Posted by: allen_Z | 15 December 2006 at 04:37 PM