Page 12 - EurOil Week 11 2021

EurOil POLICY EurOil

UK North Sea cuts flaring by 22% in 2020

UK UK North Sea operators reduced flaring by 22% The OGA will soon be publishing its net-
in 2020, with the overall volume declining to zero expectations, which will set out how emis-
Flaring volumes were 33bn cubic feet (934mn cubic metres), according sions can be addressed at every stage of offshore
at their lowest level on to the Oil & Gas Authority (OGA). But overall operations.
record. greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions increased, the “We will continue monitoring closely and
state upstream regulator said. reflect that in decision-making when operators
Flaring volumes were at their lowest level on apply for consents and authorisations for flaring
record, the OGA said. While production decline and venting,” Ljungerud said.
as a result of weak prices was a contributing fac- The flaring reduction amounts to the gas
tor, gas flaring per barrel of oil produced also fell, demand of 200,000 homes, and comes after
from 114 cubic feet to 95 cubic feet, representing the OGA put in force stricter measures to
a 10-year low. This is also the third year in a row reduce emissions last year. The regulator
that per-barrel volumes have declined. also began benchmarking North Sea opera-
GHG emissions had dropped significantly tors, releasing data on their emissions every
between 2018 and 2019 but rose to 0.42bn cubic month.
feet last year to 3.6bn cubic feet. Emissions of On the industry’s side, trade association Oil
methane, a highly potent GHG, fell 0.07bn to and Gas UK (OGUK) published a report last
0.79bn cubic feet, but CO2 emissions grew year that set a goal of halving all North Sea emis-
0.49bn to 2.8bn cubic feet. sions by 2030, including flaring and venting.
“While there is more work needed from OGUK is due to publish its Methane Action Plan
industry and the OGA, the flaring figures in later this year.
particular are encouraging and show that clear The UK government, meanwhile, pledged to
focus can make a significant impact,” the OGA’s make routine flaring a thing of the past by 2030
director of strategy, Hedvig Ljungerud, said in a or sooner in its Energy White Paper published
statement. in December. ™
PROJECTS & COMPANIES

PKN Orlen signs futures contract on

oil supply with ExxonMobil

POLAND POLAND’S listed refiner PKN Orlen signed a Currently, Orlen’s refineries receive supplies
futures contract on the delivery of 1mn tonnes of crude oil on the basis of long-term contracts
A futures contract of oil with the US oil company Exxon Mobil, the with suppliers from Saudi Arabia and Russia, as
for the purchase Polish company said on March 9. well as spot deliveries, e.g. from the North Sea, as
of US oil comes as The contract provides for the delivery of a well as Angola or Nigeria.
Orlen analyses how total of approximately 1mn tonnes of crude oil Orlen’s stock inched up 0.6% to PLN67.06 on
various types of crude for the Polish company’s refineries in Poland, the March 9. Year-to-date, it has gained 16.2%. ™
oil square up with Czech Republic, and Lithuania.
the technological “We are continuing the process of diversi-
capabilities of its fying oil supplies. Over the past three years, we
refineries. have successfully strengthened relations with
the world’s largest oil producers, including Saudi
Aramco, and secured new supply routes, for
example from West Africa,” Orlen’s CEO Daniel
Obajtek said in a statement.
A futures contract for the purchase of US oil
comes on the back of Orlen’s analysis of how var-
ious types of crude oil square up with the tech-
nological capabilities of the company’s refineries.
“The purchase of light and sweet crude
oil, which is WTI (West Texas Intermediate),
increases our yields. [The oil] has very good den-
sity and sulfur content parameters [to produce]
large amounts of so-called white products such
as gasoline or diesel,” the company said.

P12 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 11 18•March•2021