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Orcadian Report provides carbon emissions solution for North Sea

Published by , Editorial Assistant
Oilfield Technology,

Orcadian Energy, the low-emissions North Sea oil and gas development company, is delighted to present its final report into Central North Sea electrification, which has now been delivered to the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA, previously known as the Oil and Gas Authority or the OGA) and operators of facilities in the Central North Sea. ‘Orcadian’s Microgrid Concept’ for the electrification of oil and gas platforms aims to dramatically cut carbon emissions, ensuring that the oil and gas that features in our future energy mix is as sustainable as possible.

Orcadian and its consortium partners have designed what they believe is a viable, reliable, off-grid option for powering North Sea platforms. The approach is founded on power from floating wind turbines, supported by energy efficient and highly responsive gas-powered generators with enough battery power to maintain a reliable supply. Floating distribution hubs will be used to collect the power from the wind turbines and distribute power to the operators’ platforms through a network of cables. The Directors believe this design can be more effective and cost substantially less than cable from shore solutions, with a potential to deliver an earlier and deeper cut to emissions. The Directors also believe future operating costs can be substantially reduced with this solution, which could enable mature fields to keep producing longer and facilitate development of satellite discoveries with minimised emissions. All of these outcomes would enhance the UK’s energy security and would ensure that emissions from North Sea oil and gas production remain world leading.

Advantages of the Orcadian approach include:

  • Emissions reductions – approaching an estimated 80% reduction for offshore facilities.
  • Lower costs – potential saving of almost US$2 billion and more than 25% cheaper compared to a solution that uses power from the UK grid, when capital and ten years of operating costs are included, for a subset of platforms.
  • A practical way for operators to meet their North Sea Transition Deal commitments in terms of both the emission reduction targets and timeframe.
  • Could be delivered quickly, and in phases, which allows a staged deployment with a steadily improving reduction in emissions.
  • Opportunities for the core infrastructure to be re-used or redeployed – which could provide legacy infrastructure for the grid and/or other users.

Steve Brown will present the concept at the DEVEX 2022 event being held at P&J Live in Aberdeen on the 10th May 2022.

Following the submission of the report Orcadian will now approach the appropriate operators with a proposal to further progress the electrification concept. If the concept was adopted by an operator, Orcadian and its partners would look to enter an agreement with its customers and further announcements would be made at that time. The Company is also exploring possibilities to participate in the upcoming Crown Estate Scotland INTOG (Innovation and Targeted Oil and Gas) offshore wind leasing round to support implementation of the concept.

Click here to read a summary of the report on the Company’s website.


Read the latest issue of Oilfield Technology in full for free: Spring 2022

Oilfield Technology’s first issue of 2022 begins with analysis from Wood Mackenzie on the disconnect between surging oil prices and US oil production growth and investment. The rest of the issue is dedicated to features covering sand removal technology, dissolvable frac plug technology, digitalisation of offshore operations, annular intervention, oilfield chemicals, subsea compression systems and smart instrument measurement.

Exclusive contributions come from TETRA Technologies, NOV, Archer, Expro, Locus Bio-Energy Solutions, AES Drilling Fluids, MAN Energy Solutions and Winters Instruments.

Read the article online at: https://www.oilfieldtechnology.com/exploration/10052022/orcadian-report-provides-carbon-emissions-solution-for-north-sea/

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