Assessment of decarbonization possibilities for offshore oil and gas platforms using the EnergyPLAN model

Offshore oil and gas extraction is a high-energy process that produces CO2 and methane, which are released into the atmosphere, as well as chemicals, which are discharged into the sea. The oil and gas industry accounts directly or indirectly for the 42% of the global emissions. In order to play its role in mitigating climate change, the oil and gas industry must reduce emissions of at least 3.4 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (GtCO2e) annually by 2050 to reduce the current emissions by 90%. Four scenarios for a hypothetical offshore gas platform in the North Adriatic Sea were presented, assessed and compared based on technical, economic and enviornmental performance indicators. The EnergyPLAN model with optimisation routines and simulations was used to evaluate and analyze the introduction of decarbonization technologies and renewables to the offshore gas platform in order to monitor and highlight the efficacy and importance of the integration of renewables and decarbonization technologies to the offshore gas platform. The latest developments in global climate change and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions indicate that although the share of renewable energy (RE) in the primary energy supply continues to grow, all countries must increase their efforts to decarbonize the energy sector and achieve a net-zero future. The results indicate the benefits of the decarbonization possibilities and technologies going from one scenario to another, as the total CO2-emissions can be reduced by 67% with the high integration of renewables share, smartly connecting the different sectors and the implementation of different decarbonization technologies and productions with many types of storages. The results also established that the cost structure of each scenario is mainly driven by the low marginal cost of renewable technologies along with their high investment costs.