TCP is a strong, noncorrosive, spoolable, lightweight technology which is delivered in long lengths, resulting in a reduction of transportation and installation costs. TCP is installed using small vessels or subsea pallets, significantly reducing CO2 emissions. It is also 100% recyclable. Strohm secured a contract with Total and ExxonMobil for a qualification-testing program for a high-pressure, high-temperature (HP/HT) thermoplastic composite pipe (TCP). The qualification project will create a foundation for further development of this TCP technology for riser applications.

Through the end of October, 38 rigs (jackups, semisubmersibles and drillships) have been retired in 2020. Of that total, 24 were 30 years or older, but four of the five drillships removed from the fleet were 10 years of age or younger, with the fifth only a few months over 10 years. The 9.2-year average attrition age for drillships in 2020, as shown in Figure 1, is a stark contrast to 36 years for the 17 jackups and 27 years for the 16 semisubmersible retirements. The five drillships retired so far in 2020 were owned by Valaris and Noble Drilling. Looking at their history, there are a few eye-catching numbers, but one stands out.

To achieve sustainable development goals, the United Nations (UN) agency International Maritime Organization (IMO) aims to reduce greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions from international vessels by 50% by 2050. Last month, the IMO agreed to make an existing target legally binding to reduce the carbon intensity of shipping by 40% compared with 2008 levels in the next 10 years. To achieve the UN’s directives, shipping leaders say the first net-zero ships must be operational by 2030. Norway is targeting a more ambitious goal: zero emissions in cruise ships and ferries by 2026. Shipping companies are looking to hydrogen as one of the most promising zero-emission fuels for offshore vessels.

McDermott moved its second shipment of topside modules for MODEC’s Miamte MV34 floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) unit from its Altamira fabrication facility in Mexico. This follows McDermott’s first shipment of modules from Altamira in October. The modules will travel from the Altamira fabrication facility to Singapore where integration will be performed at the Dyna-Mac fabrication yard. The scope of the work comprises five FPSO topside modules, delivered in two shipments. This second shipment includes modules that provide inlet separators, oil separation, a flare knockout drum, and sand-cleanup materials.

An ATCE session focused on subsea and offshore subsurface applications with much wider implications. The discussion included the electrification of both facilities and subsurface systems, as well as more-extensive deployment of sensing and flow control from the surface to the reservoir.

According to the meteorological and oceanographic data of wind and current speeds; these data provide valuable input for designing power converters as free green power resources. Owing to the current speeds of the ocean which are between 0.5 to 2.5 m/s, the multi-directional Drag Marine Vertical Axis Current Turbine (DM-VACT) can be a potential free green renewable energy resource. Having a few of these turbines working together in arrays or farms can considerably supply power to the nearshore and offshore platforms. This system can significantly reduce the offshore platform fuel costs and CO₂ emissions. The paper presents DM-VACT and investigates its operational performance. The results show that the turbine has a power coefficient of 19 % and torque coefficient of 76 % at an average designed speed of 1 m/s. Moreover, the simulation results show that the turbine can produce about 24 KW at the current speed of 2 m/s. Moreover, having a larger amount of these turbines in a farm with the oblique arrangement of multi-turbines at on side layout comprising ten DM-VACTs and occupying an area of 370 m X 10 m can produce about 280 to 290 KW. The other farm configuration comprising eleven turbines is based on the V type layout; it can occupy an area of 210 m X 100 m and produce about 305 KW. The results show that the system in arrays can produce and supply the offshore platform with significant power. Integrating this multi-turbines system with an offshore power system as a hybrid solution can contribute to fuel savings and in the reduction of CO₂ emissions.

In efforts to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel combustion, public funding for wind and solar alternative energy resources has enabled their evolution toward cost competitiveness with coal and natural gas options for electric power generation. To address combustion emissions from the transportation sector, the European Commission has committed to electrifying transportation, but this solution will not address transportation by air or by sea. Nor does it address continued production of petrochemical products that only require a small fraction of produced hydrocarbons. This study investigates the cost competitiveness of an alternative strategy to market crude oil priced to cover the cost of removing an amount of carbon dioxide equal to that produced through combustion of transportation fuels to be refined from it. This strategy enables continued use of fossil fuel for all transportation modes.

The cost comparison considers life cycle carbon dioxide emissions and does not address other externalities related to materials or batteries employed in renewable energy options. Rather, we report known costs for carbon capture, use, and storage (CCUS) with consideration of both nature and technology based carbon capture with focus mainly on geologic storage and utilization.

Because road and rail transportation can be electrified, of particular interest is the levelized cost comparison between carbon neutral fuel and electrified transportation, the latter including infrastructure implementation costs.

The resulting cost comparison informs investment decisions and justifies marketing fossil fuels on a carbon neutral basis.

Last year, BP theorized that peak oil demand could occur by 2030. In a major shift, the international major says that peak demand may have already happened. This is according to BP’s newly published Energy Outlook 2020 which outlines different scenarios that the company has developed to imagine how the global energy transition will unfold. In two of these scenarios, a “rapid” transition case and a more aggressive “net-zero” case, the changing winds of the energy landscape coupled with the economic toll of the COVID-19 pandemic will mean that global crude demand never again surpasses 2019’s average of around 100 million B/D. Along these lines, the models suggest that 2019 could also mark the peak of carbon emissions from energy use.

Last year, BP theorized that peak oil demand could occur by 2030. In a major shift, the international major says that peak demand may have already happened. This is according to BP’s newly published Energy Outlook 2020 which outlines different scenarios that the company has developed to imagine how the global energy transition will unfold. Along these lines, the models suggest that 2019 could also mark the peak of carbon emissions from energy use. To varying degrees both the rapid and net-zero scenarios assume that tighter government policies around emissions and increases in carbon pricing will accelerate the current growth trajectory of renewable installations.

Mitigating greenhouse gas emissions and meeting the aim of the Paris Agreement requires worldwide action from all sectors of society. As a major emitter of energy-related CO2, the transport sector will require a transformation over the course of this century.

Before, during and after the adoption of the Paris Agreement, IPIECA issued a series of publications, held dedicated workshops and hosted a number of topic-specific side events at UNFCCC COPs (Conference of Parties) to convene experts from industry, academia, think tanks and other stakeholders to produce a perspective on the potential pathways toward a low-emission future and the role of the oil and gas sector as an enabler. Building on this approach, IPIECA worked with experts within the sector and drawing upon data and literature from the IEA and other bodies to produce in-depth low-emission pathways for transport.

IPIECA identified a wide range of technologies that will be necessary for transport sub-sectors (light-duty and heavy-duty road vehicles, aviation and maritime) to evolve to a low-emissions future. Continuing improvements in the efficiency of the internal combustion engines coupled with hybridization and optimized vehicle/vessel designs will provide significant GHG emission reductions. Electric vehicles are key for the light-duty sector, although the full life cycle of battery manufacture, utilization and disposal as well the sustainability of electricity generation source is particularly important if valid comparisons are to be made with internal combustion engines. More advanced biofuels, synthetic fuels, ‘e-fuels’ and hydrogen could also be used as a power source to improve emissions. And, there is a role for carbon capture and storage (CCS) in the production of hydrogen. Transport modes such as heavy-duty vehicles, aviation and commercial shipping need a significantly high energy density. Here electrification will present more of a challenge and there is the opportunity for use of sustainably sourced biomass as an alternative.

This paper will lay out the IPIECA view on how the oil and gas industry can be part of the solution in meeting both the challenges of the Paris Agreement and the UN Sustainable Development Goals. It examines in detail potential pathways for the transformation of the transport sector and provides a perspective on the technologies and other key enablers of a low-emissions transport future.