Sustainable downstream operations: the current state of play
Published by Callum O'Reilly,
Senior Editor
Hydrocarbon Engineering,
As the pace of climate-neutrality accelerates, the role that the downstream oil and gas industry plays in ensuring these goals are met efficiently and affordably is advancing. All regions are looking for energy security alongside the delivery of a successful energy transition, all the while coping with rising costs. Living in an uncertain world, the energy sector is now faced with the complex pressures of balancing security and growth with decarbonisation. In this ever-changing environment, the downstream industry is also evolving, with boundaries between upstream, midstream, downstream and power becoming blurred. Whether it is reduce, recycle or remove, success will be defined by clear, significant and concrete targets.
Historically, the downstream oil and gas sector has always been considered a sustainability driver in terms of being an energy security supplier and a major provider of petroleum derivatives and products. Today, refining technologies have enabled producers to operate assets efficiently and reliably, where each drop of crude oil and each group of molecules is managed, almost eliminating lower-value products. The result is visible, and modern life simply would not be what it is today without the support of the downstream oil and gas industry. The majority of transportation – whether personal, commercial, by land, sea, air or rail – relies on liquid or gaseous fuels, produced by the downstream sector. This is also the case for petrochemical products, which facilitate our daily lives and touch every industry: health, communications, construction, etc.
Demand drives the market, and subsequently production. Technology innovations from the last few decades have provided endless possibilities, most of which were unimaginable just a century ago. However, fossil fuels are not renewable and at some point crude output will begin to decrease. Predictions clearly show this trend – even if it will take some time. So, in truth, the current energy transition agenda is not just a technology issue, but rather a global sustainability plan, whereby achieving climate goals (on time) will be crucial for future generations, and will need to be balanced with the increasing global energy demand.
Downstream assets: an essential part of the solution
The question is: how can today’s refineries play an integral role in reaching climate goals? Downstream producers have been proactive in looking at ways to reduce their environmental footprint, whilst being key energy providers and remaining competitive in difficult conditions. Each asset or complex should be treated individually – there is no ‘silver bullet’ solution that is applicable to every facility. The first step for all major refiners and petrochemical and chemical companies is to improve present operations by increasing energy efficiency and reliability, and reducing current emission levels from existing facilities. Reaching these ‘low hanging fruit’ is a priority.
Other routes are being evaluated, such as further refining and petrochemical integration opportunities, and diversification by way of co-processing with bio-feedstocks, and the implementation of plastic recycling technologies. In reality, the world is still heavily reliant on mid-distillates and diesel, even in a declining market, and this has to be balanced with climate regulations that are being introduced, where Scope 1, 2 & 3 emissions will be part of the benchmark for success...
Written by Stefan Chapman and Miro Cavkov, Euro Petroleum Consultants (EPC).
This article was originally published in the December 2022 issue of Hydrocarbon Engineering magazine. To read the full article, sign in or register for a free subscription.
Read the article online at: https://www.hydrocarbonengineering.com/special-reports/05012023/sustainable-downstream-operations-the-current-state-of-play/
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