Energy transition is a tale of collaboration

Energy transition will never be a one-sided affair with one industry excluding the other. The push to greener sources of energy is a collaborative effort of all the industries, with oil and gas still playing a major role in unlocking new industries and accelerating their development.

During the two days of the Offshore Energy Exhibition and Conference 2020, which shifted to the virtual space, plenty of calls for integration, re-use, and digitization could be heard from various market players.

Bridging the energy transition does not only mean leaving oil and gas behind and moving to a new source of energy such as wind and solar. Fossil fuels will still play a major role in opening the doors for the energy transition and facilitating the use of new technologies.

Speakers during various sessions pointed to a number of trends and requirements with efficient use and re-use of assets being top of the list.

In his energy talk named, “Waste Not, Want Not – The role of Fossils Fuels during the energy transition” at the OEEC 2020, Julian Manning, CEO at Paradigm Group, said that the first order of business is to look into the ways of improving the use and utilization of the resources.

Current ways of operation are leaving plenty of energy wasted. The more efficient use of fossil fuels would actually become the most prolific source of low-cost energy and a bridge to longer-term and sustainable energy sources.

It is not only a matter of using fossil fuels more efficiently but also the existing infrastructure. Speaking during the Energy Talk named “Infrastructure might be ‘the new gold’, but mind the gap”, Neptune Energy managing director, Lex de Groot, stated that the gas exploration and production segment is not only part of the existing energy system, but also a part of the future, part of the solution.

He focused on the infrastructure the company has in place in the North Sea, extending to the Netherlands and the UK, pointing out that it could become the leader in the energy transition by using the infrastructure to deliver the low carbon future, as it is possible to integrate energy systems offshore.

He stressed that wind parks could be built further out into the sea which will require a large investment, not only for the construction of the parks but to the associated connections to shore. This is where the existing infrastructure can be deployed to bring the energy to shore in an efficient way, accelerating the energy transition.

“Basically, if we converted the electricity generated by the windmills to green hydrogen, we could transport it through the system, mix it in the existing infrastructure, and have a fully green, no-hydrocarbon emission form of energy”, de Groot said.

De Groot added that by converting energy produced at the wind farms far into the sea, energy that would otherwise be lost can be stored and delivered to the market when required. Using the existing infrastructure in this scenario would also mean faster and cheaper development of wind parks in the North Sea.

However, some steps need to be taken before the existing infrastructure can unlock the full potential of the emerging industries.

While the existing infrastructure can help cut the costs of the development of new energy sources, quick actions are required to ensure its second life in the energy transition.

De Groot noted that Neptune Energy’s infrastructure is on top of depleting fields in the last days of their lives. Instead of removing the platforms and infrastructure from the empty fields, it can be used to reinject and store CO2 from a producing field into an empty field.

Not considering re-use of existing facilities would be considered a missed opportunity. However, de Groot added that the economic life of certain assets is getting closer. At the same time, the CCS and hydrogen future is yet to be reached. There could be a gap between the economic end of life of the existing facilities and the options for re-use.

One industry that is fully accepted the transformation and is leading the energy transition push is the shipping industry.

The green technologies in the shipping industry are thriving with the shipowners being the main drivers behind zero-emission vessels, business cases and pilot projects.

During the “Marine Goes Green” Talk Show, Harry Linskens, a naval architect at DEKC Maritime, noted shipowners are looking beyond the regulatory limits set by relevant authorities.

Giedo Loeff, team leader R&D at Feadship, said that steps have been already made with the use of modern technologies in the vessels including digitization of these vessels.

He added that the current COVID-19 environment accelerated the data systems development, but also uncovered certain issues. Loeff said that while there is plenty of data collected currently, there is a lot of data still locked in and not accessible remotely.

The industry, even in its mature stage, is facing a delay in digitization, which is referred back to the oil and gas legacy in the offshore operations.

Efficiency and condition-based operation and maintenance is a key driver in the industry pushing the development at the moment, speakers during the “Fresh Ideas For New Challenges” talk show said.

The amount of data collected provides critical feedback on the assets’ condition. However, the assembled engineering reports can often be overwhelming and inefficient for crews working on offshore infrastructure. It is not unusual for the crews on-site to have completely different experiences in reality to those suggested in engineering reports.

What is currently necessary is to bring the engineering reports closer to reality. Jelte Kymmell, General Manager Mocean, noted that the company has been actively engaged in introducing a system that would simplify the use of data collected, allowing the decision-makers to act on certain aspects based on importance.

It was previously said that efficient operations at aging assets are challenging due to the more frequent interventions. The majority of waste in these cases happens by not doing the operations thoroughly in the first place. Right first-time operations is where major improvements can be made.

Efficient digitization would provide accurate information on the condition of the offshore assets, pinpointing required maintenance tasks which would result in more efficient operation.