Environmental account for oil and gas activities 2007

There are three main environmental challenges related to the oil and gas industry: Emissions to air, discharges to water and waste management. The table below shows the 2007 emissions to air. The oil industry contributes to CO2 emissions because substantial amounts of energy are required to extract oil and gas. How much CO2 is emitted, when extracting oil and gas, depends on various factors such as the depth and the types of reservoirs the oil is extracted from. It is particularly difficult to lower CO2 emissions from production activities which take place at mature oil and gas fields. When oil and gas have been extracted from the same fields for a long time, the remaining reservoirs tend to be increasingly difficult to produce from. Therefore, the energy required per unit produced will normally be higher at mature fields.

Maersk Oil Environmental Accounts for oil and gas activities 2007

Energy consumption
Fuel oil	1,000 tonnes	13
Diesel	1,000 tonnes	100
Natural gas	1,000 tonnes	778
Electricity	1,000 megawatt hours	5
Energy intensity	megajoule per USD turnover	3.6
Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions	1,000 tonnes of CO2 equivalent	6,972
GHG Intensity	Kg CO2 per USD turnover	0.74

Direct GHG emissions
CO2	1,000 tonnes	6,050
CH2	1,000 tonnes of CO2 equivalent	825
N2O	1,000 tonnes of CO2 equivalent	92
Indirect GHG emissions	1,000 tonnes of CO2 equivalent	5

Other air emissions
SOx	1,000 tonnes	11
NOx	1,000 tonnes	17
VOCs (volatile organic compounds)	1,000 tonnes	16

Minimising flaring

The characteristic flame that burns on platforms - referred to as “flaring” – is a very important safety measure. It provides a safe way to empty and burn the hydrocarbons in the production facilities which minimises the risk of fire and explosion due to a potential production system failure. However, gas is a valuable commodity and for this reason, as well as for environmental purposes, flaring is kept at a minimum. We exercise a continuous effort to reduce flaring at our fields. The Maersk Oil operated activities in the Danish North Sea experienced a 10% reduction in flared gas from 2006 to 2007 due to careful surveillance and optimisation of production and maintenance.

For comments to Environment please contact us by e-mail