Britain’s North Sea carbon emissions fall for third consecutive year

LONDON – Greenhouse gas emissions from offshore oil facilities in Britain fell for a third consecutive year in 2022 even as production grew, according to a report published by the industry’s regulator.

Direct emissions were 3 per cent lower than a year earlier, bringing the decline in greenhouse gases resulting from the process of extracting oil and gas to 23 per cent since 2018. The data do not take into account the carbon released when end users burn the fuels – known as Scope 3 emissions – which are likely to have risen alongside production. 

While the British industry is on track to hit interim reduction targets of 25 per cent by 2027, “bold measures” will be needed to deliver the pledged 50 per cent reduction in direct emissions by the end of the decade, the British North Sea Transition Authority said in a report published on Tuesday.

Greenhouse gas emissions from upstream oil and gas production in Britain peaked in the early 2000s, and have been trending lower since then, in line with declining production, the decommissioning of older facilities, and initiatives to reduce methane leaks and flaring. 

The regulator implemented an obligation in 2021 that requires the oil and gas industry to help Britain reach net-zero emissions by 2050. It also published guidance stating that new developments should have no routine flaring or venting of gas across all facilities by 2030. 

The average carbon intensity of oil and gas produced in Britain was 21kg of carbon dioxide per barrel of oil equivalent in 2022, about a quarter of the level for imports of liquefied natural gas but more than twice as high as pipeline imports from Norway, where routine flaring is banned, according to the report. BLOOMBERG