Zero Carbon to Surface
To accelerate the energy transition, we need cheaper and higher volumes of both hydrogen and carbon capture (CCS).
How do we propose to achieve this?
The key to reaching our climate goals sooner, with continued energy security, is for the continued commercial exploitation (not production) of oil and gas assets. This may also allow the rebranding of some oil & gas assets as hydrogen reserves. This climate-beneficial longevity improves the economics of late-life and marginal gas fields, delaying decommissioning costs.
Taking advantage of existing oil & gas production licences, with known (and mapped) geological complexities and reservoir performance, reduces CCS business and technical risks. Existing operations permitting creates fewer barriers, less complex value chains and logistics, which minimizes the risks from importing CO2 from external vendor projects with their cross-chain networks, storage, transportation, construction, and commissioning liabilities.
By incentivizing low-carbon hydrogen, coupling both biogas and geothermal sectors for improved commerciality, providing at-source electric power generation (if H2 process & transportation facilities are unavailable or unsuitable) and adapting (not eliminating) oil and gas from the existing energy chain we can accelerate the green transition.
Security of Supply and Net Zero should not be in Conflict
UK North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) chief executive Andy Samuel.
Pursuing a Philosophy of Zero Carbon to Surface
To enable future exploration licence rounds for oil & gas (or brown field reactivation), government legislation could written to include an overriding condition that these licences will be solely granted licence if no oil and gas is to be produced to surface (only hydrogen) and that all carbon is simultaneously captured downhole. This will enable governments to provide continued access to brown field sites for the further economic development, while widening the exploration search for new oil & gas deposits. The prospect of new oil & gas developments should not be viewed as negative for the climate when exploited as hydrogen reserves, providing an opportunity for clean energy security together with the development of the hydrogen economy.
Oil and gas production must decline by 3% each year from now until 2050 … and most existing and planned fossil-fuel projects would be unviable as a result.
[Ref. (1.5 deg C) : https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-02444-3]
This not only reduces the Terminal Value Risk (TVR) in existing assets that currently faces energy companies, but it will accelerate their transformation to greener energy providers and guarantee the longevity and security of national energy resources. Consequently, the new hydrogen economy will be automatically built into the economic development plan of any future exploitation licence application.
The onshore geothermal sector is still considered by many to be in its infancy and suffers from poor commerciality. To change this, new onshore licence rounds could be offered for geothermal developments when including synergies with industry (CO2) & biogas (e.g., agriculture, landfill and biowaste) to similarly create downhole methane reformation to hydrogen with the CCS of all CO2. Geothermal energy could be better exploited in synergy with these industries through the assistance of specialised and targeted government subsidies (akin to those offered to the solar, wind and wave energy sectors). When coupled, this would rapidly grow these sectors in tandem to economies of scale, with an energy generation potential range of 20-25 years duration per geothermal well.
Carbon Reduction
The transition to greener energy sources to meet emerging climate mandates requires that our energy supplies must come from a variety of technologies and that carbon should be captured. With a growing population, future global energy demands must be met for both domestic and industry consumers.
The point-source of carbon-based greenhouse gas release is not where it’s burned, but from the wellbores where it is produced. Instead of following the post-burn narrative, spending vast amounts of time, money and energy trying to recapture less than 100% of the carbon produced to the atmosphere, it is far better to capture it all at source (time-zero), using only a fraction of the comparable cost and energy required to do the same downstream of the well. If we don’t initially release the carbon from the well, then we won’t have to spend the additional time, energy and money to recapture and transport the subsequent CO2. All leaks during transportation of carbon (CH4 & CO2) will also be eliminated.
To assists with the green transition, the wellbore decarbonisation of oil and gas production is required to generate hydrogen production in their place. This will future proof both oil & gas reserves and biogas (from landfill, biowaste and agriculture) giving continued access for their exploitation. By transforming these oil and gas reserves into an alternative energy resource at origin (e.g., carbon-free, clean, hydrogen assets), we will maintain energy security and enable access to strategic national energy reserves in a climate beneficial way.
As a consequence, some oil and gas assets could be rebranded as hydrogen assets.
