Review of Air Quality Impact from Offshore Oil & Gas Production as a Function of Distance from Shore

Transcription

1 Review of Air Quality Impact from Offshore Oil & Gas Production as a Function of Distance from Shore SNI Energy Forum 7 June 2018 Dr. Miriam Lev-On Dr. Perry Lev-On

2 Outline Geographical distribution of offshore oil & gas platforms globally Air Emissions sources from offshore oil & gas operations Air Quality Impact Onshore Managing Air Emissions from offshore oil & gas operations

3 Locations of Offshore Oil & Gas Producing Platforms Worldwide Over 9,000 offshore oil & gas installations around the world in over 50 countries. Operating in water depths ranging from 10 ft. (3 meters) to 5000 ft. (1,700 meters) Distribution of Oil & Gas Offshore Platforms 6% 6% 9% U.S. Gulf of Mexico Middle East West Africa coast Australia Other 11% 1% 1% 4% 12% ~9,000 Platforms Asia 50% North Sea and North East Atlantic South America Rest of US Source: The LEVON Group, LLC

4 Air Emissions from Offshore Operations Processes with Potential Air Emissions Natural gas separation - Separation of liquids and gaseous components Natural gas conditioning - Removal of hydrogen sulfide and/or carbon dioxide; fugitive BTEX Natural gas dehydration Removal of water; glycols, methane and VOCs Support operations and maintenance Spills, blowouts and fire Accidental release from leaking tanks, flowlines, valves, joints, and gauges, etc.

5 North Sea (south) Installations / Source:

6 North Sea (north) Installations Emissions from Oil & Gas extraction in the Norwegian Sea were studied along with measurements from the EU ACCESS aircraft campaign in July 2012 and regional chemical transport modeling Measured emission plumes suggest that Oil & Gas operations are a large source of pollutants, in particular NOx and aerosols. Data gaps and uncertainty are noted for the offshore emissions inventories

7 Air Quality Impacts of Oil & Gas Extraction in the Norwegian Sea Key findings: Close to the platforms, O 3 is sensitive to NOx emissions and is much less sensitive to NMVOC emissions. O 3 destruction, via reaction with NO, dominates very close to the platforms. Far from the platforms, oil/gas facility emissions result in an average daytime O 3 enhancement of +2% at the surface. Larger enhancements are predicted at noon ranging from +7% at the surface to +15% at 600 m elevation. Black carbon is the aerosol species most strongly influenced by petroleum extraction emissions. Tuccella P et a; 2017, Air pollution impacts due to petroleum extraction in the Norwegian Sea during the ACCESS aircraft campaign. Elem Sci Anth. 2017; 5 :25. DOI:

8 US Oil & Gas Platform Statistics Several thousands of offshore platforms and other structures are active in the Gulf Coast Federal OCS Distance from shore range from km Several hundreds of platforms are in Gulf State Waters (< 5.5 km) California offshore 23 platforms in federal waters 4 platforms in State waters 5 artificial islands (state water) Water Depth in Meters Active Platforms 0 to to to to Above Source: BOEM Offshore Statistics by Water Depth data last updated: :00 AM(CST)

9 U.S. DEFINITIONS: SHALLOW = 1 1,000 (1-330 M) DEEPWATER = 1,001 5,000 ( M) ULTRA DEEPWATER = > 5,001 (1525 M)

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13 Characteristics of Air Emissions from Offshore Operations Air Emission Sources Flaring (CO, NOx, SO 2, VOC) Venting (accidental and by design) Greenhouse Gas emissions from operations: o CO 2, CH 4, N 2 O also expressed as CO2e Exhaust from diesel engines and turbines (NOx, PM, O 3, CO, SO 2 ) Fuel combustions from pumps, heater-treaters, and motors Emissions associated with support vessels and helicopters

14 U.S. Offshore Emissions Survey 2014 Gulfwide Offshore Activity Data System (GOADS) Survey conducted by BOEM every 3- years Most current data survey Emitted Compound Total Emissions (tpy) a Average Emissions per Platform (tpy) b Criteria Pollutants CO 50, NOx 48, PM SO VOC 48, Greenhouse Gases CO 2 5,940,330 3,598 CH 4 225, N 2 O CO2e 11,611,272 7,033 a short tons b based on reporting by 75 companies for 1,651 active platforms Source: Adapted from OCS Study BOEM

15 Source: OCS Study BOEM Volatile Organic Compounds Emissions from Gulf OCS Platforms

16 Composition of Typical Condensates Composition will vary with geographic location, geologic formation, temperature and pressure Components CAS No. Wt%(1) Propane Ethane n-pentane n-hexane Heptane Octane n-butane Cyclohexane Toluene Ethyl benzene Xylenes Benzene Hydrogen Sulfide Varies (1)Normal composition ranges are shown. Exceptions may occur depending upon the source of the condensate Source: Safety Data Sheet: EP Energy, Natural Gas Liquids/Condensates, June 2015

17 Potential Risks due to Air Emissions Compounds posing health & safety concerns Hydrocarbons/VOCs (benzene, toluene, naphthalene, etc.) Hydrogen Sulfide Carbon Dioxide and other greenhouse gases Glycols from natural gas processing Criteria pollutants: SO 2, CO, NOx, PM 10, O 3 precursors Flaring of combustible/poisonous gases like methane and hydrogen sulfide reduces health and safety risks in the vicinity of the platform. The Benzene content and its potential emission from the condensate separation and transport operations associated with the Leviathan processing Platform was evaluated separately

18 Estimate of Benzene Emissions from Leviathan Platform A supplemental submission was provided to the Ministry of Environmental Protection to asses the potential impact of Benzene dispersion from the condensate A dispersion model was run to estimate ambient air concentrations of benzene due to emissions from condensate Two condensate scenarios were evaluated: 0.1% and 1.0% Benzene content Benzene content Condensate components VOC (Kg/year) Benzene Emissions (Kg/year) Max Daily concentration ( g/m3) % of Daily AQ target Max Annual concentration ( g/m3) % of Annual AQ target 0.1% 18, % % 1.0% 18, % % מקור: אסדת לוויתן - בחינת ריכוזי בנזן מרביים בסביבה, הוגש למשרד להגנת הסביבה, מרץ 2018

19 Daily Benzene dispersion near platform for higher concentration scenario מקור: אסדת לוויתן - בחינת ריכוזי בנזן מרביים בסביבה, הוגש למשרד להגנת הסביבה, מרץ 2018

20 Recommendations to Minimize Impact of Offshore Operations 1. Assessment of emissions from platform sources 2. Periodic monitoring and reporting emissions to verify compliance with terms of emission permits 3. Application of global industry standards for the promotion of robust Safety and Environmental Management systems 4. Implementation of new, innovative well containment, and emissions control technologies 5. Improved planning and resources for preventive maintenance to avoid equipment leaks and respond to spills and other operational emergencies

21 Thank you for your attention Dr. Miriam Lev-On Dr. Perry Lev-On