Streamlined Emissions Reduction
Authors: Marshall S. R. , Etheridge J. 
Published: October 2023

Executive Summary

This paper proposes a methodology to evaluate emissions reduction opportunities through ranking and prioritization based on economic evaluation. It discusses the benefits of using customized digital interfaces to perform emissions and economic calculations accurately and systematically. The integration of this methodology into an owner/operator workflow is explored to maximize economic benefits. Real-world examples are provided by the authors, with a focus on upstream oil and gas facilities, although the general approach can be applied to other process industries.

The report details a solution for streamlined emissions reduction that dovetails with the energy assessment methodology, standardizes the identification of emissions reduction actions, ranks and prioritizes opportunities on a time-weighted basis, provides projections of emission reduction over the life of the field, accurately reflects interactions and conflicts, and allows for visualization and tracking of emissions reduction progress year on year. The approach involves intelligently automating the calculation and comparison of emissions reduction opportunities, enabling ranking, comparison, flexible metrics, interrogation, scenario planning, and visualizations to inform decision making. It highlights the importance of engaging external resources for expert evaluation of processes and capturing site-specific opportunities to accurately evaluate the emission reduction potential.

Standardization is critical to address the challenges of evaluating diverse opportunities from different sources and disciplines. A central digital system, such as a web-based application, is recommended for its benefits of reducing errors, providing source-specific emissions factors, enhancing accessibility and auditability, and enabling faster calculations of life-of-field emissions values and economics.

Ranking and prioritization of opportunities based on emissions reduction, capex, lead time, and feasibility within the system are discussed. The power of defining and managing interactions between opportunities, enabling rapid optimization and evaluation of different scenarios is highlighted. The visualization capabilities of the system, including emissions profiles, carbon intensity, and marginal abatement value curves, provide valuable insights and aid decision making.

Benefits and observations include increased engagement and ownership throughout the organization, improved ease of workshops and assessments, streamlined analysis of opportunities, consolidation of multiple spreadsheets into a single source of truth, and enhanced tracking and monitoring of emissions reduction progress. However, the setup of such a system requires process engineering and digital coding skills.

In conclusion, the use of a web-based digital application for streamlined analysis, planning, and presentation of emissions reduction opportunities is highly effective. It saves time, improves data accessibility and consistency, enhances engagement and traction, and supports the industry's transition to low-carbon production.