Why powering oil and gas platforms with renewables makes sense

As oil and gas companies strive to reduce carbon footprints, should renewable energy play a greater role in day-to-day upstream operations? Around 5% of offshore wellhead production globally – over 1.7 mmboe a day – is used as fuel to power platforms. Against this backdrop, an unlikely nexus is forming between the hydrocarbon industry and the renewable energy sector. With rapid advances in renewable energy and increasing scrutiny of carbon emissions, the two sectors have much to offer one another. This Insight outlines the benefits of offshore electrification, the renewable power technologies that could be applied, the carbon implications and the opportunity for the Clair South field in the UK. This Insight frames the global opportunity for operators to harness renewable power for their oil and gas operations.