Analysis of blue energy production using natural gas infrastructure: Case study for the Northern Adriatic

Abstract

With the end of economic production in sight, the oil and gas industry is preparing for the decommissioning of the offshore facilities. Beside of removing the infrastructure, there are numerous possibilities for its future use. Paper analyses possible use of offshore infrastructure for blue energy production from wind. The conversion of excess electricity into chemical energy, which can easily be stored, can be achieved using P2G (Power-to-Gas) technologies. Chemical conversion units performing a balancing for the power system and transformers needed for electricity transportation from offshore wind farms can be built on oil and gas platforms. The main contribution of the paper, based on a case study of the Northern Adriatic, includes hydrocarbon production prediction, electricity generation and hydrogen production based on wind potential calculation and synthetic natural gas production analysis. Energy production comparison of different technologies and conversion efficiencies have been given. Authors found that the most beneficial reuse option for offshore facilities is electricity generation from wind. Paper concludes that it is not likely that blue energy will match current hydrocarbon production, but it suggests postponing the decommissioning for the possibility of the blue energy production for which further detailed case by case economic analysis will be needed.