Life cycle assessment of natural gas and crude oil: case study in PT Pertamina Hulu Mahakam – BSP Site

Abstract

Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a methodology for assessing the environmental impacts of a product. PT Pertamina Hulu Mahakam - BSP Site has conducted an LCA study to quantify the environmental impact of natural gas and crude oil producing and then identify the activities that give significant impact on the environment which is referred to as a hotspot. The methodology used in this LCA study refers to ISO 14040:2016 and 14044:2017. The impact categories considered are Global Warming Potential (GWP), Acidification Potential (AP), Eutrophication Potential (EP), Ozone Depletion Potential (ODP), Photochemical Oxidant Creation Potential (POCP), Abiotic Depletion Potential (AD), Abiotic Depletion Potential -fossil (ADP-fossil), Human Toxicity Potential (HTP), Eco-Toxicity Potential (ETP), Land Used (LU) and Water Footprint (WFP). The result of this study identifies several activities in PT Pertamina Hulu Mahakam – BSP Site that can be categorized as hot spot: (1) The oil and gas extraction process, (2) Emission from transportation activities (3) Emission from electricity generator unit and compressor unit (4) Gas venting from surface facilities (5) Steel production that used in offshore platform infrastructure and (6) Fugitive emission from produced water. Several recommendations have been proposed to reduce the impact of those activities: reduce water content in the oil and gas extraction process, optimized transportation routes, use more environmentally friendly fuel for transportation activities, optimize the performance of compressor and electricity generator, and install the new offshore platform with a slimmer design. This study shows that LCA can help oil and gas producers to improve operational efficiency and reduce the impact on the environment to achieve sustainable development.