Technology road map for the low-carbon production of hydrocarbons

Abstract

The Paris Agreement, signed in 2016, has the objective of limiting the global temperature rise to 1.5°C to substantially reduce the effects of climate change. To achieve this objective, significant and unprecedented deep cuts in carbon emissions are required, as set out in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s special report on Global Warming of 1.5°C released in October 2018. To enable this ambitious target, global reductions in carbon emissions will need to be markedly reduced to an average of net zero by 2050 and, as such, will have profound effects on hydrocarbon (oil and gas) production in the coming decades. This paper presents a road map of opportunities for the reduction of carbon emissions from hydrocarbon production, specifically natural gas. It includes technologies for reducing carbon emissions from process streams and utility streams. A case study is used to illustrate the opportunities, along with a discussion on technology readiness for several options.