Follow-Up Study to Abate Carbon Emissions in Jack Up Rig Operation in East Java Area, Indonesia

Abstract

Nowadays, offshore drilling operations are still rare to record the number of carbon emissions, primarily from fuel combustion. This paper provides the guideline to measure the quantity compared with production routine activities and how to abate the emission to focus on drilling activities. On the other hand, the legislative requirement might be emphasized to support the recent Glasgow Climate Pact at COP26 in November 2021 to keep the hope of limiting global temperature to 1.5˚C.

Carbon emissions are analyzed based on the API Compendium of Greenhouse Gas Emission Methodologies for The Oil and Natural Gas Industry (2009). The authors provide practical equations to implement in offshore drilling activities to estimate carbon emission of CO2, N2O, and CH4 from stationary combustion of rig engines and marine vessels. SANGEA™ Software as a GreenHouse Gas (GHG) emissions calculation tool owned by the American Petroleum Institute (API), will be used to support this study.

Based on actual fuel consumption data at Field X from September 2021 until June 2022, total carbon emissions from Jackup rigs and marine vessels in drilling operations were calculated at 2,404 tons CO2e/month or 27 % compared with total emissions from routine production activities at Field X at 6,522 tons CO2e/ month. This data will continually drive well engineering and operations optimization from drilling activities to abating carbon emissions.

This follow-up study will be continued and expanded in other drilling activities to obtain more data sets for further analysis to boost efforts in supporting Net Zero Carbon Emission aspirations in the oil and gas industry.