GE, Statoil Team Up to Reduce Industry’s Environmental Impact

General Electric and Statoil have teamed up to develop more environmentally and economically sustainable technologies for oil and shale gas production that also reduce emissions.

This program is aimed at driving an industrial response to some of the biggest challenges facing global oil and gas production, including flaring, CO2 and methane emissions, and water usage, while also optimizing business operations, the companies say.

In its initial stage, the collaboration builds on projects already initiated that address key sustainability dimensions of the industry, including:

• Reduce flaring and lower CO2 intensity through application of CNG In A Box as part of the Last Mile Fueling system: Provide a full-service natural gas fueling solution for operations by capturing, compressing and using natural gas that would be otherwise flared at well sites. Compressed natural gas can be used to fuel rigs, vehicles and other equipment, thereby reducing the use of or replacing the need for diesel.
• Reduce water usage through CO2 Stimulation: Use liquefied CO2 stimulation to both reduce water usage in fracturing operations and increase oil and gas production.
• Increase fuel efficiency through Gas Compressor Optimization: Increase performance, efficiency and extend maintenance intervals through optimization of gas compressor components.
• Increase fuel efficiency with Turbine Online Water Wash technology: Increase performance; reduce planned and unplanned turbine downtime by cleaning turbines during operation.

In later phases the collaboration will broaden its focus to include the rapid scale-up of technologies that help address the operational needs of the industry today to other longer-term technologies to help the industry.

The companies’ initial estimates show that the successful execution of these first five projects could result in significant combined CO2 savings. The Last Mile Fueling solution in the Williston Basin in North Dakota has the potential to reduce the equivalent of 120,000 to 200,000 tons per year of CO2 emissions through reduced diesel fuel usage, while the other projects being developed hold potential for similar, or even larger, reductions.

Additionally, the collaboration aims to reduce water usage as well as methane and NOX emissions, while at the same time increasing oil and gas production.

Additionally, GE and Statoil are also launching a global Open Innovation Challenge. The Challenge will invite innovators from around the world and beyond the oil and gas industry to develop potential services and products to make energy production more sustainable.

The first phase of the Open Innovation Challenge specifically aims to address the use of sand in unconventional operations. Focusing on sand — which requires thousands of truck trips to transport this proppant onto the site when drilling new wells — has the potential to reduce the environmental impacts on local communities, lessen emissions and make energy production more efficient.

GE Oil & Gas and Statoil will help fund the commercial development of winning approaches.