Author(s)

O. T. Gudmestad

Abstract

We foresee that oil and gas will continue to be the key energy sources in the 21st century. Therefore, it is important that oil and gas be produced in a sustainable way during the next decades. This will require technology development to ensure that the environmental impact and pollution from these activities are minimal. The following aspects are highlighted in this paper: - Development of projects with the minimum of impact on the environment and problems for local populations; - Sustainable drilling without the use of oil-based mud, and collection of all drilling waste during Arctic offshore drilling operations; - Treatment of produced water, sand and minerals from the well stream to avoid pollution; - Limitation of flaring to be performed only when required for safety reason; - Continuous checking of pipelines to ensure that gas pipelines are run within their actual pressure capacity and that oil pipelines are not leaking into rivers and lake; - Provision of sufficient storage capacity for gas to ensure timely delivery of gas during high demand peak; - Injection of CO2 into sealed underground formations where large quantities are produced, such as at LNG factory; - Optimization of production from existing fields to avoid huge amounts of oil and gas being left in place, following a \“hit and run” recovery plan. Keywords: sustainable oil and gas production, minimal impact on the environment, pollution, treatment of produced water, flaring, storage, CO2 injection.

Keywords

sustainable oil and gas production, minimal impact on the environment, pollution, treatment of produced water, flaring, storage, CO2 injection.