去年全球伴生气放空燃烧量降至10年来最低水平

• 全球伴生气放空燃烧约占油气行业二氧化碳总排放量的30%，使其成为全球脱碳努力的主要目标之一。  

• 去年全球伴生气放空燃烧量创下10年来新低，虽然这一下降在很大程度上是由于疫情对需求的影响，但伴生气放空燃烧的改善似乎将持续下去。  

• 10个国家占全球上游伴生气放空燃烧量的70%以上，因此，针对这些国家并确保这些国家进行监管，可能会对碳排放产生重大影响。 

据美国油价网报道，挪威著名能源研究和商业情报公司雷斯塔能源公司（Rystad）的研究显示，由于生产率提高、环保意识增强，以及Covid-19封锁和旅行限制导致的燃料需求下降，去年全球上游行业的伴生气放空燃烧量降至10年来最低水平。 据估计，去年全球上游行业排放了约2.76亿吨二氧化碳，比2020年的2.83亿吨略有下降，自Covid-19疫情大流行以来继续呈下降趋势。

美国页岩行业的改善是伴生气放空燃烧量下降的重要驱动因素。 由美国主导的致密油行业在去年排放了大约1200万吨二氧化碳，不到2019年3000万吨的一半。 从气候角度来看，非洲海上市场伴生气放空燃烧状况的改善尤其明显。非洲大陆石油产量的下降，以及成熟海上油井产量的减少，帮助降低了非洲伴生气放空燃烧对环境的影响。

但是，由于疫情相关限制的放松，全球化石燃料需求增加，供应仍然紧张，今年全球伴生气放空燃烧量可能出现反弹。  

Rystad能源分析师Dzenana Tiganj说：“在石油和天然气行业中，伴生气放空燃烧占二氧化碳总排放量的30%，近几年来，由于其对环境的影响，这种做法受到了越来越多的审查。即使在Covid-19大流行和供应下降的背景下，仍然有迹象表明，最新的改善可能会部分持续。”  

许多勘探和生产公司都制定了雄心勃勃的目标来终止伴生气放空燃烧。通过卫星数据估计，全球减少伴生气放空燃烧的努力没有看到任何显著的效果，因为伴生气放空燃烧活动在过去10年里一直相对平稳。 然而，2020年标志着朝着正确方向迈出了一步，去年的估计数据表明这一趋势仍在继续。

页岩行业伴生气放空燃烧量的下降势头是近几年来最显著的。以每桶油当量计算，致密油伴生气放空燃烧量从2019年到2021年下降了60%。

鉴于2019年至2021年的全球趋势明显下降，将伴生气放空燃烧量与2019年新冠肺炎疫情大流行前的水平进行比较，可以有趣地了解全球上游部门的地区细分。 非洲、北美、澳大利亚和欧洲的伴生气放空燃烧量持续减少，而其他地区保持不变。

非洲继续下降趋势，海上部分有重大进展。2019年至2021年，非洲大陆海上伴生气放空燃烧产生的二氧化碳排放量减少了400万吨。 这一趋势主要是由于成熟资产的废弃、成熟资产的产量下降以及欠成熟油气田的产量增加。

随着2019年至2020年的产量下降，仅安哥拉和尼日利亚两国的海上伴生气放空燃烧就减少了200多万吨二氧化碳的排放，并在去年继续保持平稳发展。去年阿尔及利亚的总燃除量和每桶油当量的燃除量也大幅下降。 预计减少的二氧化碳总量为300万吨，减少强度从18公斤每桶油当量下降到13公斤每桶油当量。

自2019年以来，北美一直在推动全球伴生气放空燃烧量的下降，页岩行业的重点是提高作业效率。美国继续努力消除页岩生产现场的常规燃除，运营商注重更好的生产实践和基础设施的改进。 卫星数据显示，美国的伴生气放空燃烧量大幅减少，伴生气的现场利用率或改为用于其他目的持续增加。与2019年的68%相比，去年美国页岩生产的伴生气燃烧量约占北美上游的38%。  

考虑到包括页岩在内的所有供应部分，去年美国继续表现良好，比2020年减少了400多万吨二氧化碳，总燃除强度估计下降了30%，到2021年达到1公斤/每桶油当量。  

欧洲近海地区的常规燃除量持续减少，英国是关键推动国，2019 - 2021年英国伴生气放空燃烧量减少了近40%。主要运营商，如英国石油公司，已经在油气井启动阶段实施了改进措施，并优化了伴生气放空燃烧的设定值，以符合环境目标并提高燃料效率。

虽然地区发展表明全球在多个方面努力减少伴生气放空燃烧，但去年全球上游伴生气放空燃烧的主要贡献者仍然是伊拉克、尼日利亚、美国、阿尔及利亚、墨西哥，它们加起来占全球上游伴生气放空燃烧总量的70%以上。  

李峻 编译自 美国油价网

原文如下：

Gas Flaring Fell To The Lowest Level In A Decade

·     Gas flaring represents roughly 30% of the total carbon dioxide emissions produced by the oil and gas industry, making it one of the key targets of decarbonization efforts in the world.

·     Gas flaring hit a decade-low in 2021 and, while a large portion of that decline was due to the impact of Covid on demand, it looks like a lot of the flaring improvements will be sustained.

·     Ten countries make up over 70% of global upstream flaring, so targeting these areas and ensuring they are regulating could significantly impact carbon emissions.

Gas flaring activity in the global upstream sector sunk last year to its lowest level in a decade due to improved productivity, increased environmental awareness, and lower fuel demand caused by Covid-19 lockdowns and travel restrictions, Rystad Energy research shows. Estimates show upstream flaring emitted about 276 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) in 2021, down marginally from 283 million tonnes in 2020, continuing a downward trend since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Improvements in the US shale sector are a significant driver of the decline in flaring activity. The tight oil sector, dominated by the US, flared the equivalent of about 12 million tonnes of CO2 in 2021, less than half of the 30 million tonnes seen in 2019. Improvements in the offshore market in Africa are particularly positive from a climate perspective, including significant reductions in Algeria, both in upstream flaring activity and performance. A continental production decline, as well as reduced output from mature offshore wells, helped lower Africa’s environmental impact associated with flaring.

A rebound in flaring activity is, however, likely this year as global fossil fuel demand increases with the relaxation of Covid-19-related restrictions, and supply remains tight due to sanctions on Russian fuel over its invasion of Ukraine in late February.

“Flaring represents about 30% of the total carbon dioxide emissions produced by the oil and gas industry, and the practice has come under increased scrutiny over its environmental impact in recent years. Even with the backdrop of the pandemic and supply decline, there are still signs that the latest improvements could be partially sustained,” says Rystad Energy analyst Dzenana Tiganj.

Many exploration and production (E&P) players have set ambitious targets to end flaring, and for many fields reducing flaring remains the first step on the abatement journey. Through satellite data estimation, Rystad Energy detects and tracks flaring activity globally for all oil and gas fields. Satellite analysis shows that global flaring reduction efforts have not seen any significant effect as flaring activity has remained relatively flat for the past 10 years. However, 2020 marked a step in the right direction, and the 2021 estimates suggest the trend is continuing.

The shale sector's downward momentum of flaring activity is the most striking reduction in recent years. On a per barrel of oil equivalent (boe) basis, tight oil flaring has dropped by 60% from 2019 to 2021. Other onshore production flaring continues to stand out, with flaring intensity exceeding 7 kilograms of CO2 per boe in 2021. The other supply segments show very marginal, almost flat developments.

Regional breakdown

With a clear global downward trend from 2019 to 2021, comparing flaring volumes to pre-pandemic 2019 levels provides an interesting look at the regional differences in the upstream sector. Africa, North America, Australia, and Europe show persistently decreasing flaring activity, whereas other regions remain flat.

Africa continues the downward trend with significant developments in the offshore segment. The continent’s CO2 emissions from offshore flaring decreased by 4 million tonnes from 2019 to 2021. This trend is primarily driven by the abandonment of mature assets, production declines for mature assets, and increased production from less mature fields.

With production declining from 2019 to 2020, Angola and Nigeria alone reduced offshore flaring volumes by over 2 million tonnes of CO2 and continued with a flat development into 2021. Algeria also delivered significant decreases in overall volumes and flaring per boe in 2021. The estimated reduction totaled 3 million tonnes of CO2, and the intensity dropped from almost 18 kilograms per boe to 13 kilograms per boe. This marks a significant shift for a country where the norm has been a steady increase in flaring over the last decade.

North America has been driving global flaring decreases from 2019 onwards, with shale focusing on operational efficiency improvements. The US continues to make up ground with persistent efforts to eliminate routine flaring at shale production sites and operators communicating better production practices and infrastructural improvements. Satellite data shows substantially decreased flaring volumes and increased on-site utilization or redirection of gas for other purposes. US shale production contributed approximately 38% of upstream flaring in North America in 2021, compared to 68% in 2019. 

Considering all supply segments, including shale, the US continued to perform well throughout 2021, with a decrease of more than 4 million tonnes of CO2 from 2020 and an overall reduction of flaring intensity by an estimated 30%, reaching 1 kilogram per boe in 2021.

Offshore Europe continues to decrease routine flaring, with the UK being a key driver, reducing flaring emissions by almost 40% from 2019 to 2021. Key operators, such as UK major BP, have implemented improved practices at the well start-up phase and optimized flaring set points to comply with environmental targets and increase fuel efficiency.

While regional developments showcase the global effort to reduce flaring on multiple fronts, the major contributors to global upstream flaring remain the same – namely Iraq, Nigeria, the US, Algeria, Mexico– which combined represent over 70% of global upstream flaring emissions.