Integration of Renewable Energy Into Oil and Gas Operations in Niger Delta to Reducing the Environmental Impact of Oil and Gas Operations.
CHAPTER ONE
AIMS AND OBJECTIVES
The aim of this project is to comprehensively study and analyze the adverse environmental effect caused by the oil and gas industry in the Niger Delta region, and to propose and advocate for the adoption of renewable energy sources as a means to mitigate these impacts and transition towards a cleaner and more sustainable energy future. In order to achieve the stated aim, the following objectives were established;
- Explore the effects of oil and gas operations on local communities in the Niger Delta, considering the environmental impact. Investigate how the adoption of renewable energy technologies into oil and gas operations can lead to favorable outcomes and support sustainable development.
- Identify technical, economic, and regulatory challenges associated with integrating renewable energy into oil and gas projects.
- Enhance consciousness regarding the environmental challenges connected to the oil and gas sector in the Niger Delta and provide education for stakeholders regarding the advantages and prospects presented by renewable energy remedies
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
Background Information on the Niger Delta Region in Nigeria
The Niger Delta region is thought to have an estimated 252 fields of reserves that occupy more than 6000 square miles of land. The region occupied by the oil producing reserves is nearly 1/10th of the entire basin but the 252 extracted oil reserves produce more than 550,000 barrels of Oil. Considerably, the Delta basin produces more than ¼ of the total oil produced by the entire Nigerian oil reserves. Notably, reports from various scholars indicate that the basin has been key to the Nigerian Oil supply over the past couple of years.
For example, it is considered to be the country’s largest condensate zone as various studies stipulate that the zone facilitates the production of 110,000 barrels per day. The region as well is barely miles away from Equatorial Guinea’s oil fields that lie south of Elf’s OML 102, thus the Nigerian government could highly benefit from a joint exploration venture in the new oil fields. The various scholars partaking in the study of the Oil production in The Niger region claim that the Mangrove forest vegetation in the basin is the largest in the continent with profound deltaic hydrocarbons. The presence of the huge deposits of hydrocarbon on the mangrove vegetation is evidence that the area holds huge reserves of Oil and gas.
Environmental Negative Effect of Crude Oil Transportation
Petroleum production and exploration in major Oil producing countries in Africa have been attributed to detrimental environmental impacts rather than the expectations of elevating the economy. Major Oil producing countries especially Nigeria as stipulated through the research by Mac (1984, p.89), are still experiencing low development levels that are subject to affect the living standards of their citizens. The impacts of Oil production as such associated with the deposition and spillage of petroleum products on land, water, and even the air through the emission of gases. The pollution brought forth through Oil exploration is thought to impact the fertility of the soil, causes health defects on human beings and animals, result in marine deaths, as well as the destruction of groundwater levels. As indicated through the studies conducted by Foidart (2010, p. 234) concerning the extraction of Oil in the Niger Delta, it is succinct that the environmental degradation, pollution, and other socio-economic effects experienced by the communities in that region is subject to the release of hydrocarbons and other petroleum waste products.
The Oil production rates in Nigeria which are the largest oil producing economy is Africa ranges as 7.5% of the global Oil reserves. The economy as such is quite dependent on oil production as its key driver towards growth, thus resulting in damaging effects concerning increasing poverty levels, environmental degradation, and diverse health effects such as cancer. In this case, Gundlach and Hayes (2013, p. 240) reiterate that the extraction and transportation of Oil are only beneficial to Nigeria’s elite politicians and other global corporations. The communities living in the Delta region struggle in poverty as their economic needs are not put under consideration. The people as well suffer from environmental pollution due to oil spillage that in turn affects the productivity of their farming lands (Gundlach and Hayes 2013, p. 243).
CHAPTER THREE
METHODOLOGY
Introduction
This chapter discusses the methodology followed in order to conduct the study of optimal renewable integration into a refinery. It states the sources of data, modeling techniques used in the thesis work and the selected software used to achieve these objectives. Aspen HYSYS, an industrial process simulation software, is used to simulate a crude oil refinery and estimate the energy consumption by each unit in this refinery. Additionally, General Algebraic Modelling System (GAMS) software is used to solve the LP problem of finding optimal energy distribution, whilst minimizing cost and CO2 emissions.
Superstructure
A superstructure of alternatives was developed on the basis of energy demand by the crude oil refinery units and available energy resources. All units in the refinery are connected with different energy sources that provide the energy depending on the CO2 emissions and the cost of the energy. Each energy source gives energy to a specific refinery unit, as seen in Figure 6, where all the refinery units are shown in different symbols as explained in Table 1.
CHAPTER FOUR
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
In this chapter, the results obtained from the simulated refinery unit as well as the optimization of the developed model are presented as previously mentioned, the carbon dioxide emission was posed as a constraint with an assigned weight, α, that ranges between 0 and 1. A value of α=0 signifies a focus on minimizing carbon dioxide emissions with no regard to cost. Conversely, a value of α=1 signifies a focus on minimizing cost with no consideration of carbon dioxide emissions. Figure 8 shows the changes in the cost and carbon dioxide emissions as alpha varies between 0 and 1. The cost is found to be minimum when emissions are maximum, and vice versa.
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATION
Summary
As oil and gas production shifts toward lower quality and unconventional reserves, energy use and emissions from operations are likely to grow in the future. Furthermore, oil and gas operations are energy intensive which can have negative environmental impacts. Integrating renewable energy technologies into oil and gas operations offers a means of reducing fossil fuel use in the production of oil and gas, which can both lower operation costs and reduce emissions as well as conserve petroleum production for higher value uses. In some cases, renewable integration can currently provide a cost-effective and environmentally beneficial way of meeting operations energy requirements. If costs of renewable technology continue to fall, the benefits of renewable integration would continue to increase.
Renewable technologies can be integrated in all links of the oil and gas supply chain. For upstream oil and gas production, the primary applications identified are solar heating for EOR and other heating requirements, offshore wind to power offshore operations, wellpad electrification from solar and wind, and geothermal cogeneration from oil fields. Solar thermal generation for EOR and wellpad electrification are already seeing commercial operation. Wind power for offshore water injection and geothermal energy production are close to commercial operation as well. Combined, these technologies will be useful tools to reduce operation costs and emissions.
Recommendation
For future study, it is recommended to carry out renewable energy integration study on the two major energy consumers (i.e. industry and transport). However, three phases can be studied in this research:
- Only electricity through the grid and renewable sources was considered. An energy hub may be developed that involves additional energy input such as natural gas for on-site generators, heat streams, etc.
- Intermittent sources of energy such as solar, wind were considered but an average annual potential was considered. A more detailed study can be carried out that considers daily, monthly or seasonal changes in these sources of energy and determine the optimum conditions to operate at.
- Storage systems can be considered in future work that enhances reliability to renewable energy systems.
REFERENCES
- Abromova, Anna, Vladimir Abramov, S Kuleshov, and E Timashev. 2014. “Analysis of the Modern Methods for Enhanced Oil Recovery.” In Energy Science and Technology, 118148.
- Alnifro, M. (2017). Optimal Integration of Renewable Energy Sources in Oil Refinery Operations (Doctoral dissertation, University of Waterloo).
- Augustine, Chad, and David Falkenstern. 2012. “An Estimate of the Near-Term Electricity Generation Potential of Co-Produced Water From Active Oil and Gas Wells.” GRC Transactions 36.
- Bengtsson, L., Rachlew, E., & Wagner, F. (2016). Sustainable energy supply and consumption by 2050 and outlook towards the end of the century: Possible scientific breakthroughs. Ambio, 45(Suppl 1), 1-4.
- Berger, B., & Anderson, K. (1981). Modern petroleum: a basic primer of the industry..
- Bluestein, Joel, Hemant Mallya, Louis Yandoli, Michael Polchert, and Natalie Amarin. 2015. Methane Emissions from the Oil and Gas Industry: “Making Sense of the Noise”. ICF International.
- BOEM. 2017. Bureau of Energy and Ocean Management. Accessed 2017.
- Brennan, L., & Owende, P. (2010). Biofuels from microalgae—a review of technologies for production, processing, and extractions of biofuels and co-products. Renewable and sustainable energy reviews, 14(2), 557-577.
