The London SPE Net Zero Gaia committee, with thanks to our sponsors ERC Evolution, is very excited to showcase three projects that could be critical for decarbonising UK oil and gas production.

The use of gas and diesel to generate power, results in a huge proportion (approximately 70%) of the greenhouse gas emissions associated with oil and gas production offshore UK. It appears clear that a switch to low carbon power will be critical to meeting emission reduction targets. But the question is how? What are the issues converting brownfield facilities? Are large integrated, hub and spur, projects the solution? Should we be looking at a modular approach? Where do windfarms fit in? What new technology is needed?

These are just some of the questions we hope to answer in this highly topical webinar. To help us we will be joined by representatives of three separate groups that are leading the way in developing solutions. Each will present on their projects and answer audience questions.

Arjit Gupta from Shell UK will represent the CNSe project:

Central North Sea Electrification (CNSe) is collaboration between BP, Harbour, TotalEnergies and Shell aiming to decarbonise multiple offshore assets in central graben area via electrification. We aim to remove up to 800ktpa of GHG emissions starting 2027-28, contributing to the shared ambition of North Sea Transition Deal. The project team is currently evaluating multiple concepts, including Wind integration, and is aiming to take a Concept Select decision in July 2022.

Joel Maisey from Crondall Energy will represent the Orcadian Microgrid project:

The Orcadian Microgrid concept provides a solution that transforms intermittent clean power into very reliable, low emissions, fully backed-up power. The Microgrid provides a scalable and easy to deploy solution, that simplifies electrification of individual or small groups of offshore assets, by reducing the project size and complexity. Our approach is founded on power from floating wind turbines, supported by highly efficient and responsive gas-powered generators with enough battery power to maintain a reliable supply.

Beatrice D’Eufemia from Ørsted, Mungo McLeish from Neptune Energy, and Amelia Swanney from Goal 7 will jointly represent Project Neos:

Project Neos is an industry-leading pre-Front End Engineering Design (FEED) study which has investigated the technical and commercial aspects of establishing an electrical connection between an Offshore Wind Farm (OWF) and an offshore Oil and Gas (O&G) installation. Its aim was to prove feasibility and cost effectiveness of electrification for decarbonisation of O&G installations, as well as a new route to market for the offshore wind industry. Project Neos has been developed by a consortium of Ørsted (the world’s leading offshore wind developer, constructor, and operator of OWFs), Neptune (a leading exploration and production company focussed on meeting society’s energy needs and creating value for all its stakeholders), and Goal7 (a consultancy which supports implementation of clean and affordable energy). The consortium has demonstrated the value and importance of cross-industry collaboration with respect to offshore platform electrification, and the consortium is pleased to share the outputs of Project Neos.

If you have an interest in how the UK oil and gas industry will meet its carbon reduction targets, then please join us for this webinar.

Arjit Gupta: Energy Transition Leader & CNSe Stakeholder Manager; Shell UK

Arjit Gupta is an Energy transition leader at Shell UK, and currently working as Stakeholder Manager for Central North Sea Electrification project. He has an upstream background with a diverse operations and projects experience having lived and worked in Asia-pacific, ME and Europe. He started his career with a CCUS project in Australia and has fond memories from his time living and working in Basra Iraq, delivering gas and oil projects in a cost competitive and timely fashion. He currently lives in London and is pursuing an Executive MBA from London Business School

Joel Maisey: Principal Electrical, Control and Instrumentation Engineer; Crondall Energy

Joel Maisey leads the Electrical and digitalization aspects at Crondall Energy, focusing on low manning and low emission floating production systems. Joel also leads Crondall Energy’s Zero Emissions Tracking and Assessment (ZETA) tool. The ZETA tool estimates GHG emissions from construction through to operations and decommissioning. Providing emissions analysis through the development lifecycle, benchmarking against other facilities and ability to re-assess designs through the lens of emissions reduction.A chartered engineer with a Master’s degree in Electrical and Electronic engineering from Imperial College London and a Functional Safety Engineer qualification from TÜV (FSEng), Joel initially gained experience working for major operators in both operational and project roles around the globe. Since joining Crondall, Joel has been a key component of BPT’s development of in-house low emission, Normally Unattended Installation (NUI) solutions. Combined with supporting Crondall’s clients in achieving their objectives of; realising the benefits of digitalisation, minimising facility environmental impact, electrification of facilities, and reducing offshore personnel requirements.

Bridgit Hartland-Johnson: System Integration Innovation Manager & Neos PM; Ørsted

Bridgit has worked in the power sector all of her life, has an electrical engineering background and has worked in the France, India and Germany. She has worked mainly for Transmission and Distribution OEMs, such as Alstom and Siemens and more recently made the switch to Orsted and Offshore Wind. She is responsible for System Integration in Offshore Wind Project Development. This means investigating: the technical feasibility, commercial viability and regulatory environments for integrating the new technology solutions and routes to market, required to ensure the continued rapid deployment of offshore wind in the UK.

Mungo McLeish: Director of Global Operations & Electrification; Neptune Energy

Mungo McLeish is the Director of Global Operations & Electrification for Neptune Energy. With 25 years experience in the oil and gas industry he started out as an apprentice technician and has held various roles offshore and onshore in the areas of maintenance, reliability, operations and asset integrity management.

Amelia Swanney: Senior Consultant; Goal 7

Amelia holds over 15 years’ experience focused on emissions reduction and energy transition. In her early career, she supported numerous offshore oil and gas operators helping them understand their emissions and implement reductions, carbon trading, and assessing new technologies. Over the years, this has progressed towards supporting businesses in the energy sectors transition to new energy with a particular focus on integrated energy solutions for industry.

London SPE Net Zero Gaia Event: Electrification of Offshore Oil and Gas