As part of its "Emissions Series" Rystad Energy published a report focused on sources of emissions in Northwest Europe – the United Kingdom, Norway, and Denmark. The overall CO2 footprint amounted to about 24 million tonnes in 2020, equal to 2-3% of the global upstream CO2 emissions, while producing about 4% of the world’s hydrocarbons. In this report, Rystad Energy examines the emissions and from what sectors’ value chains they are coming. This whitepaper is an abstract of our Energy Metals Solution Research.

Based on their research Rystad Energy experts highlight the following three trends in the region in relation to the sources of CO2 emissions:

1. About 120 of the facilities emitting more than 10,000 tonnes of CO2 in 2020, with the 10 largest accounting for more than one-quarter of total upstream emissions in the region. If we expand to the
   top 25 emitting assets were responsible for half of the total emissions from the upstream sector in Northwest Europe.

1. The top 15 companies together represented more than 70% of the region’s upstream emissions in 2020, while another 70 or so companies accounted for the remaining 6.9 million tonnes. The latter group all emitted less than 500,000 tonnes of CO2 individually, or less than the UK Ninian facility. In the other end of the scale, it’s worth noting that the region’s top emitters Equinor, Petoro and TotalEnergies all have much lower production intensities than the global average of 18 kg CO2 emitted per barrel of oil equivalent produced, at about 7 kg/boe for Equinor, 6 kg/boe for Petoro and 13 kg CO2 for TotalEnergies in 2020.

1. Norway leads the board with an emission intensity just below 7 kg/boe, significantly below the global average of 18 kg/boe. This is primarily driven by a ban on routine flaring, a strict CO2 tax regime, and electrification of large platforms. The UK continental shelf is significantly more mature than Norway and produces at an emission intensity of about 21-22 kg/boe, slightly above the global average – which is also partly due to the UK being more dominated by liquids production (as opposed to gas).

Rystad Energy is an independent energy research and business intelligence company providing data, tools, analytics, and consultancy services to clients exposed to the energy industry across the globe. Knowledge partner of the Go Net Zero Energy and Go Hydrogen business summits (20-22 Sep 2022, Brussels).