The North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) has fined CNOOC Petroleum Europe Restricted $152,593 (GBP 125,000) for venting with out consent on the firm’s Buzzard subject, 60 miles northeast of Aberdeen in Scotland.
The NSTA stated in a press release that venting was accomplished on two separate events in two weeks. Venting is when gasoline, primarily methane, is emitted immediately into the environment with out combustion.
In Could 2022, CNOOC detected a leak within the line that provides gas wanted to maintain the flame lit on Buzzard’s flare stack. CNOOC shut off the gas line and started venting extra gasoline into the environment unignited. The corporate confirmed to the NSTA in June 2022 that it had breached the annual consent for Buzzard, “solely to proceed venting till a fault with a generator led to manufacturing operations shutting down” in the identical month, the regulator stated.
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CNOOC then restarted manufacturing and export actions from Buzzard and additional venting befell on account of a defective valve on the gas gasoline system, in accordance with the assertion.
The NSTA said that between Could 31 and June 13, 2022, CNOOC exceeded its annual venting restrict for Buzzard by a complete of 435.13 metric tons of gasoline. The regulator gave revised consent on June 14, 2022, bringing Buzzard again in compliance for any additional venting for the remainder of the yr.
The regulator famous that the corporate “cooperated all through the investigation and launched measures to stop recurrences, together with improved monitoring and a brand new method to consent purposes”. Beforehand, CNOOC had solely requested consent to vent minimal volumes of gasoline, as venting was unusual on Buzzard, in accordance with the assertion.
Jane de Lozey, NSTA Director of Regulation, stated, “North Sea operators have taken up the problem of chopping flaring and venting, nearly halving emissions from these processes since 2018. Nonetheless, at a time when the trade is competing for funding, and its dedication to the power transition is below intense scrutiny, it’s important that every one operators stay vigilant on emissions”.
The NSTA stated that the imposed penalty marks the sixth North Sea operator that has been fined for extreme flaring or venting up to now two years. It has issued fines totaling round $1 million (GBP 825,000) for flaring or venting consent breaches since late 2022.
Starting January 1, 2025, $610,375 (GBP 500,000) is the brand new place to begin for contemplating fines referring to breaches of flaring and venting laws, the NSTA said, including that it had knowledgeable operators of the brand new penalty.
As a part of its method, the NSTA stated it “carefully scrutinizes operators’ flaring and venting consent purposes, pushes again towards requests to boost limits, and makes use of its sanction powers to take care of suspected breaches”. The regulator’s “OGA Plan” for emissions discount and harder steering was printed in 2021 and requires licensees to hunt methods of shrinking their carbon footprints, together with from flaring and venting.
CNOOC didn’t reply to a Rigzone request for touch upon the NSTA assertion.
Final week, CNOOC Ltd. introduced that it had began operations on the Panyu 11-12/10-1/10-2 Oilfield Adjustment Joint Growth Venture within the South China Sea. The corporate expects the undertaking to achieve about 13,600 barrels of oil equal a day (boed) in peak manufacturing this yr, in accordance with an earlier assertion.
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