Single source of truth to better identify and manage carbon emissions

Ravi Srinivasan, VP and GM, Emission Management, Honeywell, presented the single source of truth to better identify and manage carbon emissions at the Honeywell conference held in Chicago, USA.

There are emerging trends driving urgency around emissions. Environmental responsibility and sustainability is a growing priority in Oil & Gas for several years. Global expectations on emissions have evolved over time and now the prevailing standards today encompass near zero methane emissions and gold standard reporting.

In March 2022, the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative (OGCI) launched the Aiming for near zero Methane Emissions from oil and gas operations by 2030. The Initiative is supported by the CEOs of Aramco, BP, Chevron, CNPC, Equinor, Petrobras and more.

In August 2022, US was set to fine oil and gas companies for methane leaks. Oil and gas companies that emit more than 25,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent annually, will be fined beginning in 2025, if their methane leakage rate exceeds a certain threshold. The fee would escalate over time from $900 per metric ton of emissions to $1,500 beginning in 2027, and cover wide swaths of the industry.

There are challenges in emission management. It involves manual data collection from multiple sources, and calculate emissions footprint in spreadsheet. We also reconcile data between engineering calculations and actual monitoring. Outcomes include automated data collection and emissions calculation, and simplified data wrangling and reconciliation.

Next, we have lack of proactive insights to minimize energy losses and emissions. People do not know where to start net-zero journey, and how to prioritize projects. There is no easy way to monitor emissions status against environmental permit regulations. Outcomes include near real-time emissions insights, and enable closed loop optimization. We should have the ability to provide blueprint. Deliver what-if scenarios and expert guidance workflow. We also need the tool to understand the economic and environmental impact of carbon emissions.

Finally, we have limited visibility of enterprise-wide GHG emissions. There is lack of traceability for managing and analyzing nonconformance compliance. It is difficult to perform manual reporting and audit compliance. The outcomes include providing standardized interoperable, system-agnostic, enterprise-wide emissions monitoring. Build single system of emissions record, and streamline reporting and audit compliance process.

There are ways to overcome emission challenges, and get on the path to net-zero. We can minimize Scope 1/2 emissions, minimize Scope 3 emissions, offset emissions through own operations, and procuring carbon offset credits / carbon taxes. Honeywell offers end-to-end emissions management and decarbonization solutions.

Emissions management
Honeywell offers real-time emissions monitoring, accounting, and visualization framework. You can monitor emissions data from across the enterprise / organization in near real-time. You can monitor emission intensity of different GHGs, including methane, CO2, nitrous oxides, etc. You can also do automated data collection and validation, being sensor agnostic. 

Honeywell offers outcome-based E360 service. Outcome based multi-year service commits to achieving KPIs agreed upon by the customer, and Honeywell, after a baseline is conducted
and goals (measurable and controllable) are set. Honeywell provides all technology, along with the expertise (monitoring, service and support) to deliver KPIs. There is shared risk and reward agreement with Honeywell​. Quickly identify, quantify, trigger remediation, and prove emission reductions.

Examples include CH4 emission event at tank battery. Rebellion capturing a storage tank emission during METEC study in Colorado. Leak source, size, and direction is detected for the operator to diagnose remotely via the live dashboard. Another example is H2S+CH4 emission during routine maintenance. Rebellion capturing an emission during routine maintenance. Point sensors were located lower than the gas plume, but the Rebellion Gas Imaging System was able to pick it up.

Honeywell achieved industry's first breakthrough with hazardous area certified devices. Its Versatilis Signal Scout is a popular choice. Honeywell is improving operating performance of the plant through advanced process control and optimization, asset performance management, digital twin, and process and operations.

There is hydrogen transition. Decarbonized hydrogen is key enabler on path to net zero. H2 produces no CO2 when burned, enabling clean energy for industrial, transportation, power, and building sectors. Honeywell has ready now, commercially proven cost-effective path for lower carbon hydrogen production. Blue Hydrogen enables up to 95% CO2 emissions reduction when used with carbon capture. In a decarbonized world, H2 demand is expected to grow 5-7x over the next 30 years.

In carbon capture, there is CCUS. It is advisable to capture all CO2 even before it enters the atmosphere. You can either convert it to usable product or permanently store it underground. Honeywell has delivered technologies with capture capacity that will enable up to 33 Mt/yr CO2 capture. Legal, regulatory, and financial frameworks are progressing to incentivize rapid investment in CCUS. It is the most impactful emission reduction decision you can make. CCUS is a ready-now technology option for reducing carbon footprint.

Honeywell offers turnkey solution for battery energy storage. It also offers renewable fuels for lower carbon. Renewable fuel comes from renewable sources like ethanol, vegetable oil, animal fats, biogas, etc. It is also a leading licensor of technologies (Ecofining) to produce renewable diesel and/or sustainable aviation fuel. It has 32 Ecofining units in 11 countries, processing 12 types of feedstocks. There is complete offering with integrated renewable H2 and CO2 capture that could potentially increase GHG savings from 78% to 97%.

Honeywell has proven technologies for feedstock flexible drop-in fuels.