2. Summary
War and the energy crises characterized the year 2022. Going forward, it is crucial that Norwegian supplies of natural gas to Europe remain at a stable high level.
In 2022, 97.8 million Sm3 of oil were produced on the NCS. This is a slight decrease compared to the level for 2021. 122 billion Sm3 of natural gas (bcm) were sold and supplied, which is an 8 % increase compared to 2021.
The temporary adjustments to the petroleum tax legislation passed in the summer of 2020 have had the desired effect, and the activity level on the NCS is stable. Plans for development were submitted to the authorities for a total of 18 new field developments and for the further development of 13 fields in production under the temporary tax adjustments.
In 2022, 34 wells were completed (30 wildcat wells and 4 appraisal wells), down from 40 wells in 2021. Two CO2 storage wells were also drilled for the Northern Lights license. A total of 12 oil and gas discoveries were made, yielding a gross resource increase of 52 million Sm3 o.e.
Total greenhouse gas emissions from the NCS and onshore facilities stood at 11.6 million CO2 equivalents in 2022 under the petroleum tax legislation, which is approximately the same as in 2021. Emissions remain stable, despite production start-up at Melkøya in 2022. CO2 emissions per produced unit were unchanged from 2021 to 2022 (7.6 kg. per barrel o.e.).
Methane emissions on the NCS are low by international standards, with total methane emissions dropping further from 14,682 tons in 2021 to 13,152 tons in 2022. This decrease has been achieved despite increased gas production.
Total NOx emissions from petroleum activities were reduced by 6% from 2021 to 2022, for both turbines and engines. The Melkøya production start-up has contributed to the low NOx emissions figures, as the facility is equipped for NOx abatement.
A decrease in drilling activities resulted in a parallel decrease in the discharge of drill cuttings using water-based fluids, whilst the use of oil-based fluids was reduced by 5%. There was an increase in the injection of drill cuttings from oil-based fluids, leading to a drop in the quantities of hazardous waste being sent ashore in 2022 compared to 2021.
Discharges from produced water stood at 116 million m3 in 2022, down from 127 million m3 in 2021. These discharges have been reduced by over 30 million m3 since 2015. Injected produced water remains at the same level as for the previous year (27 per cent). Many of the fields on the NCS are mature and in need of increased water injection to maintain reservoir pressure, thereby also increasing the volumes of produced water from these fields.
The average oil content in produced water for the entire NCS has shown a downward trend in recent years but increased from 11.1 mg/l in 2021 to 11.8 mg/l in 2022. The regulatory threshold for oil content is 30 mg/l. Research results, environmental monitoring, and companies´ own risk-based analyses of the discharges have concluded that the environmental impact of these discharges is low and limited to the vicinity of their source.
Extensive chemical substitution has reduced the release of the most environmentally hazardous chemicals to a fraction of what it was ten years ago. The reason for this development is a risk-based approach to and substitution of those chemicals identified as environmentally hazardous.
The industry is working proactively on chemical substitution to lower the risks associated with discharges. Total chemical discharges decreased from 189,000 tons in 2021 to 171,000 tons in 2022, with approximately 90% of the discharges falling into the category classified as green, denoting zero or very little environmental impact. The most environmentally hazardous chemicals which are found in the red and black categories now account for 0.25% and 0.002% respectively of discharges.
The industry has implemented a comprehensive preventive action plan to avoid unplanned acute oil spills, leading to a downward trend in the number of oil spills over many years. The total volume of spills varies considerably from year to year and is dominated by isolated incidents. In 2022 there were 43 acute oil spills in total, 20 of which exceeded 50 litres in volume. There were 25 crude oil spills in 2022, five of which were categorized as greater than 1 m3. The total volume of acute oil spills in 2022 reached 61 m3, compared to 31 m3 in 2021.
The number of unplanned chemical spills rose from 160 in 2021 to 194 in 2022. Over 50% of the spills were small (under 50 litres), but the total discharge volume increased from 124 m3 in 2021 to 388 m3 in 2022. The increase is due to a couple of isolated incidents, where the largest one resulted in a 160 m3 spill, as a result of a hose leak during the loading of drill fluids. The vast majority of the discharges (99.7%) are from chemicals classified as yellow and green, causing little or zero environmental impact.
Environmental monitoring is carried out by independent consultants pursuant to government recommendations. The industry uses significant resources annually to determine which types of discharge may have an impact on the environment. Environmental monitoring of the seabed and the water column is carried out in addition to visual monitoring, particularly in areas where vulnerable fauna is present.
The results of seabed analyses show that the impact is related to particle discharges and wellbore instability, generally located between tens and some hundred meters from the spill. Water column monitoring shows that acute effects on organisms in the water column are limited to the vicinity of the discharge.