Flare Combustion Efficiency Project Completion

To help operators meet the requirements of the Offshore Energies UK Methane Action Plan (OEUK MAP), and in compliance with the methods put forward by the Oil and Gas Methane Partnership (OGMP 2.0), Accord have developed Combustor, an online tool that enables oil and gas operators to calculate and report combustion efficiency and associated emissions without the need for expensive on-site installations.

The product uses our well-established CHARM online-modelling software to generate accurate flare compositions and along with other key online data e.g., windspeed, flare exit velocity, uses peer-reviewed equations to calculate and report the combustion efficiency.

Over the last 12 months, we have been working on a Net Zero Technology Centre sponsored project to demonstrate and refine the software through a series of desktop and field trials. The scope of the project involved working with 5 North Sea Operators - bp, Harbour Energy, Ithaca Energy, Serica Energy and TotalEnergies. In each case, Combustor calculated the combustion efficiency, CO2, Methane, CO2e emissions and uncertainties.

In the full field trial, Combustor was connected directly to PI to deliver a dashboard showing real-time combustion efficiencies taking into account windspeed, flare velocity and modelled composition.

At the close-out meeting in November, the full study results were presented to participating operators and the NSTA.

The project was well-received by the NZTC and Operators who praised the ease of installation and transparency of the calculations. The full flare emissions regulatory framework is still emerging but Combustor will form a key piece of the technology picture as Operators work to drive down CO2e emissions.

The results showed how important the windspeed is in relation to combustion efficiency and hence, CO2e emissions. The trials were running during the high wind speeds of Storm Bebet and the resulting impact could be seen clearly on the dashboards. The following article from the NZTC highlights some of the findings relating to the storm conditions.

NetZero - Should North Sea assets flare more as storms hit?

More information on Combustor can be found at Combustor - Accord ESL (accord-esl.com)