No. 2, 2010
Vladimir Stanev
,
Head of the LUKOIL Energy Efficiency and Alternative Energy Department,
,
Pavel Bezrukikh
,
Head of the LUKOIL Division for Alternative Energy Sources
ENERGY EFFICIENCY IN ACTION
The Russian economy and its oil and gas sector are currently facing the challenge of dramatically increasing energy efficiency in order to meet modern requirements, especially with respect to use of energy in production and, accordingly, production costs, and of being competitive on the global market. In other words, a fundamental modernization of industry is required, as well as transfer of the economy on to an innovative development path. In its activities, LUKOIL is focusing particular attention on this matter. The program for the strategic development of the LUKOIL Group in 2010-2019 identifies a further increase in energy efficiency as one of the Company's priorities.
According to the principles of efficiency and quality
As one of the leaders in Russia's fuel and energy complex, LUKOIL has always focused on rational resource use, cutting of costs and losses in the hydrocarbon production, refining and sales sectors.
Since 1997, the Company has been developing and implementing target energy-saving programs. These provide for greater efficiency in the use of energy and fuel through reduction of losses and irrational consumption, and use of new types of energy-saving equipment. In virtually all spheres of the Company's business, a corporate regulatory and methodological framework has been developed and adapted for energy saving and methods have been devised to calculate unit consumption rates of fuel and energy resources.
Implementation of the Energy Conservation Program of the LUKOIL Group of companies in 2009 resulted in actual energy savings (above all of thermal and electric power, and boiler and furnace fuels) throughout the LUKOIL Group to the tune of 3.5 billion rubles. In particular, the LUKOIL Group as a whole achieved savings of electric power amounting to 1.3 billion kWh.
Yet there are no grounds for slowing down the effort. Hydrocarbon production and refining are, of course, highly energy-intensive processes. Energy costs account for over 20% of the oil production cost and over 30% of that in refining. At the same time, the constantly rising tariffs for electric power and other energy sources are compelling the Company to seek increasingly new ways of cutting energy expenditures. For this reason, the 2010-2019 strategic development program for the LUKOIL Group prioritizes energy efficiency improvement.
Innovation in the upstream sector
Recently, a number of steps have been taken by the Company in oil and gas production, this being the most energy-intensive area in the industry. Analysis of the energy conservation measures has shown that the greatest energy savings are achieved in oil and gas production by using new EOR methods and modernizing pumping equipment.
For this reason, of particular value are new technologies developed by the Company's subsidiary RITEK. Set up in 1992, RITEK specializes in large-scale application of innovative PE technologies and equipment, and design of integrated methods for efficient development hard-to- recover reserves.
The specialists of this company have developed and are successfully testing thermal-gas, vapor-gas and water-gas bed stimulation methods. Industrial production is already under way and application of the polymer gel nano reagent RITIN is being rolled out. During the introduction period of 2000-2008, the reagent was used to process 1,002 wells at 50 fields not only of the LUKOIL Group but other companies, too. At the same time, the incremental ultimate recovery of oil amounted to 1,299,000 tons (or 1,296 tons per well).
RITEK specialists are now testing a pilot technology for producing oil from the Bazhenov formation. The scientists have grounds for anticipating success: if the calculations are confirmed, enormous reserves may be drawn into production, since the conservative estimates of the resources of the Bazhenov formation are at least double the currently recoverable reserves.
Another way of increasing oil production efficiency and substantially reducing the energy intensity of the process is to replace traditional asynchronous motors of bottom-hole pumps with ac converter-fed motors with permanent magnets in the rotor. Units with rectifier drives allow the pump's rotational frequency to be regulated, have virtually no unit startup/shutdown restrictions and, have a higher efficiency coefficient and better life-cycle indicators. In aggregate, these factors mean that use of the new oil production processes greatly reduce energy consumption.
In order to obtain real data on the potential reduction in energy consumption from replacing asynchronous motors with ac converter-fed ones, in 2008, comparative tests were carried out at the Company's facilities. The results showed that economies varied between 10 and 60% from well to well.
After the tests are completed, it is planned in accordance with the 2010-2012 Energy Conservation Program to gradually increase the number of wells equipped with rectifier-driven bore-hole pumps, especially at reservoirs with difficult production conditions.
Innovation projects
The main priority of refineries and petrochemical plants is to create new and introduce the tested highly-efficient technologies and equipment required for producing Euro-III and Euro-IV grade motor fuels, increasing the depth of refining, stepping up production of higher value-added products, and developing new-generation base oils. The clearest example is development and marketing by LUKOIL of EKTO motor fuels with improved environmental indicators.
For this purpose, companies of the LUKOIL Group are continuously carrying out planned rehabilitation and modernization of equipment, but this necessitates additional energy consumption, so the search for energy-saving methods is ongoing.
Above all, it is proposed to save energy by improving and optimizing production equipment and processes. There are plans to review LUKOIL's own thermal and electric power balance and, by improving fuel combustion processes, to optimize and redistribute thermal flows, cut back energy losses and increase energy efficiency.
Another sphere in which the Company is working to save energy is a reduction in energy consumption at petroleum product supply facilities, although the proportion of the costs of this Business Segment in the total energy consumption is not high. Even so, plan-based work is being carried out here to replace obsolete equipment, especially lighting and heating systems, the potential reduction in energy consumption being 30%.
In 2010, development is being initiated of a project for creating pilot energy-efficient gasoline- filling stations in different parts of the country and abroad, where the latest technologies will be used to reduce energy consumption to a minimum. This will provide experience of applying innovative equipment.
The prospects for the electric power sector
The Electricity Business sector plays an extremely important role in LUKOIL. In general, the strategic task for the near future is to increase substantially the feasibility and environmental indicators of the electricity grid sector and generating capacities within the LUKOIL Group. On this basis, it is planned to cut consumption of fuel and energy resources in the production and transportation of electric and thermal power.
The YuGK TGK-8 generating company, which joined the LUKOIL Group in 2008, plays a strategic role in supplying the population and industry of the Southern Federal District with thermal and electric power. For this reason, a renovation and modernization program was vital not only for raising energy efficiency and reducing any adverse impact on the environment, but also for securing reliable electricity supplies. The biggest projects included in the modernization program for YuGK TGK-8 involve construction of CCGT units, which will produce a considerable cut in specific fuel consumption at electric power stations. At the same time, it is planned to retire obsolete steam power units with a low efficiency coefficient.
LUKOIL's priority is to make the production activities of all its business segments more energy efficient. Implementation of the set of measures making up the Energy Conservation Program for 2010-2012 will, according to preliminary estimates, produce 9.2 billion rubles' worth of savings on all types of energy resources and will promote a substantial advance toward fulfilling the strategic task of reducing energy consumption, thus contributing to implementation of the national program of increasing the economy's energy efficiency. Energy efficiency and a cut in energy consumption are Russia's strategic resource.
