Partner Content
As the world shifts towards a more sustainable future, the oil and gas industry faces increasing pressure to reduce its environmental impact. A significant part of this challenge involves tackling flare gas and methane (CH4) emissions, both of which have considerable consequences for the environment and business operations.
Siemens Energy plays a central role in addressing these issues, assisting companies in the Middle East in transforming how they manage flare gas. In this discussion, Denis Voloder, VP for Siemens Energy’s Electrification, Automation & Digitalisation business, Middle East region, highlights the company’s innovative approach. He explains how its technologies are not only reducing emissions but also converting a wasteful practice into a valuable resource, contributing to a cleaner and more efficient energy landscape.
Could you explain Siemens Energy’s approach to managing flare gas in the Middle East, particularly focusing on the technologies and solutions you offer to mitigate CH4 emissions?
At Siemens Energy, we have a deep understanding of the current dynamics within energy markets, including the drivers, incentives, and challenges our industry and customers face today. One of the most pressing concerns is gas flaring, which poses significant environmental issues due to the release of methane during flare combustion. From an economic perspective, flaring methane—a valuable resource—is also wasteful.
Our flare gas management initiative and solutions comprehensively address these concerns, focusing on reducing methane emissions and transforming what was once an underutilised energy source into a valuable asset. In the context of the Middle East’s energy sector, our solutions contribute to environmental sustainability while enhancing energy security by providing an additional power source.
Our holistic approach to flare gas management not only addresses environmental concerns but also offers considerable economic benefits. We analyse all types of flaring activities, including routine, non-routine, and emergency flaring. This includes assessing the composition of flare gas and the pressure-temperature conditions within the flare system. By determining the methane content, we can tailor solutions that recover or repurpose routine flare gas and significantly reduce emissions.
Our flare gas recovery systems lead this effort, capturing routine flare gas and converting it into usable energy. An innovative application of this is the use of flare gas as a power source for decentralised data centres. This approach eliminates flaring at oil production sites, making the process more environmentally friendly and efficient, while repurposing the gas as a reliable energy source for critical infrastructure, offering a sustainable and cost-effective solution.
Additionally, we are experts at seamlessly integrating flare gas management solutions with existing oil and gas infrastructure. We ensure the efficient and complete combustion of flare gas, minimising the release of methane and other pollutants. By designing and implementing customised solutions, we reduce methane emissions while delivering economic and operational advantages to our customers. This benefits both our customers and the sustainability efforts of the oil and gas industry in the Middle East, reinforcing our commitment to environmental responsibility.
Through our advanced technologies and expertise, we aim to reduce methane emissions and turn this challenge into an opportunity, enhancing the industry’s sustainability and efficiency.
How does Siemens Energy capture, process, and reduce methane emissions from flare gas, and how do these technologies integrate with existing industrial processes?
Siemens Energy provides comprehensive flare gas management solutions, offering tailored electrical, mechanical, and automation systems. We offer consultancy during the conceptual design phase, identifying process requirements and evaluating the complexity of the solution to ensure seamless process integration.
The core of Siemens Energy’s solution lies in our portfolio of gas turbines designed for decentralised power generation applications. By burning flare gas in these turbines, methane emissions are reduced. This process demonstrates exceptional efficiency, reducing methane levels by up to 80 times and highlighting the solution’s adaptability to meet specific application needs.
Fuel gas is typically used in flare headers to avoid air ingress and maintain positive pressure in the flare header, consisting of over 85-90% methane. In many facilities, this gas is burned at the flare tip and released into the atmosphere, resulting in low burning efficiency and energy loss. To address this, we offer a solution to utilise this gas to generate power. Depending on the gas composition and conditions, the proposed solution could involve using gas engines or turbines to generate electricity.
This electricity can then be used for various purposes, reducing methane emissions and capturing energy that would otherwise be lost. Integrating these technologies with existing industrial processes involves efficiently capturing and utilising the methane-rich gas that would have been flared, repurposing it for electricity generation. This integration reduces methane emissions and provides an additional source of power for the facility, contributing to the overall sustainability and efficiency of industrial operations.
Can you discuss any recent projects or partnerships in the Middle East where Siemens Energy’s flare gas management solutions have been successfully implemented? What were the challenges faced, and how were they overcome?
Siemens Energy has been at the forefront of implementing innovative flare gas management solutions in the Middle East. One of our standout initiatives was the development of a comprehensive flare gas management system for an existing gas plant in the region. Our approach involved creating a detailed model of the entire flare network and identifying various scenarios and flare loads with different compositions and conditions. This enabled us to offer tailored solutions that significantly reduced flaring by optimising process parameters, enhancing control systems, and streamlining multiple stacks into a single unit. These measures helped the customer reduce utility requirements and minimise routine flaring. Using a flare gas recovery system, we are further working with the customer to harness routine flare gas for power generation.
To tackle inconsistent flare gas availability, we offer modular solutions that are scalable and adaptable to fluctuations between low and high flows. Our equipment is designed to handle continuous on/off conditions seamlessly, ensuring reliability without compromising performance. In response to the challenge of uncertain flare compositions, we conduct real-time analysis during operation to adapt the system for optimal dynamic performance.
For projects in remote locations, our modular and skid-mounted plug-and-play designs are ideal, significantly reducing on-site installation efforts. By addressing these challenges head-on and collaborating closely with our customers from the early stages of concept development, we continue to pave the way for sustainable and efficient energy solutions in the Middle East and beyond.
How does Siemens Energy use digital solutions and analytics to improve monitoring, efficiency, and emissions reduction in flare gas management?
Siemens Energy has harnessed the power of digital technology through the development of our Process Safety Pressure Protection Manager (PSPPM™) software. This innovative enterprise-level application is targeted at industries such as oil and gas, refining, and chemical processing. Its primary function is to assist in designing, rating, and managing data related to pressure relief and flare systems, ensuring these vital components operate within safe parameters.
By aligning with industry standards and best practices, the PSPPM™ software is integral to identifying, calculating, and documenting all aspects of flaring operations. This thorough approach to flare load analysis is the foundation upon which Siemens Energy builds its customised solutions to reduce flare loads. The insights provided by the software enable users to make well-informed decisions, facilitating the development and implementation of effective flare management strategies.
In using the PSPPM™ software, we are at the cutting edge of optimising monitoring, enhancing efficiency, and reducing emissions in flare gas management. This approach underscores our commitment to leveraging advanced analytics and digital solutions to address both environmental concerns and operational challenges in the energy sector.
Looking ahead, what are Siemens Energy’s strategic plans for further advancing flare gas management solutions in the Middle East? How do you see these innovations contributing to the region’s energy transition and environmental sustainability objectives?
Siemens Energy is deeply committed to advancing flare gas management solutions in the Middle East, underpinned by a strategic approach that draws on our comprehensive expertise across various domains. From process safety and flare system optimisation to the growing sectors of data centre markets and decentralised data centres, our multifaceted expertise enables us to address the unique environmental challenges and energy transition goals in the Middle East.
A central part of our strategy is the development and deployment of cutting-edge technologies and solutions aimed at efficiently utilising flare gas. By converting flare gas into electricity, we mitigate environmental impact and provide a reliable and sustainable energy source for the region. This innovative approach highlights our commitment to promoting sustainable industrial practices and cleaner energy sources across the region, while also contributing to energy security.
Our efforts to advance flare gas management solutions are further strengthened through collaboration with local partners and stakeholders. By engaging in meaningful partnerships, we ensure our solutions are not only technologically advanced but also precisely tailored to meet specific needs and comply with regulatory frameworks in the Middle East. This bespoke approach underpins our contributions to the region’s environmental sustainability goals, enabling a more efficient, responsible, and environmentally conscious energy sector.