Part of a collaborating system

In the Netherlands, twelve companies have a licence to explore or produce natural gas. These companies are united in Element NL, known as NOGEPA before 2022.

The companies study the potential of gas reserves in the Dutch subsurface and under the seabed of the Dutch part of the North Sea and are also responsible for bringing the natural gas to the surface after drilling. Element NL represents their shared interests. We talk to Arendo Schreurs, Director of Element NL, about the association and the role of its members in the energy transition.

Looking for a position

“Since 1974,” Mr Schreurs explains, “the Dutch Association of Oil & Gas Exploring and Producing companies NOGEPA has been supporting the interest of the companies with Dutch licences. In 2022, we changed the name of the organisation in Element NL, as this better matches our new strategy and goals.” He continues, “Today, our members are looking for a position in the energy transition. Until a few years ago, oil and gas producing companies stood by the wayside of this development as they considered it something that was not part of their business. Through the years however, our members realised that they should step forward to play a role too. First, they looked for ways to make their own operations more sustainable. This resulted in considerable methane reductions of more than 50% for example. Today their eforts are aimed at reducing the CO2 emission of the ofshore production facilities, for example by using electricity at the platforms. Apart from this, with the energy transition in mind and the gradual phasing out of fossil fuels, they ask themselves questions such as, should assets be decommissioned right now, or can we re-use them? Should their lifetime be extended now that demand for local produced gas rises again? Should the assets be prepared for other purposes such as for CCS or for storage and transport of green hydrogen?”>>

Name change

“All these questions made us realise that we, as their supporting association, should be rethinking our role as well”, Mr Schreurs explains. “This resulted in a new strategy with a new action plan. Also, we decided to change our name in Element NL. With this name, we want to express that we are part of a collaborating system. The government, our association, our members, and the entire supply chain are all part of the energy transition and each of us has an important role to play in this. Together, we are working on a CO2-neutral energy system. Our natural gas still is of elementary importance in this. It provides security of supply for households and is a raw material for the industry. During the transition, the Netherlands can therefore rely on safe, clean, and afordable gas production and look ahead: today, our pipelines carry natural gas, and tomorrow they will mainly be used for transporting new forms of energy.”

Three main themes

According to Mr Schreurs, the new action plan is roughly based on three main themes. “First of all, we want to aim for the continuing supply of natural gas, however with a footprint smaller than that of importing gas, for example by reducing emissions at ofshore facilities. Second of all, we look at ways to reuse the ofshore infrastructure for storing and transporting green energy or CCS, and last of all, we want to keep the working environment of our industry relevant for current and future employees. For these three themes, we have set up thirteen action items setting out what we will be doing in the years ahead. The energy transition should be speeded up to provide alternatives for fossil fuels. However, it is also clear that it will take years before the renewable sources will be able to produce enough energy to deal with the growing demand. Therefore, everyone should realise that the world still needs fossil fuels for the coming years.”

Most important producer

Mr Schreurs continues, “The war in Ukraine shows that being dependent on the import of energy makes us vulnerable. Apart from this – and people sometimes tend to forget this relevant argument – importing energy has a larger ecological footprint compared to producing gas ourselves. On top of this, with the right conditions, local production is also more cost competitive. In the European Union, the Netherlands is the most important producer of natural gas and we have one of the densest pipeline infrastructures. With the current gas volumes available in our part of the North Sea our members are very capable of speeding up production to supply higher volumes. For this, the Dutch government should create the right conditions, for example by adjusting the permitting procedures. So far, our eforts resulted in a raised awareness by the Dutch government that it should be easier to explore and exploit existing smaller gas felds. These smaller gas felds are typically the felds our members are operating at. Still, the smaller felds are important as they contribute to one third of the total national demand for gas, and two third of this is produced ofshore. The Dutch government has recently announced that the industry will be allowed to produce natural gas at the North Sea until 2047. This is a very positive development, as this clarity hopefully gives our members a solid base to keep on investing in their much needed existing and new assets and felds.”

Widening of the scope

Apart from the thirteen action themes to support their members operation, Element NL also aims at widening their scope. “We were founded as an organisation supporting oil and gas operators. However, we should not limit ourselves to this part of the industry as the entire supply chain is relevant to make our industry future proof. This is why we are looking for further collaboration with other relevant organisations such as NWEA and IRO as it is better to search for similarities instead of focussing on differences. Also, we recently welcomed two offshore pipeline operators as associated members”, Mr Schreurs elaborates.

Integrated systems

Considering further collaboration in the supply chain, Mr Schreurs looks with great interest at the UK. “A great example of collaboration is the UK North Sea Transition Deal”, he says. “This deal supports and anchors the expert supply chain that has built up around oil and

Action items for the future

The Dutch oil and gas sector is committed to a CO2-neutral energy system. This will be achieved through innovations, investments and infrastructure. With this in mind, Element NL has formulated thirteen action items:

• Reduction of emissions:

Reduction of greenhouse gases.

Electrification of offshore installations.

– Setting out best practices for CO2 reduction in blue hydrogen projects.

– Emissions reduction for decommissioning projects.

Introducing producer responsibility.

– Transparency, monitoring and reporting of own emissions.

• Seizing CCS opportunities in the North Sea:

– CCS platform.

• Unlocking the potential for hydrogen by system integration:

– Production of blue hydrogen.

• Onshore and offshore re-purposing for renewable energies:

– Expansion of onshore energy hubs.

Framework for hydrogen and CCS through system integration.

• A relevant working environment, now and in the future: gas in the UK, to both safeguard and create new high-quality jobs. The Deal will transform the sector in preparation for a net zero future and catalyse growth throughout the UK economy. A lot of innovative solutions in the UK have come from the supply chain. We can also learn a lot from the offshore wind industry. More and more participants in today’s offshore wind tenders give startups a role in their tender bids and this could also be the case for oil and gas projects as this could improve the integration of renewable energy solutions with existing or new gas production projects. In the past, gas operators wanted offshore wind farms as far away as possible from their assets because of safety reasons. This opinion has now changed, as they see the advantage of having wind farms nearby. I personally believe in integrated systems in which energy hubs, in whatever shape or size, will play an important role for the efficient transport of energy to the shore of various countries.”

– Human capital agenda.

– Cooperation among knowledge institutions.

Operational cooperation with the wind sector.

Shaping a new system

“When I joined the association in 2013, the oil & gas industry was not well prepared for the energy transition”, Mr Schreurs states. “In the past decade all eyes were on renewable energy with a focus on solar and wind energy. At some point, many people, including the Dutch government, thought that we could do without fossil fuels. They thought of us as a problem instead of as part of the solution that we, in fact, are. Although the Dutch ambitions for offshore wind are high, we know that we still need the oil and gas infrastructure and we should not aim at destroying an existing system but instead focus on shaping a new one. In this new system, fossil will be gradually phased out in favour of renewable energy and our industry will meanwhile evolve towards new energy providers.” Mr Schreurs concludes, “Energy will always be needed and in ever growing volumes. However, as the production of energy will change, the industry will change as well and the role of Element NL will also keep on developing. Collaboration with other branches and with the entire supply chain is needed to make this change a success. From a policy perspective all signs are green as a lot has been achieved. Now the supply chain should be aware of this and act as well.”