Last updated on 04 Dec 2014 08:38 (cf. Authors)
Short description
The source category 1.B.2 - Fugitive Emissions from Fuels: Oil and Natural Gas comprises a total of 14 sub categories. These categories are further divided, in keeping with oil and gas industry criteria, and in keeping with the industry's process chains.
| NFR-Code | Name of Category | Pollutants | Method | Activity Data | Emission Factor | Key Source for (by1) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.B.2.a | Oil | NMVOC, SO2 | T1, T2 | AS | please click for details | NMVOC (L) |
| 1.B.2.b | Natural Gas | CO, NMVOC, SO2 | T1, T2,T3 | AS | please click for details | - |
| 1.B.2.c | Venting and Flaring | NMVOC, NO2, CO, SO2 | T1, T2 | CS | please click for details | - |
| 1.B.3 | Geothermal Energy | - | NA | NE | NE | - |
Method
Activity Data
If not otherwise specified all activity data were taken from the annual reports of the Association of the German Petroeum Industry (MWV) [6] and the Association of Oil and Gas Producing (WEG) [7].
1.B.2.a - Oil
- Emissions from 1.B.2.a.i - Exploration, production, transport consist of emissions from activities of drilling companies and of other participants in the exploration sector. Gas and oil exploration takes place in Germany. Only emissions for successful wells, with such well information taken from the annual report of the Association of Oil and Gas Producing (WEG)] [4,7], are calculated.
| unit | 1990 | 1995 | 2000 | 2005 | 2010 | 2012 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| number of wells | No. | 12 | 17 | 15 | 23 | 16 | 26 |
| total of drilling meter | m | 50 140 | 109 187 | 41 378 | 63 994 | 51 410 | 71 424 |
- Furthermore, emissions from the petroleum industry's extraction (crude oil) and first treatment of raw materials (petroleum) are included in 1.B.2.a.i as well.
| unit | 1990 | 1995 | 2000 | 2005 | 2010 | 2012 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| oil produced | kt | 3606 | 2958 | 3123 | 3573 | 2516 | 2623 |
- Emissions from activities of logistics companies and of operators of pipelines and pipeline networks, including pertinent facilities for storage of relevant materials – i.e. crude oil and intermediate petroleum products are summed up in 1.B.2.a.i as well. Following first treatment, crude oil is transported to refineries. Almost all transports of crude oil take place via pipelines. Pipelines are stationary and, normally, run underground. In contrast to other types of transports, petroleum transports are not interrupted by handling processes.
| unit | 1990 | 1995 | 2000 | 2005 | 2010 | 2012 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| transport in pipelines | kt | 87 703 | 89 003 | 92 403 | 101 047 | 100 600 | 100 300 |
- Emissions in category 1.B.2.a.iv - Refining / storage consist of emissions from activities of refineries and of refining companies in the petroleum industry. Crude oil and intermediate petroleum products are processed in Germany. For the most part, the companies concerned receive crude oil for refining and processing. To some extent, intermediate petroleum products undergo further processing outside of refineries, in processing networks. Such processing takes place in state-of-the-art plants.
| unit | 1990 | 1995 | 2000 | 2005 | 2010 | 2012 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| processing of oil | kt | 107 058 | 96 475 | 107 632 | 114 589 | 95 397 | 95 836 |
- In category 1.B.2.a.v - Distribution of oil products emissions from distribution of oil products are described. Petroleum products are transported via ships, product pipelines, railway tanker cars and tanker trucks, and they are transferred from tanks to other tanks. The main sources of NMVOC emissions from total petrol distribution were fugitive emissions from handling and transfer (filling/unloading) and container losses (tank breathing).
| unit | 1990 | 1995 | 2000 | 2005 | 2010 | 2012 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| number of petrol stations | No | 19 317 | 17 957 | 16 324 | 15 187 | 14 744 | 14 678 |
| distribution of domestic petrol | kt | 31 257 | 30 333 | 28 833 | 23 431 | 19 634 | 18 487 |
| distribution of diesel | kt | 21 817 | 26 208 | 28 922 | 28 531 | 32 128 | 33 678 |
| distribution of jet fuel | kt | 4 584 | 5 455 | 6 939 | 8 049 | 8 465 | 8 658 |
| distribution of domestic fuel oil | kt | 31 803 | 34 785 | 27 875 | 25 380 | 21 005 | 18 710 |
1.B.2.b - Natural Gas
- Source category 1.B.2.b.i is considered together with source category 1.B.2.a.i (Oil, exploration). Consequently, the aggregated, non-subdivided data of 1.B.2.b.i are included in source category 1.B.2.a.i.
- The emission of source category 1.B.2.b.ii are produced via activities of companies involved in production and processing, as well as via activities of natural-gas and coal-seam-gas companies in connection with gas extraction from reserves. Gas pretreatment takes place in Germany, in pertinent plants. Emissions can be produced by various types of plants, throughout a spectrum ranging from first treatment to completion of processing.
| unit | 1990 | 1995 | 2000 | 2005 | 2010 | 2012 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| production and processing of natural gas | TJ | 563 382 | 606 834 | 637 647 | 597 125 | 401 518 | 341 510 |
| production and processing of town gas | TJ | 67 850 | 4 095 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
- Emissions of source category 1.B.2.b.iii consist of emissions from activities of gas producers and suppliers. In Germany, natural gases (natural gas and oil gas) are transported from production and processing companies/plants to gas suppliers and other processors. In practice, such transports take place via both pipelines (high-pressure pipelines) and containers (tanks). Until 1997, significant amounts of town gas were transported via pipelines. Provided data are taken from the National Energy Balance [10].
| unit | 1990 | 1995 | 2000 | 2005 | 2010 | 2012 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| transmission of natural gas | TJ | 2 292 780 | 2 798 545 | 2 985 285 | 3 250 118 | 3 170 565 | 2 953 673 |
- Emissions of source category 1.B.2.b.iv consist of emissions from activities of companies that supply gas to customers. In Germany, natural gas is distributed to users primarily via pipeline networks. Gas is distributed via low-pressure pipelines (with pressure up to 100 mbar) and medium-pressure pipelines (with pressure between 100 mbar and 1 bar), made of special plastics, steel / ductile cast iron and grey cast iron. To prevent double-counting, the entire high-pressure pipeline network of companies involved in gas production and long-distance gas transports has been combined within 1.B.2.b.iii.
| unit | 1990 | 1995 | 2000 | 2005 | 2010 | 2012 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| distribution network of natural gas1 | km | 218 042 | 320 878 | 369 390 | 411 955 | 405 234 | 439 466 |
1.B.2.c - Venting and Flaring
- Pursuant to general requirements of the Technical Instructions on Air Quality Control (TA Luft; 2002), gases, steam, hydrogen and hydrogen sulphide released from pressure valves and venting equipment must be collected in a gas-collection system. Wherever possible, gases so collected are burned in process combustion. Where such use is not possible, the gases are piped to a flare. Flares used for flaring of such gases must fulfil at least the requirements for flares for combustion of gases from operational disruptions and from safety valves. For refineries (1.B.2.a.iv) and other types of plants in source categories 1.B.2, flares are indispensable safety components. In crude-oil refining, excessive pressures can build up in process systems, for various reasons. Such excessive pressures have to be reduced via safety valves, to prevent tanks and pipelines from bursting. Safety valves release relevant products into pipelines that lead to flares. Flares carry out controlled burning of gases released via excessive pressures. When in place, flare-gas recovery systems liquify the majority of such gases and return them to refining processes or to refinery combustion systems. In the process, 99 % of hydrocarbons are converted to CO2 and H2O. When a plant has such systems in operation, therefore, its flarehead will seldomly show more than a small pilot flame.
| unit | 1990 | 1995 | 2000 | 2005 | 2010 | 2012 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| flaring of natural gas | 1000m³ | 36 000 | 33 000 | 36 000 | 18 734 | 12 092 | 11 648 |
1.B.3 - Geothermal Energy
- No emission factors for pollutants that could escape in connection with drilling for tapping of geothermal energy (both near-surface and deep energy) are known for Germany at present. From a geoscientific standpoint, however, it is clear that virtually any drilling will lead to releases of gases bound in underground layers – and the gases involved can include H2, CH4, CO2, H2S and Rn [3]. In many cases, and especially in drilling for tapping of geothermal energy near the surface, such emissions would be expected to be very low. "Blow-out preventers", which are safety devices that guard against gas releases, are now used in connection with all deep drilling. In addition, specially modified drilling fluids are used that force gases that are released into the well back into the penetrated rock layers.
Emission Factors
A research project done by the IER Stuttgart and Oekopol [11] dealing with plant specific emission data led to changes in emission factors, especially with NMVOC, SO2 and NOx.
non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOC)
Total NMVOC emissions from gasoline distribution come primarily from fugitive emissions released during transfer (filling/unloading) and from losses from tanks (tank breathing losses). The decrease in fugitive emissions is the result of implementation of the Technical Instructions on Air Quality Control (TA-Luft 2002) and of the 20th and 21st Ordinance on the Execution of the Federal Immission Control Act (20. and 21. BImSchV), involving introduction of vapour recovery systems. It is also the result of reduced petrol consumption.
About 13 million m³ of petrol fuels are transported annually in Germany via railway tank cars. Transfer/handling (filling/unloading) and tank losses result in emissions of only 1,260 t NMVOC and of 140 t CH4 (total of 1,400 t VOC) per year [1].
The emissions situation points to the high technical standards that have been attained in railway tank cars and pertinent handling facilities.
Emissions can occur in cleaning of tanks. Work is currently underway to take cleaning of railway tank cars into account. The residual amounts remaining in railway tank cars' tanks after the tanks have been emptied – normally, between 0 and 30 litres (up to several hundred litres in exceptional cases) – are not normally able to evaporate completely. They thus produce emissions when the insides of tanks are cleaned. Each year, some 2,500 cleaning operations are carried out on railway tank cars that transport petrol. The emissions released via exhaust venting when the insides of railway tank cars are cleaned amount to no more than 0.04 kt/a VOC. More thorough emissions collection upon opening of manholes of railway tank cars, along with more thorough treatment of exhaust from cleaning of tanks' interiors, could further reduce VOC emissions. Exhaust cleansing is assumed to be carried out via one-stage active-charcoal adsorption. For an initial load of 1 kg/m³, exhaust concentration levels can be reduced by 99.5 %, to less than 5 g/m³. As a result, the remaining emissions amount to only 1.1 t. This is equivalent to a reduction of about 97 % from the determined level of 36.5 t/a (without adsorption).
Currently, the inventory includes emissions from cleaning of railway tank cars. For emissions calculation, an empty tank with a saturated atmosphere is assumed to contain about 1 kg/m³ of VOC. When the tank's manhole is opened, about 14.6 m³ are released from the tank. The emissions for 2,500 such instances of cleaning processes amount to 36.5 t/a.
Germany uses mainly country specific emission factors for calculating the inventory. Following table shows the main drivers:
| driver | origin of the factor | emission factor (2012) | allocation of the emission |
|---|---|---|---|
| Storage of gaseous oil products | expert estimation (2008) [9] | 500 g/m³ | 1.B.2.a.iv |
| Processing of crude oil in refineries | expert estimation (2004) | 162 g/t | 1.B.2.a.iv |
| Storage of crude oil in refineries | expert estimation (2009) | 144 g/t | 1.B.2.a.iv |
| Fueling of gasoline at petrol stations | expert estimation (2010) | 1848 g/t | 1.B.2.a.v |
| Unloading of tankers at petrol stations | expert estimation (2010) | 468 g/t | 1.B.2.a.v |
| Storage of liquid oil products | expert estimation (2008) [9] | 100 g/m³ | 1.B.2.a.iv |
sulphur dioxide (SO2)
The natural gas drawn from Germany's Zechstein geological formation contains hydrogen sulphide. In its original state, the gas, known as "acid gas", has to be subjected to special treatment. Such gas is transported via separate, specially protected pipelines (due the hazardousness of hydrogen sulphide) to central processing plants that wash out its hydrogen sulphide via chemical and physical processes. The natural gas that leaves these processing plants is ready for use. The hydrogen sulphide is converted into elementary sulphur and is used primarily by the chemical industry, as a basic raw material. Sulphur production from natural gas amounts to about 1 million tonnes per year in Germany [5].
The SO2 emissions occurring in desulphurisation of crude oil are calculated as the product of the activity rate (quantity of sulphur produced by refineries) and the estimated emission factor of 10 kg/t.
Germany uses following emission factors for calculating the inventory:
| driver | origin of the factor | emission factor (2012) | allocation of the emission |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flares at refineries | expert estimation (2013) [11] | 7,3 g/m³ | 1.B.2.c |
| Desulphurisation of oil | expert estimation (2013) [11] | 0,44 g/t | 1.B.2.a.iv |
| Flares at gas treatment installations | expert estimation (2010) | 0,014 g/m³ | 1.B.2.b |
nitrogen dioxide (NO2)
Germany uses following emission factors for calculating the inventory:
| driver | origin of the factor | emission factor (2012) | allocation of the emission |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flares at refineries | expert estimation (2011) | 0,02 g/m³ | 1.B.2.c |
| Flares at oil production plants | expert estimation (2013) [11] | 0,002 g/t | 1.B.2.c |
| Flares at natural gas production plants | expert estimation (2011) | 18,1 g/1000m³ | 1.B.2.c |
carbon monoxide (CO)
Germany uses following emission factors for calculating the inventory:
| driver | origin of the factor | emission factor (2012) | allocation of the emission |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flares at refineries | expert estimation (2013) [11] | 0,33 g/m³ | 1.B.2.c |
| Flares at natural gas production plants | expert estimation (2011) | 0,7 g/m³ | 1.B.2.c |
| Flares at oil production plants | expert estimation (2011) | 0,07 g/t | 1.B.2.c |
Trends in Emissions
 |
Carbon monoxide Source: 1.B.2.b and 1.B.2.c Key Category: no Trend: -98.3% since 1990  Flaring in oil refineries the main source for carbon monoxide emission in category 1.B.2. In the early 1990s, emissions from distribution of town gas were also taken into account in calculations. In 1990, the town-gas distribution network accounted for a total of 16 % of the entire gas network. Of that share, 15 % consisted of grey cast iron lines and 84 % consisted of steel and ductile cast iron lines. Since 1997 no town gas has been distributed in Germany's gas mains. Town-gas was the only known source of CO emissions in category 1.B.2.b. |
| Sulphur dioxide Source: 1.B.2.a, 1.B.2.b and 1.B.2.c Key Category: no Trend: -79.7% since 1990 One main driver of shrinking SO2 emission is the decreasing amount of flared natural gas. The shrinking emissions are also attributed to the declining emissions from desulphurisation, that are a result of the implementation of modern technology. |
 |
 |
Nitrogen dioxide Source: 1.B.2.b and 1.B.2.c Key Category: no Trend: -95.2 % since 1990 Flaring in oil refineries is the main source for nitrogen dioxide emission in category 1.B.2. The shrinking emissions are mainly attributed to the implementation of modern technology, especially on flares. |
| Non-methane volatile organic compounds Source: 1.B.2.a, 1.B.2.b and 1.B.2.c Key Category: yes (by level and trend) Trend: -66.3% since 1990 The main sources of NMVOC emissions from total petrol distribution (1.B.2.a.v) were fugitive emissions from handling and transfer (filling/unloading) and container losses (tank breathing). These emissions have decreased by round about 65 % since 1990. The decrease in fugitive emissions during this period is the result of implementation of the Technical Instructions on Air Quality Control (TA-Luft 2002) and of the 20th and 21st Ordinance on the Execution of the Federal Immission Control Act (20. and 21. BImSchV), involving introduction of vapour recovery systems. It is also the result of reduced petrol consumption. Currently, about 13 million m³ of petrol fuels are transported in Germany via railway tank cars. This transport volume entails a maximum of 300.000 handling processes (loading and unloading). Some 5.000 to 6.000 railway tank cars for transport of petrol are in service. Transfer/handling (filling/unloading) and tank losses result in emissions of only 1,4 kt VOC per year. The emissions situation points to the high technical standards that have been attained in railway tank cars and pertinent handling facilities. On the whole, oil consumption is expected to stagnate or decrease. As a result, numbers of oil storage facilities can be expected to decrease as well. |
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References
For greenhouse gases please refer to the National Inventory Report.
Comments
Report for the Stage 3 in-depth review of emission inventories submitted under the UNECE LRTAP Convention and EU National Emissions Ceilings (2014):
- In the IIR Germany stated on this subject: “No emission factors for pollutants that could escape in connection with drilling for tapping of geothermal energy (both near-surface and deep energy) are known for Germany at present. From a geoscientific standpoint, however, it is clear that virtually any drilling will lead to releases of gases bound in underground layers – and the gases involved can include H2, CH4, CO2, H2S and Rn. Is Germany planning to do research on this subject and include this in future IIR’s?
Answer: Emissions from drilling are considered as insignificant. In a study [[11]] GHG emissions were estimated at the level of kilograms. Emissions of non-GHG are considered in the same or even lower range.
