Application of Renewable Energy in the Oil and Gas Industry

Abstract

The oil and gas industry will continue to play an essential role in meeting the growing world energy demand for decades to come. A fact sometimes overlooked is that the industry is also a major consumer of energy and a contributor to Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions. In recent years, there has been increasing interest in the use of renewable energy in the oil industry. Various technologies are used to produce renewable energy, from solar radiation to harnessing the power of the wind and sea. The application of different types of renewable energy in oil and gas fields is reviewed. The advantages and limitations of each technology are discussed. This paper presents the state of the art on current and potential applications of the different technologies of renewable energy in the oil and gas industry. The paper demonstrates that using renewables offer many advantages including saving hydrocarbon resources, minimizing the oil industry's GHG emission and enhancing its public image.