Europa Oil Releases Updated Irish License Emissions Report

Europa Oil & Gas (Holdings) plc, has released the results of a study calculating the expected emissions associated with the development of a one trillion cubic feet (Tcf) indigenous gas discovery under the company’s Irish offshore license FEL 4/19.

The company said in a media release that sustain:able, an ISO-certified emissions advisory company that specializes in forecasting greenhouse gas emissions associated with the upstream oil and gas industry, independently prepared the report.

Europa said it commissioned the report following the recently redefined 1.5 Tcf Inishkea West prospect. This was a result of a remapping exercise of the prospects under the license following the reprocessing of the existing seismic data, and the 2022 emissions data recently published by the United Kingdom government.

The study found that the average operational life-of-field emissions intensity for the Corrib gas field stands at 5.3 kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalent per barrel of oil equivalent (kgCO2e/boe). The anticipated average operational life-of-field emissions intensity for indigenous gas in the license is 2.8 kgCO2e/boe.

It also noted that the weighted average carbon intensity of gas imported into Ireland from the UK in 2022 is estimated to be 36 kgCO2/boe (more than 12 times the CO2 emissions compared to indigenous gas from the license). Meanwhile, LNG accounted for 26.7 percent of UK gas imports in 2022, exhibiting a weighted average carbon intensity of 78 kgCO2/boe (over 27 times higher CO2 emissions than Irish indigenous gas from the license), according to the study.

The report said that expected production from Inishkea West holds the potential to largely obviate the necessity for gas imports from the UK from 2030 to the conclusion of 2032 (based on SEAI demand forecasts), thus significantly reducing associated emissions.

The report highlighted the low emissions linked to the development of a gas discovery at Inishkea West primarily attributed to several key factors. These factors include the close proximity of Inishkea West to the established Corrib field, with Corrib located adjacent to the license and Inishkea West situated approximately 18 kilometers (11.2 miles) from the Corrib infrastructure.

Furthermore, gas extraction would utilize the existing subsea pipeline and facilities at the Bellanaboy Gas Terminal. The quality of the gas, along with its minimal impurity levels, contributes significantly to the emission reduction, according to the report. Additionally, the anticipated reservoir quality, expected initial production rates from Inishkea West wells, the size of the gas resource, and forecast production profiles associated with a gas discovery in the license play pivotal roles in maintaining the low emissions profile of the project.

“This updated emissions report reinforces the importance of the gas resource at Inishkea West, which has the potential to not only eradicate the need for higher emissions intensity gas imports from the UK for up to 3 years, but also a discovery would help Ireland meet its carbon emission reduction targets. A discovery at Inishkea West could provide security of gas supply for Ireland during the transition to renewable energy, which is in line with the EU’s stated goals for diversity of gas supply”, Will Holland, Chief Executive Officer of Europa, said.

“FEL 4/19 contains the large 1.5 Tcf low risk Inishkea West gas prospect where, given the proximity to existing infrastructure, a discovery could be brought online quickly providing domestic gas with, as this report demonstrates, significantly lower emissions intensity than imported gas from the UK, Norway or further afield”, added Holland.

Holland said Europa is now progressing FEL 4/19 to drilling, which requires the company to attract more partners to this license.

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