This study is the first phase of a program to develop reliable emissions estimates for offshore oil and gas development and production. The objectives of this screening phase are to characterize the equipment used offshore, to evaluate the sources of emissions, to make preliminary estimates of emissions rates, and to identify current control technologies and control technologies which require further study. The two major sources accounting for over seventy percent of total non-methane hydrocarbon emissions are oil storage or storage tanks on board the platforms and vents which discharge intermittently during gas processing. Power generation during production operations is the largest source of essentially continuous emissions of oxides of nitrogen, sulfur oxides, carbon monoxide and particulates, but accounts for only about ten percent of total non-methane hydrocarbon emissions. The most likely means of achieving emissions reductions are the use of vapor recovery systems, development of combined cycle power systems suitable for offshore use, and maximum utilization of waste heat.

Prepared under contract no. 68-02-2512. Issued June 1977. Includes bibliographical references.