More than 70 projects related to the rational use of water in the company installations are being studied
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IMPROVEMENT OF ENERGY EFFICIENCY
The energy efficiency projects implemented in the company, in 2008, led to a saving of 1.34 tons, or 240 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boed). This saving avoided the emission of 40,000 tons of CO2 equivalent.
| Energy consumption by source in the Petrobras system | |
|---|---|
| Direct energy | TERA JOULES - tj |
| Diesel oil | 23.323 |
| Fuel oil | 123.358 |
| Natural gas | 257.843 |
| Refinery gas | 81.956 |
| Residual gas | 2.290 |
| Liquefied petroleum gas (PLG) | 3.534 |
| Coke | 69.601 |
| Others (includes gasoline, alcohol and kerosene) | 1.701 |
| TOTAL DIRECTENERGY CONSUMPTION | 536.606 |
| Indirect energy | TERAJOULES - tj |
| Imported vapor | 12.173 |
| Imported electricity | 28.855 |
| TOTAL INDIRECT ENERGY CONSUMPTION | 1.028 |
| TOTAL ENERGY CONSUMPTION | 604.633 (1) (2) |
- 1) The amounts encompass the consumption in refineries, plants, petrochemicals, thermoelectric units, gas pipeline network compression stations, administrative buildings, training service stations, etc. The calculation does not include the natural gas burnt in flare or that used as raw material in petrochemical plants and thermoelectric units.
- 2) The areas with the largest energy consumption are downstream (257,600 TJ), international area (144,700 TJ) and exploration and production (142,000 TJ).
The drop in saving compared to 2007 is due to the operation start-up of only 16 of a total of 53 energy efficiency projects. Another 37 projects have still to be entered in the Energy Efficiency Program, although they are now in the conceptual, basic, or detailed design stage or in the process of installation.
In 2008 Petrobras consumed 604,633 terajoules (TJ) of energy in its operations from primary sources, with emphasis on natural gas and fuel oil.
The improvement in energy efficiency is considered to be a low-cost solution for reducing global warmingrelated emissions and their impact on climate change. The search for excellence in energy efficiency is an integral part of the corporate strategy of Petrobras.
Since 1974, the Internal Energy Conservation Program coordinates and implements the company activities relating to energy efficiency. In alignment with the program, each Internal Commission of Energy Conservation (Cice) includes among its attributions the study of the potential reduction of energy consumption or related expenses. Cices also promote consciousness of employees about the theme. The Petrobras System has 36 Cices, under the Coordination Committee of Internal Energy Conservation Committees (Comcice), consisting of representatives from several in-company business and service areas.
Some of the initiatives for reducing indirect energy consumption are the installation of solar heaters and optimizing the efficiency of the air-conditioning systems, building illumination and computers. Thermosolar installations in seven downstream units economized 2,885 MWh/year (10.39 TJ/year), equivalent to the emission of 296 tons of CO2 a year. In the Bahia Exploration & Production Business Unit the installation of a pilot plant is being negotiated for the use of wind energy with 5MW capacity capable of an annual reduction of about 15,900 MWh (57.2 TJ/year) in energy consumption from other sources.
In May, the Petrobras International Energy Efficiency Seminar involved approximately 400 participants of the company and representatives of international organizations, such as the United Nations (UN), European Union and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). During the event the Petrobras Energy Conservation Award 2008 was given to the best works developed in the company in this area. The award was created in 1994 and includes the categories “best results from conservation and rational use of electricity and fuels by business units” and “best practices adopted for energy use”.
WATER
During the year 195.18 million m3 of freshwater was collected for use in the company’s operational and administrative activities. This volume came from 176 sources, including 58 surface water bodies (66% of the total volume) and 62 underground sources (25% of the total volume). The remaining 9% was supplied by 56 downstream concessionaires or outsourced companies. The reduction compared with the volume of water collected in 2007 (216.49 million m3) was the result of the actions taken by the company to improve the methodology and system for studying and investigating information about resource use. There were no qualitative or quantitative records of sources significantly affected by direct collection or effluent discharge.
In 2008, the company began implementing the Data Hidro system. This database allows recording and inquiries of quantitative and qualitative information about the use of water and generation of liquid effluents in Petrobras operational units. It also consolidates indicators and costs referring to use of such resources. Data Hidro contributes significantly to checking compliance with the standards of discharging effluents into the environment.
More than 70 projects are being undertaken relating to the rational use of water in the company facilities, involving aspects such as the reuse of the natural resource in the oil production process, purification of effluents for reuse and improvement of desalinization systems in offshore platforms.
During the year, the company reused approximately 12.88 million m3 of water in its processes and operations, corresponding to 6.6% of the total volume of freshwater collection. Some conventional practices of the oil and gas industry are not included in this total, such as the recovery of condensate in thermal cycles and recirculation of cooling water. Further information about the case study can be found on pages 106 and 107.
MATERIALS AND OTHER NATURAL RESOURCES
In June, during the Third Brazilian Trade Fair of Recycling, Conservation and Environmental Technology (ReciclAção), Paraná, South Brazil, Petrobras presented the technology used by the Shale Industrialization plant (SIX) for processing used and unusable tires, responsible for recycling more than 11 million tires since 2001.
Each ton of tires is processed together with the shale and yields about 530 kg of oil, 40 kg of gas, 300 kg of carbon black and 100 kg of steel. The waste from the process is used as production resources for thermal power plants or may return to the soil without harming the environment. The decomposition time of a tire in nature is 600 years or more.
In the segment of asphalt products, one of the products offered by Petrobras Distribuidora is rubber asphalt, modified by the addition of ground rubber coming from unusable tires. The use of this material provides a highly elastic, age resistant and cohesive coating , plus an excellent cost benefit ratio.
Petrobras has not yet consolidated the total volume of materials used, and the percentage of materials used from recycling processes is still to be calculated. In the case of Petrobras Distribuidora, ethanol is worth mentioning as the main material used, representing 69% of the total value of the subsidiary’s procurement. In 2008 procurement of the product was nearly 4.39 billion liters.