29 January 2015, News Wires – Statoil and GE are joining forces to develop sustainable energy solutions to drive down costs and cut emissions and energy usage in the oil and unconventional gas industry.
The Norwegian major and the engineering giant are collaborating in a joint technology programme in part aimed at tackling flaring, CO2 and methane emissions and water usage in industry operations.
The programme is “aimed at driving an industrial response to some of the biggest challenges facing global oil and gas production … while also optimising business operations,” a joint statement read on Wednesday.
The partners intend on later scaling up their collaboration to seek more long-term solutions.
“In order to respond to the growing energy demands of the world, continued investments in technology and innovation are critical to helping develop long-term, low-cost and more efficient energy solutions,” said GE chief executive Jeff Immelt.
Statoil counterpart Eldar Saetre added: “The challenge of achieving more efficient and sustainable energy production is too large for one entity to address alone.
“The private sector has a responsibility to leverage its skills and expertise to contribute to the development of new solutions.”
The two have also launched the Global Innovation Challenge, aimed at getting energy-efficiency ideas from inside and outside the industry. The first phase of the initiative is aimed at addressing the use of sand in shale gas extraction.
– Upstream