Hydrocarbon Processing - April 2021 - 19

Executive
Viewpoint

THORBJOERN FORS, EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT
Energy Industrial Applications, Siemens Energy, Finspång, Sweden

Technology to drive decarbonization
of the oil and gas industry
Hydrocarbon Processing (HP) was
pleased to speak with Thorbjoern Fors
(TF), EVP of Industrial Applications,
Siemens Energy, to discuss the decarbonization of the oil and gas industry and the
technologies that are helping companies
meet their sustainability goals.
HP: Many regulations and initiatives
are being enacted by companies
and countries to decarbonize.
How does your organiztion see the
future of the oil and gas industry?

THORBJOERN FORS is the Executive Vice
President (EVP) of the Siemens Energy's
Industrial Applications division. Prior to this
position, Mr. Fors served as Chief Executive
Officer of the service distribution generation
and oil and gas business unit of Siemens. He
has also held EVP roles in the organization's
industrial power generation and compressions
business and within global marketing and sales
of new equipment, including industrial gas
turbines, industrial steam turbines and power
plant solutions.
Mr. Fors is a mechanical engineer with
more than 25 yr of international experience
in business development, sales, operation and
leading global profit and loss units. Over his
17-yr career at Siemens, he has held several
senior management positions in both new
equipment and customer service. Prior to
joining Siemens, he held a variety of leadership
positions at ABB Power Generation and
ALSTOM in Sweden, Australia and Canada.

TF: There is no question that the
world is moving toward a low-carbon
future. While this transition will not
happen overnight, I see many organizations-from the upstream to the downstream-already making excellent progress in decarbonization. Hydrocarbons,
particularly natural gas, are needed to
meet the growing demand for power and
for many derivative products and fuels
society uses every day. I think the industry is becoming more diligent about
reducing emissions and I am encouraged
by the momentum.
HP: What technologies and steps
can advance the processing
industry's efforts to decarbonize?

TF: There are several. At the top of
the list are increased electrification and
power system hybridization, waste heat
recovery and co-generation, and hydrogen co-firing in gas turbines. All are
commercially proven and have broad
applicability in the process industry.
For example, Siemens Energy partnered
with Braskem in Brazil to modernize
the onsite power plant for a major petrochemical complex using our proprietary industrial gas turbines. The new
cogeneration plant is fueled by residual
process gas with high hydrogen content
and will reduce energy consumption by

an amount roughly equivalent to a city
with 1 MM inhabitants.
Another example is in Canada, where
we partnered with TC Energy to build
a first-of-its-kind, waste heat-to-power
facility that will convert waste heat from
gas turbine exhaust at a compressor station into emissions-free power. The energy produced will be enough to electrify more than 10,000 homes and offset
44,000 tpy of greenhouse gases.
HP: Can you detail the
three dimensions of the
decarbonization journey?

TF: The first dimension-or step for
decarbonization-is to target energy efficiency increases by better utilizing waste
heat and optimizing plant performance-
i.e., the " low-hanging fruit. "
The second dimension involves a fuel
shift-ideally away from feedstocks like
coal and heavy fuel oils-to cleaner alternatives, such as natural gas, hydrogen (cofiring), biofuels and other sustainable alternatives like e-methanol. This could also
mean hybridizing onsite power generation
by supplementing conventional sources
with renewables and energy storage.
The third dimension alludes to measures that can enable organizations to
achieve deep decarbonization. This
includes technologies such as carbon
capture, storage and utilization and the
burning of up to 100% hydrogen fuel
in gas turbines to produce carbon-free
power, and, of course, renewables such as
wind power.
While the end goal for many organizations is the same (i.e., net-zero), the journey through the three dimensions looks
different for everyone.
HP: How can digital technologies
help companies meet their
sustainability goals?
Hydrocarbon Processing | APRIL 2021 19

Hydrocarbon Processing - April 2021

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