Electrification of Offshore Power Consumption and its Impact on European CO ₂ emissions

This study evaluates three electrification scenarios for oil and gas installations on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS) in 2040 using a simulation model of the Nordic power system model. The analysis examines how increased offshore power demand affects the generation mix and applies different methods to quantify associated CO₂ emissions and reduction potentials. Results show that the overall generation mix is largely unchanged, though marginal generation increasingly relies on fossil fuels and biomass. Despite this, higher electrification levels yield substantial CO₂ reductions-up to 75% compared to current plans, or 63% when using marginal emission-based methods, which estimate higher indirect emissions. Overall, the 2040 power system can accommodate increased offshore demand and remains sufficiently decarbonized for electrification to be an effective emissions reduction strategy.