It may sound like a contradiction in terms, but refineries can be clean and green. At Petrofac, we’re already using a broad spectrum of low-carbon engineering strategies to reduce both the carbon footprint of a built facility and the carbon intensity of its ongoing operations.

By partnering with low-carbon supply chains, designing low-carbon processes, and specifying low-carbon materials, we can minimise the environmental impact of construction, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and support a circular economy.

The sustainable refinery is not a pipe dream; it is already becoming a reality.

Over the lifetime of a refinery, the flare system - used to disperse and burn waste gas from the plant during - can generate an estimated 3.17 million tonnes of CO2 emissions.

At the Duqm Refinery project in Oman, our inventive engineers designed a flare gas recovery package to capture the purge gas that’s used to flush the system, along with other waste gases. Instead of simply being burned off, and creating unnecessary emissions, the waste gas is compressed, separated, cooled, and sent back to the fuel gas system to be reused within the refinery.

Steam plays a major role in a refinery’s utility system. It’s used to operate rotating machinery such as pumps, distil crude oil to produce derivatives, and clean and maintain key equipment. Steam pressure is also a cost-effective and environmentally friendly energy source.

Because steam is produced as a by-product of a refinery’s everyday operations, there are – in theory – opportunities for it to be captured and re-used. But the excess steam produced by the refinery process units is far too pressurised for it to be of any practical use. So, at the Duqm Refinery project in Oman, an extraction-condensing steam turbine was installed to capture this waste steam and reduce its pressure. The tamed, medium-pressure steam is then used to generate electricity for use in various other processes in the refinery.

At the Duqm Refinery project in Oman, 47,000m2 of solar panels were installed on various buildings, including the warehouse, main administration building and mosque, to reduce the site’s carbon footprint. These panels are estimated to generate over 8 million kWh of green electricity annually, providing power for utilities such as building and street lights, automatic gates and surveillance cameras.

Copper is the world’s most reusable resource, as it can be infinitely recycled without any loss of quality. Producing primary copper is highly energy intensive, typically generating 3-5 tonnes of CO2 per tonne of copper. By contrast, recycled copper requires up to 85% less energy, reducing emissions to just 0.5-1 tonne of CO2 per tonne of copper – making it a far more sustainable alternative. Using recycled copper cables in the construction of a typical refinery can save 225 tonnes of CO2.

Fully electric vehicles, powered by renewable energy, can cut CO2 emissions by a whopping 70-90% compared to vehicles with combustion engines powered by fossil fuels. During 2024, approximately six million miles were driven for Petrofac-related business. If these miles were driven in a fully electric vehicle, around 1,300 tonnes of CO2 would have been avoided.  

Did you know? Using electric vehicles for Petrofac’s business could save approximately 1,300 tonnes of CO2, which is equivalent to powering about 160 homes for a year.