Distribution of fugitive emissions in the energy complex of Russia during the supply of oil to refineries

Energy Reports. 2023. Vol. 9. No. 9. P. 72–78.

Klepikov V. P., Klepikova L. V.

Large volumes of oil in the energy complex of Russia are annually delivered by pipeline and rail transport to refinery warehouses and stored there until they are processed. Each element of the oil supply chain generates significant amounts of fugitive emissions. The quantitative determination of these emissions is a gap in the research on the energy complex. The paper developed a method for estimating the volume of fugitive emissions in oil supply chains at refineries in the energy complex. The study period under consideration is 2009–2021. The study showed that in the oil supply chain, the largest emissions are produced when oil is stored in refinery tank farms. The amount of these emissions is an order of magnitude greater than the amount of emissions from oil transportation. When transporting oil to refineries of the energy complex, pipeline transport has the greatest environmental advantage. It is several times inferior to railway transport in terms of the fugitive emissions produced.

Keywords: oil, Refinery, Emissions, Tank farms, Oil supply chains