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Audit-Ready Carbon Reporting for Oil Refineries

Track refinery process heater fuel, hydrogen production emissions, flaring volumes, and fugitive releases for crude oil processing operations.

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The Industry Hotspot: Process Heater Fuel and Hydrogen Production

Heaters and hydrogen dominate

Refineries consume substantial fuel for process heaters that maintain temperatures in distillation columns and other processing units. Natural gas and refinery fuel gas power these heaters generating direct combustion emissions. Hydrogen production via steam methane reforming for hydrotreating and hydrocracking generates significant process emissions from the chemical reaction plus combustion emissions from reformer furnaces. Flaring of excess gases during upsets and maintenance contributes additional emissions. NetNada tracks refinery fuel consumption, hydrogen production volumes, flare gas flow, and fugitive emissions from equipment leaks.

SASB Industry Definition

The Oil & Gas Refining & Marketing industry processes crude oil into refined products including gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, heating oil, and petrochemicals. Refineries are complex facilities with numerous processing units including distillation, cracking, reforming, and treating operations. The industry also markets and distributes refined products through retail gas stations and wholesale channels. Refining is energy-intensive with emissions from process heaters, hydrogen production, flaring, and fugitive releases.

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Industry-Specific Carbon Accounting

No generic solutions. Metrics, data sources, and reporting aligned to Oil & Gas - Refining & Marketing operations.

Refinery Fuel Consumption Tracking

Process heaters, boilers, and turbines consume natural gas and refinery fuel gas (mixture from various units). Track fuel consumption by processing unit and utility. Calculate direct combustion emissions. Report total fuel consumption and emissions intensity per barrel crude processed for benchmarking against complexity-adjusted industry averages.

Fuel per barrel processed

Hydrogen Production Emissions

Steam methane reforming produces hydrogen for hydrotreating and hydrocracking units. Reformer combines natural gas with steam at high temperature releasing CO2 from both combustion and chemical reaction. Track natural gas feedstock, hydrogen production volume, and reformer efficiency. Calculate emissions per unit hydrogen produced and allocate to refinery products requiring hydrogen treatment.

Hydrogen production tracked

Flare Stack Monitoring and Minimization

Flaring burns excess hydrocarbon gases during process upsets, startups, and maintenance. Track flare gas flow rates, heating value, and combustion efficiency. Calculate emissions from flared volumes. Monitor flare minimization programs reducing routine flaring through process optimization and gas recovery systems. Report flaring intensity per barrel crude processed.

Flaring intensity tracked

Fugitive Emissions from Equipment Leaks

Valves, pumps, compressors, and flanges leak small amounts of hydrocarbons. Track component counts, leak factors by equipment type, and leak detection and repair program effectiveness. Calculate fugitive emissions using engineering correlations or direct measurement. Report total fugitive emissions and implementation of enhanced LDAR programs.

Fugitive emissions quantified

Product Slate and Complexity Adjustment

Refinery complexity affects energy intensity. Simple refineries with only distillation have lower emissions per barrel but produce less valuable products. Complex refineries with cracking, reforming, and treating units consume more energy but yield higher value products. Calculate complexity-weighted intensity accounting for product slate. Benchmark against refineries with similar complexity.

Complexity-adjusted intensity

SASB EM-RM Metrics Automation

Auto-generate disclosure including gross Scope 1 emissions, refining emissions intensity per barrel, energy consumed and percentage renewable, flaring intensity, and optional Scope 3 Category 11 from product combustion. Footnotes cite refinery capacity and configuration.

SASB EM-RM compliant

Product Features for Oil & Gas - Refining & Marketing

Use Carbon Data Uploader to import refinery fuel consumption logs, hydrogen production data, and flare monitoring system outputs for automated emissions calculation. Learn more →

The Activity Calculator applies emission factors for natural gas, refinery fuel gas, and process-specific emissions—calculating refining carbon intensity per barrel. Learn more →

Related Solutions

See our Carbon Accounting solution for end-to-end refinery emissions tracking from crude processing through product distribution.

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Oil & Gas - Refining & Marketing Case Studies

How entities in this industry use NetNada to solve carbon accounting challenges.

Integrated Refinery (250k barrels per day capacity, complex configuration)

Challenge

EU ETS carbon costs increased significantly impacting refining margins. Emissions intensity above free allocation benchmark resulting in substantial carbon purchase requirements. Needed unit-level emissions tracking to identify reduction opportunities and justify capital investments.

Solution

Implemented carbon tracking system with sub-metering by processing unit. Tracked fuel consumption for crude distillation, reforming, cracking, and hydrotreating separately. Identified hydrogen production reformer as largest single emission source. Modeled energy efficiency projects and hydrogen import alternatives.

Result

Installed waste heat recovery on reformer furnace reducing natural gas consumption. Optimized hydrogen network reducing reformer throughput. Emissions intensity per barrel decreased substantially. Improved free allocation coverage and reduced carbon costs significantly over four-year period.

Coastal Refinery (150k barrels per day, gasoline and diesel focused)

Challenge

Flaring intensity above regional average due to aging equipment and process control limitations. Environmental authority issued notice requiring flaring reduction plan. Community complaints about visible flare events increased regulatory pressure.

Solution

Emissions tracking platform integrated with flare monitoring systems to capture real-time flow data. Analyzed flaring patterns by cause: planned maintenance, process upsets, safety relief events. Identified opportunities for flare gas recovery and process optimization to reduce routine flaring.

Result

Implemented flare gas recovery compressor capturing gases that previously vented to flare. Upgraded process controls reducing upset frequency. Flaring intensity per barrel reduced by more than half over three years. Met regulatory requirements and improved community relations through visible reduction in flare events.

SASB Disclosure Topics for Oil & Gas - Refining & Marketing

Material sustainability topics beyond emissions that investors and stakeholders expect disclosed per SASB standards.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions

environment

Track Scope 1 from process heaters, hydrogen reformers, flaring, and fugitive releases. Report emissions per barrel crude processed (refining intensity) and per unit energy output (complexity-adjusted).

Air Quality

environment

Monitor SOx, NOx, particulate matter, and VOC emissions from refinery operations. Track compliance with air quality permits and emission control technology performance.

Water Management

environment

Track cooling water consumption, process water use, and wastewater treatment. Monitor discharge quality and compliance with water discharge permits.

Product Lifecycle Emissions

environment

Disclose downstream Scope 3 Category 11 emissions from combustion of marketed fuels (gasoline, diesel, jet fuel). Report per unit energy content of products sold.

Workforce Health and Safety

social

Report process safety incidents, lost-time injury rates, and implementation of process safety management systems. Track safety training hours and near-miss reporting culture.

Transition Risk and Product Mix

business model

Disclose refinery configuration flexibility to process different crude slates. Report investments in low-carbon fuel production (renewable diesel, sustainable aviation fuel) and petrochemical integration.

NetNada tracks all SASB material topics, not just emissions. Our platform supports disclosure across environmental, social, governance, and business model topics relevant to your industry.

Oil & Gas - Refining & Marketing FAQs

Common questions about carbon accounting for this industry

Why do refineries have such different emissions intensities per barrel of crude processed?
Refinery complexity drives intensity differences. Simple refineries primarily distill crude into products with minimal additional processing showing lower emissions per barrel. Complex refineries crack heavy fractions, reform naphtha to high-octane gasoline, and hydro-treat products for sulfur removal requiring substantially more energy. Product slate also matters - producing more light products requires more intensive processing. Must benchmark against refineries of similar complexity. Complexity-weighted intensity accounts for product value differences.
What is the largest emission source in typical refineries?
Process heaters and boilers consuming fuel to maintain temperatures in distillation and conversion units represent large emission source. Hydrogen production via steam methane reforming typically second largest for refineries with significant hydrotreating capacity. Flaring can be significant during upsets but usually smaller on annual basis. Fugitive emissions from equipment leaks distributed across facility. Relative importance varies by refinery configuration and crude slate processed.
Should refineries report Scope 3 emissions from combustion of gasoline and diesel they sell?
Downstream combustion of marketed fuels is Scope 3 Category 11 - optional but increasingly reported by integrated oil companies. Represents much larger emissions than refinery operations (typically ten to twenty times Scope 1 and 2 combined). Refiners providing fuel products to society with consumers making combustion decisions. Most refiners report Scope 1 and 2 as primary metrics. Progressive companies disclose Scope 3 Category 11 separately showing full value chain impact with clear methodology notes.
How can refineries reduce emissions without major capital projects?
Several operational optimization opportunities exist: optimize hydrogen network to minimize reformer load, reduce flaring through better process control and gas recovery, implement enhanced LDAR programs for fugitive emissions, optimize heater firing for maximum efficiency, reduce steam system losses, and capture waste heat for power generation. These measures can achieve emissions reductions through better operations. Major reductions require capital investments in energy efficiency equipment or carbon capture technology.
Can refineries produce low-carbon fuels like renewable diesel?
Yes, refineries can co-process bio-based feedstocks with petroleum or dedicate units to renewable fuel production. Hydrotreating vegetable oils or waste fats produces renewable diesel with properties similar to petroleum diesel. Requires hydrogen supply and may need unit modifications. Product has substantially lower lifecycle emissions than petroleum diesel when accounting for biogenic carbon. Several refineries globally transitioning partially or fully to renewable feedstocks. Renewable diesel production growing rapidly driven by low-carbon fuel standards and decarbonization commitments.

Track Refinery Process Emissions and Fuel Consumption

See how refineries calculate emissions per barrel crude processed, optimize hydrogen production, and generate SASB-compliant disclosures—automated.

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