Question
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the comments by Earl Attlee on 5 December (HL Deb, col GC164), what is the intensity of greenhouse gas emissions from the production of fuel from (1) oil sands, (2) Nigerian and Angolan crude, (3) Brent crude, and (4) Saudi Arabian crude.
Answer
While the Government do not hold such information, the European Commission has commissioned various studies which estimate values associated with particular grades of crude oil so as to inform the implementation of the fuel quality directive. Emissions can vary according to a range of factors, including the relative ““heaviness”” of crude oil sources (countries often produce more than one grade of crude), the technology employed in processing and refining the crude, and the amount of associated gas flaring.