Shell, BP, ExxonMobil and a host of other industry giants have set their sights on lowering emissions as the Oil & Gas Climate Initiative (OGCI) unveiled a target to reduce the average carbon intensity of its member companies’ aggregated upstream operations in 2025 by at least 8.7% compared to 2017.
The goal is to reach between 20 and 21 kilogrammes of CO2 equivalent per barrel of oil equivalent within five years from a collective baseline of 23kg CO2e/boe in 2017.
OGCI’s members include BP, Shell, ExxonMobil, Total, Chevron, Saudi Aramco, CNPC, Eni, Equinor, Occidental Petroleum, Petrobras and Repsol.
This range, said the organisation, is consistent with the reduction needed across the oil and gas industry by 2025 to support the Paris Agreement goals.
It said the carbon intensity target represents a reduction of between 36 million and 52 million tonnes of CO2e per year by 2025, assuming constant levels of marketed oil and gas production.
Stepping stone
OGCI stated that this new goal is a near-term, practical step for member companies to continue to expand their contribution to the transition to a low carbon economy, and covers both CO2 and methane emissions from members’ operated upstream activities plus emissions from associated imports of electricity and steam.
The organisation’s next step will be to take specific actions on emissions from liquefied natural gas and gas-to-liquids operations, which are not included in OGCI’s 2017 figure or the 2025 target.
In a joint statement, the chief executives of OGCI’s member companies said: “Encouraged by the progress we have made towards our target on methane intensity, we have come together to reduce by 2025 the collective average carbon intensity of our aggregated upstream oil and gas emissions.”
“Together we are increasing the speed, scale and impact of our actions to address climate change, as the world aims for net zero emissions as early as possible.”
To achieve the new target, the OGCI members will improve energy efficiency, reduce methane emissions, minimise flaring, electrify operations use renewable electricity where possible, co-generate electricity and useful heat, and deploy carbon capture, use and storage.
