Oil and gas players used this week’s United Nations Climate Summit to promote their investments in low-carbon technologies as they sought to signal they are keen to contribute to energy transition.
Carbon dioxide emissions hit another record last year, with those from oil and gas reaching 12.8 billion tonnes, according to a statement from a UN science advisory group released on Sunday ahead of the summit.
Amid growing public pressure for action, oil companies are lining up to announce plans to tackle carbon capture, use and storage and make other investments in renewable energy technologies.
This week, while world diplomats and heads of state gathered to discuss urgent actions needed to combat climate change, the chief executives of some of the world’s largest oil and gas companies, representing 32% of global operated production, also met nearby to discuss their own strategies.
The 13 member companies in the Oil & Gas Climate Initiative (OGCI) said the group aims to double the amount of carbon dioxide stored globally by 2030.
OGCI said it is also taking steps to reduce methane emissions and increase energy efficiency.
Reducing carbon intensity involves actions that include minimising flaring, upgrading facilities and co-generating electricity and useful heat.
The group also charted out a plan to promote investments in carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) via a new KickStarter initiative.
The plan is designed to help decarbonise multiple industrial hubs around the world, starting with the US, UK, Norway, the Netherlands and China.
“The aim of the KickStarter is to create the necessary conditions to facilitate a commercially viable, safe and environmentally responsible CCUS industry, with an early aspiration to double the amount of carbon dioxide that is currently stored globally before 2030,” OGCI said.
In another move, all member companies of the group, formed in 2014, pledged to support policies that “attribute an explicit or implicit value to carbon”.
“Acknowledging the role that attributing a value to carbon plays as one of the most cost-efficient ways to achieve the low carbon transition as early as possible, OGCI supports the introduction of appropriate policies or carbon value mechanisms by governments,” the group said.
The chief executive-led initiative aims to drive the industry response to climate change and includes 13 oil and gas companies — BP, Chevron, China National Petroleum Corporation, Eni, Equinor, ExxonMobil, Occidental Petroleum, Pemex, Petrobras, Repsol, Saudi Aramco, Shell and Total.
Separately, Norway's Equinor signed a memorandum of understanding this week with state-owned China Power International Holding to co-operate on offshore wind developments in China and Europe.
The move came a week after Equinor and UK utility SSE agreed to develop the world’s biggest offshore wind farm in the Dogger Bank region of the North Sea, which will comprise three large-scale offshore wind projects with a total installed capacity of 3.6 gigawatts.
The projects are estimated to trigger a total capital investment of approximately £9 billion ($11.3 billion) between 2020 and 2026.
In addition, Italy’s Eni signed a cooperation agreement with the UK’s Mainstream Renewable Power to develop large-scale renewable assets across Africa and Southeast Asia, with an initial focus on the UK.
Eni and Mainstream said they would be participating jointly in the UK’s fourth offshore wind leasing round, which could potentially see at least 7GW of new seabed rights for offshore wind development in the waters around England and Wales.
Last week, millions of young people flooded the streets of cities around the world to demand urgent steps to stop climate change.
Many, including 16-year-old Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, have criticised governments and industries for not doing enough.