The Oil and Gas Climate Initiative (OGCI), a collaboration by the CEOs of a dozen global energy producers, said it  has reduced members’ absolute upstream methane emissions by 40% since 2017 with spending on low carbon solutions nearly doubling to $40 billion. - NaturalGasIntel

The collaborative launched an industry-wide initiative to reduce methane emissions to near zero, while boosting investments in decarbonization efforts, according to the annual Progress Report.

Eliminating methane emissions from oil and gas is one of the quickest ways. But we are not stopping there – time is limited and we need many different solutions to meet net zero. Carbon capture will also play a critical role and OGCI is supporting global efforts to scale up this vital technology across a number of industrial hubs as well as in the shipping industry.

Executive Committee Chair Bjorn Otto Sverdrup

Some of the largest exploration and production companies in the world launched the OGCI in 2014, including U.S.-based Chevron Corp., ExxonMobil and Occidental Petroleum Corp. Other members are BP plc, China National Petroleum Corp., Eni SA, Equinor ASA, Petróleo Brasileiro SA, Repsol SA, Saudi Arabian Oil Co., Shell plc and TotalEnergies SE. 

In March, the OGCI launched Aiming for Zero Methane, which to date has 60 signatories and supporters, the report noted. Members also are involved in more than 30 of the 50 global carbon capture hubs proposed or in development, with the first start in Norway set for 2024. 

2023 will be critical to demonstrate the power of the oil and gas industry to deliver an energy transition that balances energy security and affordability with the urgency to address climate change. 

Executive Committee Chair Bjorn Otto Sverdrup

In its drive toward net zero operations, the member companies set a target to reduce upstream carbon intensity to 17 kilograms (kg) of CO2 equivalent/boe (CO2e/boe) by 2025, a 26% reduction from 2017. OGCI members last year exceeded expectations, reaching 18.9 kg of CO2e/boe.

OGCI members last year also met a target to reduce methane intensity from upstream operations to below 0.2% by 2025.  

OGCI Climate Investments also celebrated its fifth anniversary in 2022. The $1 billion-plus investment arm of the OGCI in June said its portfolio companies had cut direct carbon emissions in half since 2019.