Ten big oil companies to spend US$1 bn on new tech to counter climate change
Chief executive officers (CEOs) from 10 big oil and gas companies from all over the globe have pledged to invest US$1 billion to develop new technologies that are more climate and environmentally friendly in an action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The Oil and Gas Climate Initiative (OGCI), a CEO-led initiative, launched the Climate Investments fund which will invest in technologies to reduce carbon emissions but which will also help an increase gas use. The member companies, which jointly produce around 20% of the world’s oil and gas, are Saudi Aramco, Royal Dutch Shell, Total, BP, Eni, Repsol, Statoil, CNPC, Pemex, and Reliance Industries.
A large share of the US$1 billion was pledged to be used for speeding up carbon capture, use and storage (CCUS) in gas-fired power plants and toward reducing leakages of methane, one of the most polluting greenhouse gases.
“If we can reduce and build the technologies to monitor and reduce fugitive methane emissions, that’s like an essential license for us to be able to advocate natural gas,” BP Chief Executive Bob said.
Nevertheless, the investment is still dwarfed by the joint annual spending of the member companies, even as they battle one of the longest downturns in the sector’s history. Shell, Total, BP, Statoil, Repsol and Eni are expected to spend nearly US$100 billion in 2016.
The OGCI has already screened a list of 200 CCUS-related technologies and are now assessing which one or ones to develop to commercial scale.
The group will also invest in improving efficiency in transport and energy-intensive industries.
The announcement coincides with the official coming into force of the 2015 Paris Agreement, intended to wean the world economy off coal, oil and gas in the second half of this century in order to slash carbon emissions.
The oil and gas sector, which is directly responsible for 5% of manmade greenhouse emissions and the use of its products for another 32%, is under growing pressure from investors and the general public to help fight climate change.
“If the CEOs of the 10 largest corporations meet six times during the year, it’s not for philanthropy; it’s real business,” said Patrick Pouyanne, chief executive of Total.
Critics have said oil companies need to do more to reduce emissions and to shield themselves from climate change risks.
