OGCI sets methane emissions target

During 10th annual Climate Week, OGCI meets in New York 

Thirteen of the world’s biggest oil and gas companies have agreed a target to reduce collective methane emissions from their upstream operations. The announcement was made in New York during the 10th annual Climate Week.

The target applies collectively to the 13 companies, who together make up the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative, or OGCI, and sets a goal to reduce by 2025 their aggregated average methane intensity from upstream oil and gas operations to below 0.25%. 

It was announced at the OGCI’s fourth annual meeting and could see collective methane emissions cut by 350,000 tonnes annually.

BP chief executive and OGCI chair, Bob Dudley, said: “We’re pleased to be a part of 10th anniversary of the Climate Week and contributing to the goal of lowering emissions and advancing the energy transition. Our ambition is to go beyond this target, down to 0.2% to achieve as much as one-third reduction in the same timeframe. This is exactly the kind of progress we hoped for when we established the OGCI in 2014.”

Climate investments

At the same meeting, the group also announced investments in methane emissions detection and mitigation technologies through its Climate Investments arm.

“These investments in methane leak detection and prevention are the types of practical innovations that can get implemented quickly and will allow our companies to achieve an immediate and meaningful win for climate action,” said Pratima Rangarajan, CEO of Climate Investments. 

The announcements follow the news on Friday of three new OGCI members ― ExxonMobil, Chevron and Occidental Petroleum. With the membership increasing to 13 major companies, OGCI now represents 30% of global oil and gas production and close to 20% of global primary energy consumption.

At the same event, OGCI Climate Investments announced that it is partnering with China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) to create an investment fund focused on China. A minimum of $100 million dollars is being invested to focus on the development, demonstration, and rapid scale-up of technologies and business solutions that have the potential to materially reduce greenhouse gases. This agreement represents a significant opportunity for Climate Investments and CNPC to develop climate solutions in Asia, with its rapidly advancing technological capabilities and highly-skilled workforce.