Saudi Aramco and Exxon join supermajors, representing a 3rd of the industry, to curb emissions at own operations

Oil companies including Saudi Aramco and Exxon Mobil have for the first time set targets to cut their own operations under the banner of the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative (OGCI), Reuters reports.

It says the joint target set by the 12-member group is “eclipsed by more ambitious plans set individually by the consortium’s European members, including Royal Dutch Shell, BP and Total”.

The new target would cut the carbon intensity of the firms’ aggregated upstream operations, per barrel of oil produced in 2025, to around 10% below a 2017 baseline of 23kg of CO2 equivalent per barrel of oil equivalent (kgCO2e/boe).

The intensity targets mean absolute emissions can rise with increasing production and adds that some OGCI members already far exceed the 2025 goal, with Aramco’s operations at 10kgCO2e/boe according to the firm’s 2019 annual report.

Bloomberg also reports on the story, stressing that the new target applies to the firms’ own emissions, not including those of their customers.

Bob Dudley, the former BP Plc CEO and chairman of OGCI, said the new target is significant because it brings together privately owned and state oil producers around a common goal.

The 12-member OGCI accounts for a third of the global oil industry, according to Bloomberg, and includes China’s CNPC and Brazil’s Petrobras.