As the carbon transition progresses and increasingly rewards efficiency, oil and gas companies are reducing their operational intensities, with more than half of the 39 companies analyzed showing carbon-intensity reductions during the latest five-year period. The refining and marketing segment trails others with the highest average intensity.
A higher percentage of integrated oil and gas companies are reducing their operational carbon intensity -- million tonnes CO2e/invested capital plus depreciation ($/billion) -- than in others in the industry, our analysis suggests. In the latest five-year period, 15 out of 23 companies reduced emissions intensity, while four experienced a gain. Four didn't provide enough data for comparison. Rosneft, OMV and PTT achieved the most significant reductions, while Oil & Natural Gas, Imperial Oil, Gazprom and Eni reported increases. Neither Oil & Natural Gas nor Gazprom have announced comprehensive targets to reduce carbon emissions.
OMV aims to have net-zero operations by 2050, and seeks to lower its upstream carbon intensity by more than 60% and refining intensity by 20% from 2010 levels by 2025.
Over the latest five-year period, the average combined Scope 1 and 2 carbon intensity -- million tonnes CO2e/invested capital plus depreciation ($/billion) -- for six refining and marketing companies we analyzed decreased by more than 20%. Marathon led peers with a reduction of more than 50%, while Indian Oil was the only company to see an increase. Marathon reduced its intensity by diversifying its portfolio to include less carbon-intensive operations, including biofuels, while enhancing natural-gas recovery and processing. The company plans to reduce Scope 1 and 2 emissions per barrel of oil equivalent processed by 30% by 2030 from 2014 levels.
Valero is the only company in the peer set not to disclose GHG emissions data and ENEOS doesn't provide data before 2017. Both were excluded from industry average calculations.
Of the eight exploration and production companies we analyzed, just two lowered CO2 emissions intensity -- million tonnes CO2e/invested capital plus depreciation ($ billion) -- in the latest five-year period. This suggests the industry is slow to decarbonize. Devon Energy trails all peers with a 150% increase from 2014-18. Santos, which targets net-zero operational emissions by 2050, had a 27% gain in intensity in the same period. The company attributes an absolute increase in several key GHG metrics, including Scope 1 emissions, to the acquisition of Quadrant Energy, completed in November 2018. Woodside, which aims to achieve net-zero direct emissions by 2050, led the peer set, reducing emissions by 35%.
EOG Resources and CNOOC don't provide enough historical emissions data and were excluded from the analysis.
