Friday 8 February 2013

Oil firms should make greenhouse gas database

Oil firms should make greenhouse gas database

Big oil and gas firms should put together a database so their carbon emissions can be compared, according to analysts.

A recent survey looked at the greenhouse gas strategies from some of the world’s largest firms including British oil firm BP, the USA’s Chevron and ExxonMobil, Russian gas giant Gazprom, China’s Sinopec and Denmark’s Statoil.

None of the 14 oil and gas firms in the study use the same baseline year for calculating GHG reduction targets – and only five have set a baseline year.

Will Mullins, at analyst firm Verdantix and report author said: “Oil and gas majors that shape industry thinking have not yet created a standard framework for GHG management.”

While a “leading group” composed of BP, Chevron, Concoco Philips, Exxon Mobil, Shell and Total has spent time and money to disclose accurate GHG emissions data, other global firms aren’t playing ball, he suggested.

Mr Mullins went on: “Other global players in the oil and gas sector such as LUKOIL, PetroChina, Saudi Aramco and Sinopec disclose very little GHG data. Eni, Gazprom, Petrobras and Statoil have started on their GHG emissions disclosure journey but have further to go.”

David Metcalfe, chief executive of the analyst firm added: “Only mandatory reporting rules will put sufficient pressure on oil and gas majors to measure and disclose global GHG emissions. In geographies outside of Australia, Europe and the US that still looks like a distant threat.”

Responding to the suggestion, a spokesman for BP told ELN many large oil and gas firms keep good records on their emissions data, adding: “We all have different operations”.

Written by

Bruna Pinhoni

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