Energy Transition
Our plan to tackle climate change through industry decarbonization
Energy Transition
Tackling climate change with IOGP Energy Transition programme
The Challenge: a low carbon future
Tackling climate change while meeting global energy demand is one of the greatest challenges of our lifetime.
Everyone – the industry, governments, and society – has a responsibility to help achieve the Paris Agreement goals.
As society moves towards a low carbon future, our industry will still be responsible for meeting the planet’s basic energy needs and creating a world where everyone has access to clean, reliable, and affordable energy.
Strategic direction and key approach
Following our 2021 Strategic Review, IOGP is working to help the oil and gas industry accelerate the implementation of low carbon projects and operations and support the need for:
- Standardization, rapid adoption, and repeatability to quickly implement low carbon projects and practices across the whole industry
- Transformative lower carbon technologies for new and existing assets
Leveraging our key strengths and experience
For over 50 years, IOGP has brought the oil and gas industry together to standardize ways of working and define performance metrics in areas such as safety, environmental management, and health.
We are uniquely placed to drive collaboration across the industry to ensure we can learn and benefit from the knowledge of those at the forefront of these efforts. IOGP is leveraging its key strengths and experience to help tackle climate change through decarbonization. Our mission is the same one it’s always been: to bring industry together.
The Energy Transition Directorate works closely with other key Directorates, such as Safety, Environment, and Engineering, to deliver performance improvements within our Membership and the wider industry.
The road to Net Zero
The International Energy Agency publishes an annual report analysing the projected state of the world’s energy production and consumption in the medium and long-term future under several potential scenarios for global energy supply and demand. In IEA’s Energy Outlook 2021, in all scenarios, oil and gas will play an important contribution towards energy demand for decades to come.
It is therefore vital that the oil and gas industry works to reduce emissions and helps the world reach the Paris Agreement objectives.
Throughout this transition, both oil and natural gas will retain an important role as affordable, reliable, and versatile energy products for a growing global population. The challenge is to address climate change through emissions reduction while also meeting global energy demand and supporting economic development in the long term.
To reach Net Zero, our focus will be on the decarbonization of our Members’ own operations, pursuing a systematic decarbonization pathway starting with a significant reduction of Scope 1 emissions.
Measuring emissions
In order to manage emissions, we first need to measure them. Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions can be categorized as Scope 1, 2, or 3.
- Scope 1 covers direct emissions, such as those from facilities and equipment directly owned by a company
- Scope 2 covers indirect emissions from the generation of energy purchased by the reporting company
- Scope 3 includes all other indirect emissions that occur in a company’s value chain. These are .emissions that result from a company’s activities, such as emissions created when consumers use the company’s products
Focus on Scope 1 emissions:
Breakdown of Scope 1 greenhouse gas emissions from oil and gas facilities
The Energy Transition Directorate will focus on Scope 1 greenhouse gas emissions until 2025. Our industry emissions can be broken down as follows:
- Stationary combustion
- Flaring
- Venting
- Fugitive emissions
Our strategy addresses each of these areas.
The four Energy Transition topics are:
- Electrification
- Carbon Capture, and Storage
- Minimization of all flaring and venting activities
- Best available technology in energy efficiency
These topics were chosen following an Opportunity Framing Workshop – a rigorous 9-month process involving the participation of over 150 subject matter experts. We will deliver recommended practices, technologies catalogues, and technical guidance to support standardization across the oil and gas industry.
Governance
The Energy Directorate is supported by two Committees
Carbon Capture, and Storage Committee
The Carbon Capture, and Storage Committee will focus on accelerating the standardization of CCS to improve its cost, scheduling, and safety, thus enabling widespread implementation of CCS. It will collaborate with other associations working on climate change, as well as with international and regional regulators and standards organizations.
Low Carbon Operational Efficiency Committee
The Low Carbon Operational Efficiency Committee will focus on decreasing CO2 emissions and methane intensity in upstream operations. It will coordinate its efforts with global industry groups including the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative (OGCI), Ipieca, the American Petroleum Institute (API), the Energy Institute, the Methane Guiding Principles, and the Global Gas Flaring Reduction Partnership (GGFR).
Related content
Recent Energy Transition publications
- Fractionation columnsUpdated Ipieca and IOGP compendium of energy and GHG efficient technologies and practices. The updated technologies and recommended practices are available as a compendium, or individually below: Alternative thermodynamic cycles Artificial lift Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) integration into power generation systems Combined heat and power Combined-cycle gas turbines Compressors Cooling systems Drilling rigs Ejectors […]
- Reducing venting in oil and gas operationsThe post Reducing venting in oil and gas operations appeared first on IOGP Publications library.
- Reducing flaring in oil and gas operationsThe post Reducing flaring in oil and gas operations appeared first on IOGP Publications library.
- Passing valves (leakage)The post Passing valves (leakage) appeared first on IOGP Publications library.
- Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) integration into power generation systemsUpdated Ipieca and IOGP compendium of energy and GHG efficient technologies and practices. The updated technologies and recommended practices are available as a compendium, or individually below: Alternative thermodynamic cycles Artificial lift Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) integration into power generation systems Combined heat and power Combined-cycle gas turbines Compressors Cooling systems Drilling rigs Ejectors […]
- Flare Destruction Efficiency ReferencesThe document provides an overview of the various documents available in the oil and gas industry related to Flare Destruction and Removal Efficiency (DRE) regarding design, operations, inspection, and maintenance activities. Its purpose is to assist operators in enhancing their understanding of DRE providing a brief explanation about DRE and Combustion Efficiency (CE), and a […]
- Assessing and managing induced seismicity risks associated with geologic storage of carbon dioxideThis Report provides a foundational review of induced seismicity and guidance to assess and manage induced seismicity risks associated with geologic storage of CO2 in subsurface formations. Through consolidating current knowledge of induced seismicity, including scientific and project learnings, this document serves as a resource for CCS project developers, subsurface practitioners, and national/public bodies to […]
- MGP Member Reports: DNOMethane Guiding Principles Signatory Reporting – DNO ASA The post MGP Member Reports: DNO appeared first on IOGP Publications library.
- MGP Member Reports: Equinor MGP Methane ReportMethane Guiding Principles Signatory Reporting – Equinor The post MGP Member Reports: Equinor MGP Methane Report appeared first on IOGP Publications library.
- MGP Member Reports: Oxy MGP Methane ReportMethane Guiding Principles Signatory Reporting – Occidental The post MGP Member Reports: Oxy MGP Methane Report appeared first on IOGP Publications library.
Following the decision to retire the Methane Guiding Principles (MGP) initiative in July, their complete collection of publications on methane emissions reduction has been transferred to IOGP’s online publications library.
IOGP’s Low Carbon Operational Efficiency (LCOE) has released an updated version of IOGP Report 661 – Recommended practices for methane emissions detection and quantification technologies – upstream.
In this series of videos – We hear feedback on the Energy Transition Integrated Framework.
IOGP has published an Energy Transition Integrated Framework, a comprehensive toolkit meant to guide upstream oil and gas organizations on their respective decarbonization pathways.