Page 15 - FSUOGM Week 34

FSUOGM PROJECTS & COMPANIES FSUOGM

Novatek pledges 2030

climate goals

RUSSIA RUSSIAN LNG exporter Novatek has pledged and diesel.
to reduce its emissions over the next decade, “The present level of our greenhouse gas
Novatek says the goals in line with similar moves by oil and gas firms emissions per barrel of production is already
are in line with Russia's across the world. But while some European among the lowest globally due to the use of
commitments under the energy firms have gone as far as to promise to state-of-the-art technologies and a high share
Paris Agreement. make their operations carbon neutral over the of natural gas in the company’s hydrocarbon
next decade, Novatek’s goals will be much easier production,” Novatek CFO Mark Gyetvay
to accomplish. commented. “We set ambitious targets that will
Novatek’s board of directors has approved contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gas
a list of 2030 climate goals which are in line emissions to meet global climate change initia-
with Russia’s commitments under the 2015 tives, as well as providing affordable, secure and
Paris Agreement, the company said on August sustainable, clean-burning natural gas to our
25. It aims to reduce per-unit methane emis- customers for many decades.
sions at its production, processing and LNG Novatek’s goals are relatively undemanding,
operations by 4%, and air pollutant emissions however, just as Russia’s are. Moscow ratified the
by 20%. Paris Agreement in September last year, com-
Novatek plans to reduce greenhouse gas mitting itself to reducing carbon dioxide emis-
(GHG) emissions at its upstream activities by sions by 30% by 2030.
6% and its LNG production facilities by 5%. It While for a major fossil fuel producer like
also wants to boost the rate at which it utilises Russia this sounds like a difficult feat, it is actu-
associated petroleum gas (APG) to 99%, from ally already near to meeting its target, or accord-
83.3% last year. ing to some estimates, has already surpassed it.
Novatek leads the 17mn tonne per year (tpy) The baseline for this reduction is Russia’s
Yamal LNG export project in the Russian Arc- emissions in 1990, when they were at an all-
tic, and has plans for several more, even larger, time high as a result of Soviet inefficiencies and
plants in the region. lack of environmental concern. The USSR col-
In a statement, the company said cuts to lapsed the following year, causing emissions to
global emissions could be achieved by expand- plunge. Greater efficiency and increased regula-
ing LNG’s role in the energy mix at the expense tions since then have prevented emissions from
of dirtier sources of power such as coal, fuel oil returning to former levels. ™

Week 34 26•August•2020 www. NEWSBASE .com P15