Page 12 - Euroil Week 01 2020

EurOil PERFORMANCE EurOil
Equinor strives for almost zero emissions by 2050
NORWAY
Equinor is targeting a 40% reduction by 2030.
NORWEGIAN oil giant Equinor unveiled a strategy on January 6 for achieving near-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from its oper- ations by 2050.
Total emissions from Equinor’s offshore fields and onshore plants amounted to 13mn tonnes last year, but the company wants to lower them by 40% to 9mn tonnes by 2030, it said in a presentation.
Emissions are predicted to reduce by 70% compared with the current level by 2040 and approach zero by 2050, the company said.
“The new climate ambitions will strengthen future competitiveness and value creation for Equinor, while supporting industrial develop- ments in Norway,” Equinor CEO Eldar Saetre commented. “In setting these ambitions Equinor has assumed stable framework conditions and necessaryinvestmentsintheelectricitygrid.”
The 2030 target will cost NOK50bn ($5.6bn) to implement, entailing large-scale industrial measures such as improved energy efficiency, digitalisation and the launch of several electri- fication projects at key fields such as Troll and Oseberg, and plants such as the Hammerfest LNG terminal.
Electrification involves hooking infrastruc- ture up to onshore power sources such as hydro- electric dams, which produce almost 95% of Norway’s electricity. Currently Equinor’s oil and gas facilities are powered mostly by gas turbines.
Further emissions reductions will be achieved with additional electrification projects, the con- solidation of infrastructure and the development of new technologies and value chains, according to the company. Equinor is aiming to harness
more offshore wind energy, and explore and develop methods for carbon capture and storage (CCS) and producing hydrogen from gas. It is already advancing a project with Royal Dutch Shell and Total to store carbon in depleted reser- voirs off the coast of Norway, known as Northern Lights.
The company also predicts that Norwegian oil and gas production will more than halve by 2050, making its goal more attainable.
Around 25% of Norway’s CO2 emissions come from its oil and gas industry – a sector that generates about half of the country’s export rev- enues. But under the 2015 Paris climate accord, Oslo and nearly 200 other governments have promised to slash emissions to keep global tem- peratures in check.
“Equinor supports the Paris agreement and a net zero target for society. We have already brought CO2 emissions in the production pro- cess down to industry leading levels,” Saetre continued. “We are now launching an unprec- edented set of ambitions for forceful industrial action and substantial absolute emission reduc- tions in Norway, aiming towards near zero in 2050. This is in line with society’s climate targets and our strategy to create high value with low emissions.”
Equinor is not the first major oil and gas com- pany to make such bold commitments. Spain’s Repsol also set a net zero target in December, winning praise from environmental groups and institutional investors alike. Repsol’s interme- diary targets were notably less ambitious than those of Equinor. The former only envisages a 20% cut by 2030 and a 40% reduction by 2040. ™
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