OGCI Progress Reports Nearly $100 Billion in Low-Carbon Investments as Industry Emissions Fall

In 2023, OGCI’s member companies increased low-carbon investment to a record $29.7 billion – a 15% increase compared with the previous year.
This takes the 12 member companies’ total low-carbon investment, including acquisitions and R&D, to $95.8 billion since 2017.
Over the same period, OGCI members reduced their aggregate upstream carbon intensity by 21% and Scope 1 operated greenhouse emissions by 19%.

Nov. 11 – The Oil and Gas Climate Initiative’s (OGCI) member companies continued to reduce total emissions and flaring from operated assets in 2023, while intensifying efforts to help other companies reduce their emissions, according to the group’s annual Progress Report, released today.

Since 2017, the CEO-led group, comprised of 12 of the world’s leading oil and gas companies, has collectively reduced total operated upstream methane emissions by 55%, cut greenhouse gas emissions from upstream flaring by 47% and lowered upstream carbon intensity by 21%, the report said.

Over the same period, OGCI’s 12 member companies invested a total of $95.8 billion in low-carbon technologies, including renewables, carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS), hydrogen, biofuels, synfuels and energy storage.

“This year marks 10 years since we launched OGCI – a unique CEO-led climate initiative – at the UN Climate Summit in New York, with the ambition to work together to tackle climate change,” OGCI’s 12 CEOs said in a joint statement.

“Our 12 companies have achieved more in a decade than we thought possible, demonstrating that when the industry comes together it can play a powerful role advancing a net zero future.”

OGCI’s members are Aramco, bp, Chevron, CNPC, Eni, Equinor, ExxonMobil, Occidental, Petrobras, Repsol, Shell and TotalEnergies. 

Progress reducing member companies’ aggregate emissions came as OGCI redoubled its efforts to reduce methane emissions across the oil and gas industry.

OGCI extended its flagship Satellite Monitoring Campaign, now in its fourth year, to more operators in more countries, including in Central Asia, North Africa and South America.

During 2023, OGCI also successfully rallied support for the Oil & Gas Decarbonization Charter (OGDC) – an initiative launched during COP28 to encourage and enable more national oil companies and independents to accelerate their emissions reductions.

In early 2024, OGCI became the Secretariat of OGDC and will continue in this role through March 2027.

The OGDC brings together 54 companies producing 43% of the world’s oil from over 6,000 assets in an ambition to reduce upstream methane emissions to near zero by 2030 on a path to net zero operations by 2050.

In 2023 and 2024, OGCI also expanded work to support the development of industrial hubs where carbon dioxide is captured and stored and set out pathways to help decarbonize the transport sector, which emits almost a quarter of total energy-related CO₂ emissions.^[1]

OGCI Executive Committee Chair Bjørn Otto Sverdrup said:

“OGCI’s members are making good progress, individually and collectively. Since 2017, they have together reduced upstream methane emissions by 55%, decreased carbon intensity by 21% and invested almost $100 billion in the energy systems of the future – demonstrating what’s achievable for the oil and gas industry.

While we are encouraged by what we have already done, we recognize that there is still more work to do and are excited about the years ahead.

We see major potential to accelerate collective action on emissions reductions across the oil and gas industry, both through the OGDC, where we are already embedded and stepping up activities, as well as through other initiatives such as our Satellite Monitoring Campaign.”
OGCI Executive Committee Chair, Bjørn Otto Sverdrup

Highlights of OGCI progress 2023-2024

Chapter 1. OGCI members are making progress towards net zero operations goal

Aggregated upstream carbon intensity at operated assets was 17.9 kgCO₂e per barrel of oil equivalent in 2023. This represents a 21% decrease versus the 2017 baseline and is progressing towards OGCI’s 2025 target of 17 kgCO₂e/boe.
Upstream carbon intensity is lower largely due to reductions in methane emissions and greenhouse gas emissions from upstream flaring. Other measures include improvements in energy efficiency and optimization, and the use of low-carbon electricity to power operations.
In 2023, OGCI’s total Scope 1 operated greenhouse emissions were 19% lower than the 2017 baseline. The reduction is equivalent to removing the emissions from 32 million gasoline-fueled cars driven for one year.[1]

Chapter 2. OGCI is helping accelerate industry efforts to reduce emissions

To accelerate emissions reductions across the oil and gas industry, OGCI in 2023 helped shape and launch the Oil & Gas Decarbonization Charter (OGDC) at COP28.
54 oil and gas companies, including 32 national oil companies, have signed up to the Charter’s core ambition to achieve net zero emissions from operated assets by 2050, and to reduce methane emissions to near zero and eliminate routine flaring by 2030.
In 2024, OGCI, in its role as the Charter Secretariat, set up OGDC’s governance framework and started a process to establish a baseline to track collective progress on emissions reductions ambitions.
In addition to its work with the Charter, OGCI has expanded its flagship Satellite Monitoring Campaign to enable more operators in more countries reduce their methane emissions. See results from previous campaigns in Iraq, Kazakhstan, Algeria and Egypt here.

Chapter 3. OGCI members are investing and developing solutions to help decarbonize society

To help drive a broad transformation of the global energy system, OGCI member companies in 2023 invested a record $29.7 billion on low-carbon technologies, including acquisitions and R&D.
In 2023, renewable energy accounted for more than half the investment. CCUS investment continued to grow as companies focused on the technology.
OGCI members are involved in developing more than 40 large-scale CCUS hubs and direct air capture (DAC) projects globally.
In September, Eni’s Ravenna CCS hub in Italy began injecting CO₂ and a joint venture between Equinor, Shell and TotalEnergies completed the Northern Lights facility in Norway. Occidental’s commercial-scale STRATOS DAC project in Texas is expected to be operational in 2025.
In 2023 and 2024, OGCI worked to enable the development of alternative fuels to reduce emissions associated with transport. The group also advanced plans to help accelerate the adoption of high-quality carbon credits from natural climate solutions in Brazil.

About OGCI

The Oil and Gas Climate Initiative is a CEO-led initiative comprised of 12 of the world’s leading oil and gas companies, producing around 30% of global oil and gas.
OGCI aims to lead the oil and gas industry’s response to climate change and accelerate action towards a net zero emissions future consistent with the timeframe of the Paris Agreement. 
OGCI’s members are Aramco, bp, Chevron, CNPC, Eni, Equinor, ExxonMobil, Occidental, Petrobras, Repsol, Shell and TotalEnergies.

[1] See IEA global CO2 emissions by sector: Global CO2 emissions by sector, 2019-2022 – Charts – Data & Statistics – IEA; CO2 Emissions in 2022 – Analysis – IEA

^[2] US EPA greenhouse gas equivalencies calculator