OGCI has published its updated performance data, covering the four years to 2020. It shows continued progress in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
- Absolute upstream and downstream methane emissions fell 18% in 2020 and 33% since 2017.
- Carbon intensity fell 8% in 2020 and 14% since 2017.
- Upstream flaring emissions fell 20% in 2020 and 29% since 2017.
Total spending on low carbon solutions in 2020 remained stable at $7.4 billion (for the 10 companies reporting), with just over 70% focused on renewables. Investment levels rose 14%, but R&D spend declined.
Results in 2020 were impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic which brought a drop in demand and therefore production, which fell 2% over the year. In its third-party review, EY conducted an analysis to distinguish between temporary trends and sustainable shifts in performance, providing confidence for OGCI to sharpen its targets on both methane and carbon intensity. EY issued a limited assurance statement for a set of aggregate data.