LONDON, April 13, 2026 – The Oil and Gas Climate Initiative (OGCI) has published a new report exploring how heat pump technologies can improve energy efficiency across oil and gas operations.
Improving efficiency remains a core part of OGCI’s strategy to help achieve net zero by 2050. The report focuses on how heat pumps can capture and upgrade waste heat, enabling it to be reused within industrial processes rather than lost.
A previous OGCI study on Refining Industry Electrification identified heat pumps as one of the more promising and economically competitive technology options, offering significant energy efficiency opportunities.
Heat pumps work by transferring heat from lower-temperature sources to higher-temperature applications using electrical energy, effectively turning waste heat into a usable resource. In doing so, they can significantly increase overall system efficiency and reduce the need for additional energy input.
The report provides a detailed overview of:
- Available heat pump technologies and how they can be applied across different operating environments
- A range of system types – from mechanical vapour compression to absorption and hybrid configurations – each suited to different temperature ranges and process requirements
- Evidence of how heat pumps can deliver multiple units of heat for each unit of energy input
- Key factors including technical feasibility, operational complexity and the potential for deployment at scale
Drawing on real-world examples, the report explores applications, including offshore heating, crude stabilization processes and operations in remote or unconventional fields. It highlights where heat pumps can already be deployed and where further development may be needed.
Many of the technologies assessed are electrically driven, supporting the broader shift toward electrification and the integration of lower-carbon power sources.
The report aims to help companies identify where heat pump technologies can deliver efficiency gains and emissions reductions across their operations, in support of OGCI’s strategic focus on solutions to help decarbonize society.
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 25% of global oil and gas on an operated basis.
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.
Since 2017, OGCI members have reduced their aggregate methane intensity by 62%, routine flaring by 72%, and carbon intensity by 24% and shared best practices across the industry to accelerate emissions reductions.
OGCI members have also invested a cumulative total of $125 billion in low-carbon technologies and solutions since 2017.
In 2016, OGCI launched Climate Investments to manage a $1 billion fund to develop and accelerate the commercial deployment of low emissions technologies.
In 2023, OGCI helped establish the Oil & Gas Decarbonization Charter (OGDC), which was launched at COP28 in Dubai. OGDC is a coalition of 56 companies with activities across more than 100 countries working to decarbonize the oil and gas sector at scale.
OGCI’s members are Aramco, bp, Chevron, CNPC, Eni, Equinor, ExxonMobil, Occidental, Petrobras, Repsol, Shell and TotalEnergies. Read more in OGCI’s latest annual Progress Report and see our current Performance Data here.
