Wednesday 16 December 2020

ExxonMobil pledges to cut emissions from upstream activities by up to 20% by 2025

ExxonMobil has committed to reducing the intensity of operated upstream greenhouse gas emissions by somewhere between 15% and 20% by 2025, compared to 2016 levels.

The US oil giant has also pledged to cut flaring and methane intensity by up to 45% and 50% respectively.

The firm, which anticipates meeting this year's methane and flaring reduction targets, also plans to align with the World Bank's initiative to eliminate routine flaring by 2030.

Routine flaring, which is also known as production flaring, is a practice of disposing of large unwanted amounts of associated petroleum gas during crude oil extraction.

It increases the concentration of gases, such as carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides and sulfur oxides, which contribute to global warming.

According to a recent report by the World Bank, global gas flaring in 2019 increased to the highest level in a decade, 150 billion cubic metres, which is the equivalent to the total annual gas consumption of Sub-Saharan Africa.

Darren Woods, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Exxon Mobil Corporation, said: "These meaningful near-term emission reductions result from our ongoing business planning process as we work towards industry-leading greenhouse gas performance across all our business lines.

"We respect and support society’s ambition to achieve net zero emissions by 2050, and continue to advocate for policies that promote cost-effective, market-based solutions to address the risks of climate change."