Dispatch from #DecarbHouston

The low down after executives from leading oil and gas majors met at our Decarbonizing Oil and Gas event this week.

Two recent reports – an IPCC one published earlier this week and the International Atomic Energy’s annual emissions report - make for gloomy reading. Both show that greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise (hitting a record of 36.3 billion tonnes last year, according to the IAE) despite political progress on reducing emissions. 

But the pessimism of these recent reports is in sharp contrast to the sentiment at Decarbonizing Oil and Gas event, which took place this week in Houston. Leaders from some of the top global oil and gas companies got together to share practical ideas and plans on how to manage the operational and organizational impacts of decarbonization and achieve a net zero future.

A broad range of topics were discussed including developing a decarbonization strategy for the US, the role of CCUS in mitigating carbon, tackling scope 3 emissions, and building a future proof energy company. Shell, BPX, TotalEnergies shared case studies on their work to rapidly decarbonize their operations, tackle methane emissions, and carve a path to net zero.

For instance, Aura Cuellar, Vice President of Energy Transition at Shell discussed how her company is working with customers to tackle Scope 3 emissions. This category of emissions is typically seen as most difficult to tackle because they fall outside a company’s direct control. In the case of fossil fuel companies, for instance, scope 3 emissions occur when customers use the company’s product such as when driving a gas-powered car.

Cuellar says that an essential part of their decarbonization strategy is to partner with all stakeholders including vendors, customers, other operators, and the communities in which they operate. Shell will also stop all new exploration by 2025.

Dr Faye Girard, Vice President, Low Carbon and Sustainability at bpx energy, BP’s onshore division, explained how her company is looking at reducing methane intensity by 50% by quickly detecting methane leaks and repairing them.

Meanwhile, Christine Healy, Senior Vice President, Carbon Neutrality and Continental Europe at TotalEnergies, offered highlights of her company’s journey to carbon neutrality. She says that her company is taking a 3-tiered approach that focuses on CCUS (Carbon capture, utilization and storage), nature-based solutions, and performance and continuous improvement.

The urgency to tackle carbon emissions is borne not out of altruism. Oil and gas majors sense the shift in the political, regulatory and investor landscape. Not only will new regulations change the operating landscape, but the commercial opportunity is enormous. Low carbon is going to be big business in the future and oil and gas majors are positioning themselves for a piece of the pie.  

The summit, which was held in Houston this week, is our first in a series of Oil and Gas IQ hosted global conferences focused on executive-level discussions dealing with the challenges of net zero.

In September, we will be bringing together executives from leading manufacturing companies at our Decarbonizing America’s Industrial Sector event taking place in Palm Springs, California.

In October, we will be hosting a second Decarbonizing Oil and Gas summit specifically for European oil and gas majors. That conference will be held in London, 10-12 October. Find out more about all our upcoming events or get involved here.

Plus, stay tuned for our ongoing coverage of the energy transition and more highlights – including session write ups and more - from last week’s conference.

Were you at the conference? Catch the pictures on our Oil and Gas IQ LinkedIn page.

Or, watch some of our social media video highlights: