ExxonMobil, the world’s largest public oil company, plans to cut methane emissions by 15% by 2020, and to cut flaring by 25%, compared to 2016.
The company says that efforts to detect and repair leaks, along with other operational improvements, have already cut methan emissions by 2% in the last year, the company says. The most significant reductions are expected to occur in operations in West Africa and include use of third-party infrastructure.
ExxonMobil is a charter member of the Global Gas Flaring Reduction Public-Private Partnership, which is committed to developing commercial opportunities to reduce flaring. The partnership is comprised of oil-producing countries, international and state-owned oil companies and the World Bank.
The company also announced its intention to continue to improve its energy efficiency in refining and chemical manufacturing facilities – efforts that have already improved energy efficiency by 10% across its global refining operations since 2000, the company says. ExxonMobil invests in lower-emission energy solutions such as cogeneration, flare reduction, energy efficiency, biofuels, carbon capture and storage and other technologies, and has spent more than $9 billion on lower-emission energy solutions since 2000, the company says.
In December, ExxonMobil gave in to shareholder requests to divulge new details about the impact of climate change to its business. The company will now provide shareholders with information on “energy demand sensitivities, implications of two degree Celsius scenarios, and positioning for a lower-carbon future.”
In related news this week, Xcel Energy announced that it cut carbon emissions 35%, according to its newly released Corporate Responsibility Report. This puts Xcel Energy on track to reach or exceed its goal of reducing carbon emissions 60% by 2030 from 2005 levels. As illustrated in the image below, the company has decreased its reliance on coal over the past several years.