Minimising greenhouse gas emissions in the petroleum sector: the opportunity for emerging producers
Limiting global warming requires significant and urgent reductions of greenhouse gas emissions by the petroleum sector, in line with the Paris Agreement. The majority of the sector’s emissions arise downstream from the end use of petroleum products by thousands of industries, hundreds of countries and billions of individuals. However, the balance relates to the upstream production of oil and gas which is concentrated in producing countries that could act decisively on reductions and make a significant impact. Emission intensity varies widely between producers, providing a huge opportunity for using existing technologies and best practices to improve standards and reduce emissions. In a carbon-constrained world, oil and gas producers who can demonstrate that their projects are delivered with the lowest emissions will become more competitive as the cost of carbon increasingly becomes reflected in the price of using oil and gas.
