WSSD Report FINAL! - OGP

THE OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY FROM RIO TO JOHANNESBURG AND BEYOND
Climate change
Greenhouse gas emission reductions, 1990–2001
emission reduction: million tonnes CO 2 equivalent
100
90
80
70
BP’s greenhouse gas
emissions trading
system supported
its commitment
towards reducing
emissions which
have been falling
steadily since 1998.
60
50
1990 (base) 1998 1999 2000
2001
This compressor is
used in Nexen’s
heavy oil operations
in Canada to
capture previously
flared or vented
methane.
Installation of these
units has reduced
Nexen’s greenhouse
gas emissions by
upwards of 1 million
tonnes of CO 2
equivalent per year.
collection of wellhead casing and tank vent methane
emissions that were previously released directly to
the atmosphere or flared. The gas that is collected is
tied to the sales gas system, further enhancing the
attractiveness of reducing these emissions. Nexen
supports a number of research and development
projects that are focused on understanding the technical
issues and capacity in the Western Canada
Sedimentary Basin associated with geological sequestration
of CO 2
.
Internationally, Nexen has been active in evaluating
CDM investments related to production and
exploration activities in Yemen, Nigeria and Colombia,
three of the company’s core countries. Nexen has
looked beyond the oil and gas sector, evaluated many
investments and became a partner in the Belize Rio
Bravo carbon sequestration project coordinated by
The Nature Conservancy.
The second yearly compliance period has passed
and more than seven million tonnes of carbon dioxide
equivalent have been traded since start-up. The trading
system has provided a robust framework for the business
units within the company to manage and reduce their
emissions, and has enabled the business to incorporate
the financial impacts of GHG emissions into project
planning processes. Employees have been given the
challenge to look for innovative ways to reduce GHG
emissions in their operations, and this approach has
already identified unexpected economic opportunities.
BP’s internal experience will now underpin its
participation in external emissions trading systems.
Work is focused on the development of credit based
trading mechanisms to complement the existing GHG
reduction tools.
Going to market internally
BP launched the first ever global corporate GHG
emissions trading system in January 2000. This
tool was implemented to assist delivery of the
company’s GHG reduction commitments cost-effectively.
Each of the company’s business units has been
given yearly emission allocation caps and must meet
them by abatement of their emissions through
project implementation, or by trading through the
intranet-based trading system.
Improving efficiency
through cogeneration
Among the more promising approaches to
addressing the risks of climate change are those
that rely upon economically attractive actions and
advanced technology. One good example is the
increasing use of cogeneration units at major industrial
facilities such as petroleum refineries and
chemical plants.
This means that a fuel, usually natural gas, is used
directly in a large power turbine that generates elec-
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