KIOGE-2024
«Leading the Charge: Our Global Commitment to Methane Abatement»
ExxonMobil has partnered with Kazakhstan for 30 years in the development of the nation’s resources. As one of the leading foreign investors in the Republic of Kazakhstan with over $29 billion investment in three world-scale projects – Tengiz, Kashagan and the Caspian Pipeline Consortium – we are proud of the partnerships that we have forged with the Republic and are privileged to be part of the country’s remarkable growth.
Kazakhstan’s role in providing sustainable energy
Cécile Rauline, Managing Director ExxonMobil Kazakhstan Inc.Energy producing countries like Kazakhstan will be critical to meeting the enormous growth in global demand while forging a path to a lower carbon future.
As Kazakhstan provides the world with affordable and reliable energy, we are confident it can do so while meeting society’s need for lower emissions. ExxonMobil commends Kazakhstan’s ambition to achieve a 15% reduction in greenhouse gases by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2060.
Aiming For Zero Methane Emissions
The global energy sector – including oil, natural gas, coal and bioenergy – accounts for nearly 40% of methane emissions, with the oil and gas industry representing over 60% of the emissions from the energy sector, and industry estimates suggest that methane emissions from fossil fuels have been increasing in recent years.
Experts agree that working to stop methane emissions is one of the most powerful ways to help address climate change. Natural gas emits up to 60% less greenhouse gases and significantly fewer air pollutants than coal, but unintended methane leaks can make their way into the atmosphere during the production, storage and transportation of oil and gas.
That’s why it’s important for us to keep methane contained and managed in our operations – in our pipeline networks, in our storage tanks, and in our processing equipment.
We support the Global Methane Pledge, where more than 100 countries including the Republic of Kazakhstan have signed up to help reduce global methane emissions. And, like KazMunayGas, we are one of the 50+ international oil companies and national oil companies who have pledged near-zero methane emissions by 2030 as part of the Oil and Gas Decarbonization Charter.
ExxonMobil has been working on methane issues for almost 15 years now, seeking to understand our own emissions sources, launching an extensive new technology development program, and engaging with others in industry and civil society on emissions reductions – including advocating for sound policies and regulations.
Reducing methane emissions is key to ExxonMobil’s “Net Zero by 2050” ambitions. We’ve reduced methane emissions from all operated assets by more than 60% since 2016 and are on track to achieve near zero emissions by 2030.
We’ve also made significant investments in environmental performance here in Kazakhstan. In our Tengiz and Kashagan joint ventures, we’re working to improve energy efficiency, by eliminating routine flaring, enhancing leak detection and preventing fugitive methane emissions. Through the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative, we’ve supported efforts that provide satellite imagery to the Republic of Kazakhstan that facilitates the detection and elimination of emissions.
A technology-driven approach to reducing methane emissions
Methane emissions in our industry come from four primary sources:
- Flaring, which is the burning of excess natural gas for safety or other reasons, resulting in CO2 emissions.
- Venting, when pneumatic devices, storage tanks, dehydration units, and other components of our operations sometimes release excess methane to the atmosphere to reduce pressure and help ensure personnel safety.
- Fugitive emissions that occur when we experience unintentional leaks from our equipment and
- Combustionslips, which is the uncombusted methane left over in the exhaust of natural gas fired engines used to power operations.
ExxonMobil assets across the world are often in remote locations with extreme weather conditions, making detection a challenge. Finding methane leaks in those environments, across vast acreage, is not simple. Methane emissions are not concentrated at certain points or at certain times in our operations. Leaks can be short in duration, low in volume, infrequent in occurrence, and therefore harder to identify.
This is why we have come to see technology solutions as essential to reducing methane emissions. Our scientists and engineers are collaborating with industry partners and academia to develop, test and deploy cutting-edge technologies that can quickly detect methane emissions for potential application across the energy industry.
From satellites, high-altitude balloons, aircraft, drones, and ground sensors, ExxonMobil continues to develop and deploy enhanced technologies for rapid detection, mitigation, and quantification of sources of methane at our operated assets. In 2022, in the Permian region alone, ExxonMobil surveyed 2.3 mn components with optical gas imaging cameras and over 1.3 mn components using aerial flyovers. From our command center in Houston, where all of this data is integrated, we are building the capacity to respond to leaks in real time.
At the same time, we are introducing systemic changes, like phasing out pneumatic devices and electrifying our drilling fleet, including introduction of the first electric fracturing unit.
Policy support in eliminating methane
It’s exciting to see this host of new technologies coming online to help us address methane emissions. But for these technologies to be as effective as possible, governments must ensure the right types of policies are in place. As policymakers develop regulatory frameworks, it is imperative that they allow for the development and deployment of new technologies and incentivize their use.
At the same time, the most effective policies are those that are developed with the input of all key stakeholders working together with government – from industry to academia to civil society groups and more. In the United States, ExxonMobil works collaboratively with leading universities, NGOs, national laboratories, and industry counterparts.
This collaboration can lead to the type of comprehensive and consistent methane regulations that need to be enacted so all industry players are participating. Particularly in countries with hundreds of dozens of companies, voluntary actions by a few are not enough.
Our company has developed a model framework for industry-wide methane regulations which underpins our advocacy efforts and the guidance we’ve offered U.S. regulators as they’ve developed new rules.
We share these potential approaches and the work going on in the United States as an example of the types of regulations that could provide meaningful emissions reductions. That is not to suggest that Kazakhstan will or even should adopt this approach wholesale. Every country is different and therefore needs a policy framework that suits its specific considerations.
Where ExxonMobil can help is through our history of working with key stakeholders to utilize our experience and expertise to drive methane emissions globally. We stand ready to work with the Republic of Kazakhstan policymakers on the optimal policy framework for methane abatement leveraging our global best industry practices while continuing to improve operational practices in our Joint Ventures.