New base energy news 21 july 2020 issue no. 1357 by senior editor khaled-compressed

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NewBase Energy News 21 July 2020 - Issue No. 1357 Senior Editor Eng. Khaled Al Awadi
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U.A.E:TAQA unit awarded M$246 recycled water distribution projects
The National + Zawya + NewBase
Abu Dhabi National Energy Company, also known as Taqa, said that its subsidiary awarded Dh900
million worth of projects to expand the company’s recycled water distribution programme.
The two projects under the umbrella of Abu Dhabi Distribution Company (ADDC), will have a
combined capacity to transmit around 85 million i mperial gallons per day (MIGD) of recycled water,
sufficient to irrigate more than 3.5 million palm trees, the company said.
"By implementing practical and sustainable solutions that optimise desalinated water usage and
protect our precious ground water resources, we will continue to reinforce the emirate’s strategic
approach to achieving water and environmental sustainability,” Saeed Mohamed Al Suwaidi, ADDC
managing director, said.
The expansion will increase the use of recycled water beyond municipal landscaping to include
commercial and agricultural sectors, the company said. The move will also allow nearly 4,000 farms
to benefit from the supply of recycled water, according to ADDC.
The expansion plans follow an earlier announcement in January, when the company began
transmission of 4.4 MIGD of recycled water on Saadiyat Island through an existing network on Yas
Island.
www.linkedin.com/in/khaled-al-awadi-38b995b

The new transmission infrastructure will help the company reach clients from the commercial and
agriculture sectors located on the outskirts of Abu Dhabi.
The expansion will include laying out approximately 150 kilometres of pipelines in two phases, with
the first 30 MIGD pipeline slated for completion by the third quarter of 2021 and the second 55 MIGD
project to be completed by the fourth quarter.
Taqa said it is focused on the UAE’s national strategies for energy and water supply, "which
anticipate an increase in demand and the deployment of more clean technologies and sustainable
methods of service delivery,” said Omar Abdulla Alhashmi, executive director of transmission and
distribution at Taqa.
"The expansion of ADDC’s recycled water distribution programme plays a key role in Taqa's
transformative impact on Abu Dhabi’s utilities sector – across the value chain and for decades to
come,” he added.
Earlier this month, Taqa completed its transaction with ADPower to create one of the largest utility
companies in the broader Europe, Middle East and Africa region with total assets worth about
Dh200bn.
As per the terms, ADPower transferred the majority of its water and electricity generation,
transmission and distribution companies to Taqa in return for convertible shares in the latter.
Following the deal, Moody's Investors Service upgraded Taqa's issuer rating to Aa3 from A3 and its
short term rating to P-1 from P-2. The ratings agency said the new assets have a "significant positive
impact on Taqa's business and financial profiles".
Taqa also reached financial close for a 2.4 gigawatt gas-fired power plant in the emirate of Fujairah
– the largest such scheme in the UAE earlier this month.
The Fujairah F3 independent power producer (IPP) project, expected to cost Dh4.2 billion, is set to
power 380,000 households upon completion in the third quarter of 2022. An IPP refers to a private
entity that generates power for sale to a utility or end users.

Oman:PDO’s Rabab Harweel Integrated Project completed
Oman Observer + NewBase
UK-based international oilfield engineering services contractor Petrofact has announce the successful
completion of the Rabab Harweel Integrated Project (RHIP), one of the largest ventures of Petroleum
Development Oman (PDO).
“Our Rabab Harweel Integrated Project (RHIP) team has received the completion certificate from
Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) acknowledging successful delivery of the project,” said Petrofac
in a statement.
Located in the Harweel cluster of fields, deep in the South Oman desert, the huge new development
encompasses gathering systems, sour gas processing facilities, injection systems, and all the
associated flowlines and pipelines.
Petrofac provided engineering, procurement, construction management and commissioning support
services worth around $1.25 billion. It was the contractor’s first PDO project where a new commercial
contract model (EPCm) was introduced. This meant it being delivered on a reimbursable basis, where
incentives were linked to the achievement of specific milestones and a shared benefit on procurement
savings.
“In-Country Value (ICV) was a critical consideration throughout the project. We exceeded all our
targets for Omanisation. Also, more than a third of the project’s total procurement value was sourced
in the Sultanate,” the company stated.
Khalid Abdul Kadar, Project Manager, has recently been leading the close out of the project, in
parallel with his responsibilities on the Yibal Khuff project for PDO: “Achieving this milestone marks
the successful completion of a six-year project journey. RHIP has also helped us to build on our
existing long term partnership with PDO, which is now continued through Yibal Khuff and our other
PDO Framework projects. This success is down to all the people involved and a One Team
approach, particularly as we have had to overcome the recent COVID-19 related oil and gas industry
challenges,” he said.

PDO sets 2020 capital budget at $5.5 bn
PDO has earmarked a capital budget of $5.498 billion for 2020. This compares with capital
expenditure (capex) of $5.3 billion and operating expenditure (opex) of $2 billion in 2019, the
majority state-owned energy firm announced in its newly published Sustainability Report 2019.
At the same time, the company has embarked on one of the most ambitious cost reduction exercises
in its history in response to the challenges unleashed by the oil price shock and the resulting
economic slowdown – designed to achieve a 30 per cent cut in its activities and operational costs.
“At time of writing this report, PDO was facing the ‘perfect storm’ entailing the concurrent macro-
economic and health threat of the COVID-19 pandemic, combined with a collapse in oil prices, and
large national unemployment and exponentially rising debt,” said PDO in its report.
With a 30 percent unit cost reduction in every single activity, process and deliverable across the
Company. Our Cost Optimisation Reviews (CORs) will continue to provide the platform for engaging
with contractors to identify mutually sustainable, more resilient and more efficient ways of working,”
it stated.
In a foreword, Dr. Mohammed bin Hamad al Rumhy,
Minister of Oil and Gas and Chairman of the Board of
Directors of PDO, summed up the formidable
challenges confronting the energy sector and the
wider economy. “These are challenging times for the
entire nation,” the Minister declared. “The COVID-19
emergency, oil price instability, production
restrictions, pressure on the public finances, climate
change concerns, substantial technological disruption
and continuing geopolitical instability have combined
to create a testing environment.”
Dr. Al Rumhy nevertheless underscored the
importance of the sector to the national economy,
stressing, “There is no doubt that the sector, as the Sultanate’s key engine for revenue, has adapted
and must continue to adapt to meet these pressures.”
But despite the cash-constrained environment and ongoing oil price volatility, PDO delivered its
highest hydrocarbon production in nearly two decades – representing a combined daily oil, gas and
condensate output of 1.210 million barrels of oil equivalent per day, according to Managing Director
Raoul Restucci.
“The average oil production was 616,380 bpd – the highest since 2005 – representing a 6,210 bpd
increase on 2018,” he said in the Managing Director’s foreword. “The average Government daily
non-associated gas production during 2019 was 62.2 million cubic metres per day, which was in
line with customer demand and commensurate with PDO’s role as swing producer. Condensate
production was 77,950 bpd, almost 20 per cent (more than 8,000 bpd) higher than the 2018 average.
This exceeded 94,000 bpd in the fourth quarter, driven by the start-up of the Rabab Harweel
Integrated Project (RHIP), the largest in our history,” he further noted.
Also during 2019, PDO bolstered its hydrocarbon reserves with the booking of a total of 136 million
barrels of oil and 1.1 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of non-associated gas as Commercial Contingent
Resource volumes for the year. The company also achieved the lowest unit finding cost for oil in a
decade at just $1 per barrel, he added.

India's petrol, diesel demand falls due to high prices, lockdown
Reuters + NewBase
Indian state refiners’ petrol and diesel sales declined in the first half of July from the same period
last month, according to preliminary data, as a renewed lockdown in parts of the country and rising
retail prices hit demand.
India on Friday became the third country in the world to record more than one million cases of the
new coronavirus, behind only the United States and Brazil, as infections spread further into the
countryside and smaller towns. Fuel demand growth in India, the world’s third-biggest oil importer
and consumer, plunged to historic lows in April when the federal government imposed a country-
wide lockdown.
State-refiners’ diesel sales, which account for two-fifth of overall refined fuel sales in India, fell by
18% to 2.2 million tonnes in the first half of July from the same period in June, and by about 21%
from a year earlier, according to data compiled by Indian Oil Corp.
State companies - Indian Oil Corp, Hindustan Petroleum Corp and Bharat Petroleum - own about
90% of India’s retail fuel outlets.
Indian fuel demand had gathered pace from May when the lockdown was partly eased. But a spike
in cases of coronavirus infection has led to authorities imposing fresh lockdowns and designating
new containment zones in several states this week, including the largely rural Bihar state in the east
and the southern tech hub Bengaluru.
State companies’ sales of petrol fell 6.7% to 880,000 tonnes in the first half of July from the same
period in June, and by about 12% from a year earlier, the data showed. “Retail sales are down
because of reimposed lockdown and higher retail prices,” said Sri Paravaikkarasu, director for Asia
oil at consultancy FGE.

India’s diesel price has touched a record high of 81.35 rupees ($1.09) a liter on Friday in New Delhi,
slightly higher than that of petrol. India’s overall refined fuel demand includes consumption of fuel
oil, bitumen and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). State retailers sold 6.5% more LPG in the first half
of July from a year ago, at about 1.075 million tonnes.
Fuel-Tax Hikes
Dilip Lamba, who owns a transport company in Jodhpur in western India, has had more than three-
quarters of his fleet of 50 trucks idling for months. Dharampal Nambardar, a farmer who grows
wheat and mustard seed in Haryana state, is worried he might not make any profit this year.
The main source of their anxiety is not Covid-19, however, but rather a surge in fuel prices. The
central government has hiked import and excise taxes twice this year even as it imposed the world’s
biggest coronavirus lockdown. Retail prices for diesel -- the lifeblood of India’s economy -- in the
capital New Delhi have jumped 30% since the end of April, while gasoline has risen 16%.
“Diesel makes up almost 70% of our operating costs,” said Lamba, whose company carries
everything from cotton to cement to leather goods all over India. “Higher diesel prices means higher
freight charges. But customers aren’t ready for it and we can’t absorb the costs.”
Taxes on the two fuels now account for almost two-third’s of what Indians pay at the pump, making
Indian retail prices among the highest in Asia and almost double that in neighboring Pakistan. The
recovery in global crude prices, meanwhile, has boosted Indian fuel costs even further in the last
few months.
Indian diesel and gasoline prices among the highest in Asia
Source: GlobalPetrolPrices.com
The high prices are adding another headwind to an economy facing the biggest contraction in four
decades. Diesel powers India’s trucking fleet, which carries two-third of the country’s freight, and is

also essential for construction and agriculture. Gasoline, meanwhile, fills the tanks of millions of
motorbikes ridden by lower-income Indians.
“While pump prices across the world have mostly followed the drop in oil prices since last year, India
is an exception,” said Senthil Kumaran, a senior oil analyst at industry consultant FGE. “It’s unusual
to see such a steep increase in the taxes on diesel, as the fuel is deemed to be a driver of economic
growth, especially in rural areas.”
There appears to be little chance that Prime Minister Modi will take steps to curb the rising diesel
and gasoline prices even as global crude prices recover. This year’s fuel levy increases are
expected to generate about $30 billion a year in revenue for the government, according to
Bloomberg Intelligence, at a time when coffers are being squeezed by less income and sales tax
and higher spending on welfare programs.
Sources: India's oil ministry, fuel retailers
“The tax hike in early May is turning into a wider cost-push supply shock, reinforced by a rebound
in global crude oil prices,” Abhishek Gupta, India economist at Bloomberg Economics, said in a
note. That’s likely to push up inflation over the next few months, he said.
With industrial production still fragile as Covid-19 continues to spread in India, Oil Minister
Dharmendra Pradhan’s prediction last month that fuel demand will be back to pre-virus levels by
September is looking tough to achieve.
There’s already evidence that the high prices are curbing demand. Provisional fuel sales in June
show that while India’s overall consumption of petroleum products was 8% lower than a year earlier,
diesel and gasoline consumption were down 15% and 14%, respectively.
“The cost of operations has increased exorbitantly and small truck operators are unable to pass it
on to the consumers because demand is low,” said Kultaran Singh Atwal, chairman of the All India
Motor Transport Congress, the largest such grouping in the country. Almost half of India’s truck fleet
is still idle, he said.

U.S. uranium production fell to an all-time annual low in 2019
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Monthly Energy Review and Domestic Uranium Production Report
The United States produced 174,000 pounds of uranium concentrate (U3O8) in 2019, 89% less
than in 2018 and the lowest amount produced since the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s
(EIA) data series began in 1949. Domestic U3O8 production has declined since its peak of 43.7
million pounds in 1980.
Producing uranium concentrate, U3O8, is the first step in nuclear fuel production. After the uranium
ore is mined, it goes through a milling process that extracts uranium from the ore, producing uranium
concentrate (U3O8). Although the original
ore contains as little as 0.1% uranium,
U3O8 is usually more than 80% uranium.
U3O8 is then processed at conversion
and enrichment facilities, where it’s made
into reactor fuel pellets. Fuel fabrication
plants assemble the fuel pellets into fuel
rods for use in commercial nuclear
reactors.
In the late 1940s and early 1950s, the
United States introduced incentives and
trade policies encouraging the growth of
domestic uranium production. After
these policies ended in the 1980s,
domestic production began to decline.

Other countries, such as Canada and Australia, have more accessible, high-quality uranium
deposits, allowing them to produce U3O8 at a lower cost than the United States. Since 1990,
purchased imports of U3O8 have exceeded domestic U3O8 production each year.
Owners and operators of commercial nuclear power reactors buy uranium in the form of U3O8,
uranium hexafluoride, or enriched uranium, or a combination of these forms. When the uranium is
purchased earlier in the fuel cycle, such as in the form of U3O8, owners and operators pay for
conversion, enrichment, and fabrication into fuel rods.
In 2019, the fuel assemblies, or structured groups of fuel rods, loaded into U.S. commercial
reactors contained 43.2 million pounds of U3O8. About 9% of this amount was U.S.-origin, and 91%
was foreign-origin.
In 2019, U.S. commercial nuclear power reactor operators purchased a total of 48.3 million pounds
of U3O8. Foreign imports of U3O8 supply the majority of fuel to U.S. commercial nuclear reactors,
and 42.6 million pounds, or 88% of the total U3O8 purchased, were imported in 2019.
Canada, which has large, high-quality uranium reserves, has historically been the largest source of
U.S. uranium imports. In 2019, Canada remained the largest source of imports of uranium supplied
to U.S. civilian nuclear power plants, followed by Kazakhstan, Australia, and Russia. Subsidies
for uranium producers in Kazakhstan have led to increases in the country’s uranium exports,
including those to the United States.

Domestic production and imports of uranium have declined in recent years as a result of decreased
demand for U3O8 as more U.S. commercial nuclear reactors retire from service. The United States
currently has 95 operating commercial nuclear reactors at 57 nuclear power plants. Most
recently, Indian Point Unit 2, near New York City, retired in April 2020.
Iowa’s Duane Arnold Energy Center is scheduled to retire later in 2020, and Indian Point Unit 3 is
scheduled to retire in 2021. By 2025, three additional reactors at two plants are expected to retire,
according to data reported to EIA.

China Ships Oil From Swelling Storage to compete with OPEC
Bloomberg News
Some oil from China’s swelling storage tanks is finding its way back into the international market as
traders jump at the opportunity to source cheap crude for resale to regional refiners.
The shipments in question, so far just 1 million barrels, have been procured by trading houses via
the Shanghai futures exchange, and loaded from the bourse’s numerous storage tanks that dot the
country’s eastern coast. From these Chinese ports, the cargoes were then shipped to international
buyers who would have otherwise sourced such supplies from producers across the Middle East
and Africa.
While China will never compete with the likes of Saudi Arabia as a supplier in the long run, the trickle
of crude out of the world’s No. 1 importer underscores how fragile oil’s recovery remains. China
went on a record buying spree to fill its reserves with low-cost supplies, helping prices double from
April lows. Now the purchases are slowing and some of those stockpiles are hitting the market just
as OPEC and its partners prepare to raise output.
The oil is coming from the 14 depots designated as delivery and storage points for the Shanghai
International Energy Exchange’s oil futures trading contracts. The exchange had a total of 39 million
barrels of medium sour grades in storage as of this July 16, up more than 10-fold since April 20.
The rising inventories are weighing on the price of the oil futures, making it attractive for traders to
buy them, accept physical delivery upon expiration, and then ship the crude to refineries nearby,
according to traders and analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.
The arbitrage is being helped by Saudi Arabia, Iraq and others raising their official selling prices. A
North Asian refinery could save $1 a barrel by taking a cargo of Basrah Light from one of INE’s
compared to shipping it directly from Iraq, when delivery discounts, shipping costs and OSPs are

accounted for, according to traders. Basrah Light accounts for about half of the oil now stored in
INE tanks.
“The higher OSPs happened to offer the exchange a chance to stand out as a regional hub due to
its advantage in distance and grade selections,” said Li Li, an analyst with Shanghai-based
commodities researcher ICIS-China.
Two South Korean refiners purchased about 500,000 barrels each of Oman crude from the depots
in China, with one of the cargoes already leaving Dongjiakou port and headed toward Yeosu,
according to people familiar with the matter.
Becoming a regional supplier was not exactly what the INE had set out to achieve when
it launched its yuan-denominated futures in March 2018, intending to promote its currency and
create a price benchmark for the lower-quality crude that its refiners use.
As oil demand and prices sunk amid the pandemic this year, traders looked for anywhere they could
park unwanted barrels. Physical players had delivered 27 million barrels of oil into INE’s depots in
the first six months of the year, the exchange said in a statement on its official Wechat account.
That volume accounted for 57% of all deliveries since the debut in 2018. About 40% of the new
volumes were for hedging, the exchange said.
Cargoes Delivered
Basrah Light accounted for half of the oil delivered into INE this year

Earlier this month, London-based BP Plc became the first western major to deliver oil into INE’s
Weifang depot owned by Sinochem Hongrun. Days later, Mercuria also sold cargo into the same
depot for August contracts. Since the start of the year, overseas investors contributed to 16% of
daily trading volume for the yuan contracts while making up for 28% of open interest, according to
INE.

NewBase July 21-2020 Khaled Al Awadi
Oil steady as vaccine news counters rise in virus cases
Reuters + NewBase
Oil prices were little changed on Tuesday, trapped in the narrow trading band of the past three
weeks as investors gauged hopes for a recovery in oil demand against fears of new lockdowns due
to a growing number of coronavirus cases.
Prices were offered some support by positive news on the development of vaccines as drugmakers
and medical institutions rush to find a way to counter the world’s worst health crisis in a century.
Brent futures were down 2 cents, or 0.05%, at $43.26 by 04.31 GMT, while West Texas Intermediate
(WTI) edged up 6 cents to $40.87. The closing prices of both Brent and WTI have traded within a
$2 channel so far this month.
In China, some cinemas reopened on Monday after a six-month closure, raising hope a recovery
from the pandemic is holding in the world’s second-largest economy, where the outbreak first
started.
Oil price special
coverage

“With major economies opening ... demand should pick up for oil, and more so if a vaccine becomes
available soon,” said Fawad Razaqzada, market analyst at ThinkMarkets.
However, other countries from the United States to India are still posting record numbers of
infections, while some nations such as Spain and Australia are battling renewed outbreaks.
More than 14.6 million people have been reported to be infected by the novel coronavirus globally
and 606,979 have died, according to a Reuters tally.
Hope is being giving from a number of studies and tests showing promise for various vaccines.
Early data from trials of COVID-19 vaccines released on Monday, raised confidence that a vaccine
may be created although any breakthrough will take time to reach the billions of people needed.
In the first big energy deal since the coronavirus crushed fuel demand, Chevron Corp said on
Monday it would buy oil and gas producer Noble Energy Inc for about $5 billion in stock.
U.S. oil & gas rig count falls to record low for 11th week: Baker Hughes
U.S. energy firms cut the number of oil and natural gas rigs operating to a record low for an 11th
week in a row though they have slowed the reductions as some consider returning to the well pad
with crude prices up from historic lows.
The U.S. oil and gas rig count, an early indicator of future output, fell by five to an all-time low of
253 in the week to July 17, according to data on Friday from energy services firm Baker Hughes Co
going back to 1940.
That was 701 rigs, or 73%, below this time last year.
U.S. oil rigs fell one to 180 this week, their lowest since June 2009, while gas rigs dropped by four
to 71, their lowest on record according to data going back to 1987.
Even though U.S. oil prices are still down about 34% since the start of the year due to coronavirus
demand destruction, U.S. crude futures have jumped 115% over the past three months to around
$40 a barrel on Friday on hopes global economies will snap back as governments lift lockdowns.

Analysts said higher oil prices will encourage energy firms to slow rig count reductions and possibly
start adding some units later this year.
“U.S. rig activity will bottom near 250 rigs or roughly today’s levels,” analysts at Raymond James
said, noting they expect the rig count to average 270 in the second half of 2020, “amounting to a
small recovery as some operators slowly resume drilling in some basins.”
Oil Tanker Titans to Get Little Joy From OPEC+ Opening the Taps
At almost any other moment in history, the promise of oil producers pouring millions of barrels of
crude to the global market would have been cause for celebration in the world’s shipping hubs like
Athens, Oslo and Tokyo. But Covid-19 means that this is a time like no other.
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and allied nations confirmed on Wednesday
that they will aim to pump about 2 million barrels a day more crude in August.
Such increases -- equating to roughly 10% of what the world’s supertankers transport each day --
would normally translate into a big increase in cargoes for owners including Frontline Ltd. and
Euronav NV. This time, though, the curbs pale in comparison with cuts that went before. On top of
that, ships that had been storing crude are increasingly exiting that trade, freeing them to seek
charters.

“From an absolute perspective, global oil transportation is still down substantially,” said Ben Nolan,
an analyst at Stifel Nicolaus. “Near term, an increase in OPEC production should drive rates higher,
but it won’t take too long for that to be offset by floating storage and cargo movements that are way
down.”
Come August, OPEC+, as the alliance is known, will still be producing 7.7 million less crude than it
was before the coronavirus pandemic triggered worldwide lock-downs, a collapse in oil demand,
and then oil-supply restrictions. OPEC’s August production boost from some nations though will be
tempered by compensatory cuts from other members that missed their targets in May and June.
In addition to that, Saudi Arabia and Russia look set to direct much of their extra output toward
serving their own nations’ demand. In other words, no hike in cargoes. That, coupled with high
inventory draw-downs, could further undermine the tanker market, said Espen Fjermestad, an
analyst at Fearnley Securities in Oslo.
Only a few months ago, shipowners were racking up fees as high as $250,000 a day for the
industry’s largest ships when OPEC+ flooded the market and floating storage was in high demand.
That’s dropped to below $30,000, according to data from the Baltic Exchange in London.
That means the carriers are now just about making enough to break even, according to Lars
Ostereng, an analyst at Arctic Securities ASA in Oslo.
“I am not particularly bullish,” he said. “There are a lot of negative factors including at least one
major issue: inventory draw-downs which is coming up. Big time.”

NewBase Special Coverage
The Energy world - Special 01- July -2020
Oil giants including Exxon & Aramco set first joint carbon target
Reuters + NewBase
A group of the world’s top oil companies including Saudi Aramco, China’s CNPC and Exxon Mobil
have for the first time set targets to cut their combined greenhouse gas emissions as a proportion
of production, as pressure on the sector’s climate stance grows.
However, the target set by the 13 members of the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative (OGCI) is eclipsed
by more ambitious plans set individually by the consortium’s European members, including Royal
Dutch Shell, BP and Total.
The OGCI members agreed to reduce the average carbon intensity of their aggregated upstream
oil and gas operations to between 20 kg and 21 kg of CO2 equivalent per barrel of oil equivalent
(CO2e/boe) by 2025, from a collective baseline of 23 kg CO2e/boe in 2017, the OGCI said in a
statement.
Intensity targets mean absolute emissions can rise with increasing production.
The OGCI includes BP, Chevron, CNPC, Eni, Equinor, Exxon, Occidental Petroleum, Petrobras,
Repsol, Saudi Aramco, Shell and Total, which together account for over 30% of the world’s oil and
gas production.
“It is a significant milestone, it is not the end of the work, it is a near term target ... and we’ll keep
calibrating as we go forward,” OGCI Chairman and former BP CEO Bob Dudley told Reuters.

The members agreed on a common methodology to calculate carbon intensity and the targets could
be extended to other sectors such as liquefied natural gas and refining in the future, Dudley added.
The announcement marks an important change for Exxon, the largest U.S. oil company, which has
resisted investor pressure to improve the disclosure of its impact on the environment. It did not
report its carbon emissions in 2019.
Exxon supports the OGCI targets to decrease the carbon intensity of energy production and is “part
of the industry’s efforts to take practical, meaningful steps to reduce emissions,” a spokesman said.
The targets set by different companies can vary widely in scope and definition, making it difficult to
compare.
However, some members of the OGCI already exceed or plan to overshoot the joint target.
For example, Saudi Aramco, the world’s top oil exporter, had an upstream carbon intensity of 10.1kg
CO2e/boe in 2019, according to its annual report.
Norway’s Equinor aims to reduce its CO2 intensity below 8kg/boe by 2025. It has said the current
global industry average is 18 kg CO2e/boe.
OGCI said the group’s collective carbon intensity would be reported annually, with data reviewed
by EY, as an independent third party.
The target includes reductions in methane emissions, a potent greenhouse gas, which the group
had previously committed to cut.
Oil and Gas Climate Initiative announces progress towards methane target and new CCUS initiative
to scale up actions towards climate goals

 Launch of new KickStarter initiative to boost large-scale commercial carbon capture, use and
storage (CCUS) worldwide
 OGCI member companies on track to achieve methane intensity target
 Climate Investments announces latest investments in low-carbon technologies and projects
The Oil and Gas Climate Initiative (OGCI) today announced further initiatives to accelerate the
reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and support the goals of the Paris Agreement, ahead of
OGCI’s annual event in New York City.
First, OGCI launched a new initiative to unlock large-scale investment in carbon capture, use and
storage (CCUS), a crucial tool to achieve net zero emissions. OGCI’s CCUS KickStarter initiative is
designed to help decarbonize multiple industrial hubs around the world, starting with hubs in the
US, UK, Norway, the Netherlands, and China. The aim of the KickStarter is to create the necessary
conditions to facilitate a commercially viable, safe and environmentally responsible CCUS industry,
with an early aspiration to double the amount of carbon dioxide that is currently stored globally
before 2030.
Second, OGCI showed progress towards its methane intensity target announced last year.
Members are on track to meet the methane intensity target, having reduced collective methane
intensity by 9% in 2018. In addition to the methane intensity target, OGCI is now working on a
carbon intensity target to reduce by 2025 the collective average carbon intensity of member
companies’ aggregated upstream oil and gas operations.

We are scaling up the speed, scale, and impact of our actions in support of the Paris Agreement
OGCI members,joint statement
Third, all OGCI member companies have pledged to support policies that attribute an explicit or
implicit value to carbon. Acknowledging the role that attributing a value to carbon plays as one of
the most cost-efficient ways to achieve the low carbon transition as early as possible, OGCI
supports the introduction of appropriate policies or carbon value mechanisms by governments.
OGCI Climate Investments, OGCI’s US$1 billion-plus fund, has nearly doubled the number of
investments in promising clean technologies over the year. The fund now has a total of 15
investments in its portfolio. Climate Investments actively supports these companies in deployment
and scale-up as well as continuing to search for additional opportunities in its focus areas.
In a joint statement, the heads of the OGCI member companies said: “We are scaling up the speed,
scale, and impact of our actions in support of the Paris Agreement. Accelerating the energy
transition requires sustainable, large-scale actions, different pathways and innovative technological
solutions to keep global warming well below 2°C. We are committed to enhancing our efforts as a
constructive partner with governments, civil society, business and other stakeholders working
together to transition to a net zero economy.”
“The progress towards our methane intensity target makes us confident that the actions we are
taking deliver results. We are on track to reach our methane intensity target of 0.25% by 2025.
Encouraged by our experience of working together on reducing methane emissions, we are
now working on a target to reduce by 2025 the collective average carbon intensity of our aggregated
upstream oil and gas emissions.”
OGCI’s CCUS KickStarter initiative is designed to facilitate large-scale investment in a commercially
viable, safe and environmentally responsible CCUS industry. To achieve this, OGCI will start by
building on the work of many others to jointly put five emerging hubs into operation – in the US, UK,
Norway, the Netherlands, and China. Its aspiration is to double the amount of carbon dioxide that
is currently stored globally, while building a pipeline of potential future hubs to bring this new industry
to scale.
In parallel, OGCI has launched a joint CCUS Acceleration Framework with the 11 countries
supporting the Clean Energy Ministerial CCUS Initiative, which brings governments and industries
together to create a global, commercial CCUS industry at the scale needed to meet the Paris
Agreement.
Nature Based Solutions are crucial to achieving net zero emissions, in tandem with CCUS. OGCI
has joined the Natural Climate Solutions Vision initiative, convened by the World Economic Forum
and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development.
Methane emissions progress
OGCI members reduced their collective average methane intensity by 9% in 2018, and members
are on track to meet the 2025 target of below 0.25%. As part of OGCI’s engagement to expand the
impact of its actions, OGCI joined the Global Methane Alliance, together with the United Nations
and Environmental Defense Fund, which aims to work with gas-producing countries to
include methane emission reductions from oil & gas in their nationally determined contributions.

Carbon intensity target preparation
To complement its methane emissions intensity target, OGCI is working on a target to reduce
collective average carbon intensity by 2025. The target will take into account carbon dioxide and
methane emissions from members’ aggregated upstream oil and gas operations emissions from a
baseline of 24kg CO2e/boe in 2017. Member companies have developed a baseline and
are aligning methodology and assumptions to work towards the collective target. Reducing carbon
intensity involves actions including improving energy efficiency, minimizing flaring, upgrading facilities
and co-generating electricity and useful heat.
Statement on responding to the climate challenge and stakeholder engagement
OGCI member companies have pledged to support policies that attribute an explicit or implicit value
to carbon.
Recognizing the urgency of responding to the climate challenge, all OGCI member companies
support the consideration and introduction by governments of appropriate policies or carbon
valuation mechanisms, such as through tax, trading systems, incentives or other market-based
instruments appropriate to the profile of emissions, to the carbon mitigation opportunities and to the
socio-economic situation of each jurisdiction.
OGCI Climate Investments
OGCI Climate Investments, the US$1 billion-plus fund set up by OGCI member companies to lower
the carbon footprint of energy and industries, has made the following seven new investments in the
last year:
 Kelvin reduces methane emissions by using artificial intelligence to better control complex
processes and systems.
 SeekOps develops and fields advanced sensor technology for methane emissions detection,
localization and quantification.
 Boston Metal has developed an electrochemical process to manufacture low-emissions
ferroalloys, and ultimately emissions-free steel.
 75F aims to increase occupant productivity and reduce energy use in commercial buildings
through its smart control solution.
 Norsepower manufactures mechanical rotor sails that provide auxiliary propulsion power for
large ships to reduce their fuel consumption
 XL provides hybrid and plug-in-hybrid electrification solutions for commercial vehicles.
 Wabash Valley Resources captures and stores carbon dioxide from ammonia production in
what is expected to be the largest carbon storage project in the US.

The Editor:” Khaled Al Awadi” Your partner in Energy Services
NewBase energy news is produced Twice a week and sponsored by Hawk Energy Service – Dubai, UAE.
For additional free subscriptions, please email us.
About: Khaled Malallah Al Awadi, Energy Consultant
MS & BS Mechanical Engineering (HON), USA
Emarat member since 1990
ASME member since 1995
Hawk Energy member 2010
www.linkedin.com/in/khaled-al-awadi-38b995b
Mobile: +971504822502
khdmohd@hawkenergy.net or khdmohd@hotmail.com
Khaled Al Awadi is a UAE National with over 30 years of experience in the Oil & Gas
sector. Currently working as Technical Affairs Specialist for Emirates General
Petroleum Corp. “Emarat “with external voluntary Energy consultation for the GCC
area via Hawk Energy Service, as the UAE operations base. Khaled is the Founder
of NewBase Energy, and an international consultant, advisor, ecopreneur and
journalist with expertise in Gas & Oil pipeline Networks, waste management, waste-
to-energy, renewable energy, environment protection and sustainable development.
His geographical areas of focus include Middle East, Africa and Asia. Khaled has
successfully accomplished a wide range of projects in the areas of Gas & Oil with
extensive works on Gas Pipeline Network Facilities & gas compressor stations.
Executed projects in the designing & constructing of gas pipelines, gas metering &
regulating stations and in the engineering of gas/oil supply routes. Has drafted & finalized many
contracts/agreements in products sale, transportation, operation & maintenance agreements. Along with
many MOUs & JVs for organizations & governments authorities. Currently dealing for biomass energy,
biogas, waste-to-energy, recycling and waste management. He has participated in numerous conferences
and workshops as chairman, session chair, keynote speaker and panelist. Khaled is the Editor-in-Chief of
NewBase Energy News and is a professional environmental writer with more than 1400 popular articles to
his credit. He is proactively engaged in creating mass awareness on renewable energy, waste management
and environmental sustainability in different parts of the world. Khaled has become a reference for many of
the Oil & Gas Conferences and for many Energy program broadcasted internationally, via GCC leading
satellite Channels. Khaled can be reached at any time, see contact details above.
NewBase: For discussion or further details on the news above you may contact us on +971504822502, Dubai, UAE
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