Petronas says acts on climate change
Published on: Friday, July 19, 2019
By: David Thien
KOTA KINABALU: Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) responded to Daily Express’ report on the 13 oil and gas companies acting on climate change, which according to Prof Dr Justin Sentian, the speaker from UMS, did not see Petronas’ name on the list. The fact is not disputed.
Petronas Sabah media liaison office said Malaysia’s national petroleum company has taken positive steps to mitigate climate emergency and sent Daily Express its 2017 corporate commitment details on environment care pertaining to climate change.
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At the recent Sabah Oil and Gas Conference and Exhibition 2019, Dr Justin said the Oil & Gas Climate Change Initiative (OGCI) undertaken by 13 oil and gas companies – BP, Chevron, CNPC, Eni, Equinor, ExxonMobil, Occidental Petroleum, Pemex, Petrobras, Repsol, Saudi Aramco, Shell, and Total – was to enable the oil and gas industry to collaborate on climate concerns.
The initiative serves as a platform to advance technological solutions and to catalyse meaningful action and coordination on climate change.
The formation of OGCI Climate Investments to invest one billion dollars over the next decade to help accelerate the development of innovative game-changing technologies that have the potential to reduce emissions on significant scale.
The selected low emissions technologies will also be adopted and deployed by the OGCI companies within their businesses and operations.
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Petronas stressed this at the last World Economic Forum’s roundtable discussion on Malaysia’s energy landscape, Petronas Group CEO Tan Sri Wan Zulkiflee Wan Ariffin said against the backdrop of demand for more sustainable energy sources, Petronas is considering viable investments in renewable energy namely solar, wind and biomass on a commercial scale.
Wan Zulkiflee said to cater to the growing energy demand, Petronas has embarked on numerous energy investments anchored to its three-pronged strategy to develop an energy mix that effectively balances the Energy Trilemma of security, affordability and sustainability of energy supply.
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These new ventures would support the Ministry of Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change’s (MESTECC) initiatives to reduce carbon emissions intensity of GDP by 45 per cent by 2030 and achieve a low-carbon economy status by 2050.
Wan Zulkiflee said the ambitious carbon neutrality goal can only materialise with extensive changes in Malaysia’s energy sector guided by strong and forward-looking energy policies that explore new growth areas beyond the conventional oil and gas.
Hence, government support and intervention in developing and implementing regulations for the ecosystem that take into consideration all key influencing factors are pivotal for businesses not only to survive but thrive as the energy landscape continues its monumental shift.
The Petronas Group CEO stressed that oil and gas will remain as the group’s core businesses, especially in the primary energy mix.
The company has allocated RM30 billion for its upstream activities in 2019 with half slated for domestic investments to ensure there will be no disruptions to energy supply.
Excerpts from the Petronas Sustainability Report 2017 read: “Petronas Climate Change Position: We duly recognise our corporate responsibility as a player in the global energy sector to balance the issue of climate change with the challenge to sustainably produce affordable and reliable energy.
“Petronas takes a holistic approach in managing climate change across our business value chain as we move towards a low carbon economy.
“In 2017, Petronas’ Carbon Commitments were enhanced to include new elements such as Carbon Pricing and Offsets, Renewables as well as Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage (CCUS) and a carbon dioxide emission allowance to manage high carbon dioxide fields. Overall this drives our ongoing efforts in upholding our position on climate change.”
“Petronas works closely with our various shareholders globally through discussions and participation in initiatives on climate change.
“This includes our membership on the IPIECA Climate Change Working Group and International Gas Union.
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