The Oil and Gas Climate Initiative (OGCI) today launched the Aiming for Zero 
Methane Emissions Initiative which calls for an all-in approach that treats oil 
and gas methane emissions as seriously as the industry already treats safety: 
aiming for zero and striving to do what is needed to get there.

We recognize that eliminating methane emissions from the upstream oil and gas 
industry represents one of the best short-term opportunities for contributing 
to climate change mitigation and for advancing the goals of the Paris 
Agreement. 

The Initiative is already supported by the CEOs of Aramco, bp, Chevron, CNPC, 
Eni, Equinor, ExxonMobil, Occidental, Petrobras, Repsol, Shell and 
TotalEnergies. OGCI encourages all oil and gas companies to join them in this 
approach.

Signatories to Aiming for Zero Methane Emissions Initiative believe that 
virtually all methane emissions from the industry can and should be avoided, 
building on the following:
1.	We will strive to reach near zero methane emissions from our operated oil 
and gas assets by 2030, and we will encourage our partners to achieve similar 
results. 
2.	We will put in place all reasonable means to avoid methane venting and 
flaring, and to repair detected leaks, while preserving the safety of people 
and the integrity of operations.
3.	Signatories will report annually and transparently on their methane 
emissions.
4.	As technology evolves, we will supplement methane emissions estimates with 
more monitoring and measurement technologies, and introduce new solutions to 
avoid methane emissions. We welcome the continued improvement of measurement, 
reporting and verification (MRV) mechanisms.
5.	We support the implementation of sound regulations to tackle methane 
emissions and encourage governments to include methane emissions reduction 
targets as part of their climate strategies.
 
This leadership initiative supplements important multi-stakeholder initiatives, 
such as the Methane Guiding Principles, the Oil and Gas Methane Partnership 2.0 
and the Global Methane Alliance.

OGCI has already taken significant action to reduce methane emissions, setting 
targets, developing and deploying technologies and participating in 
multi-stakeholder initiatives to raise awareness and improve practices. The 
member companies have reported collective progress on methane since 2017 and 
have reduced their aggregate absolute methane emissions by more than 30% in the 
last five years. 

OGCI remains committed to its methane intensity target of well below 0.20% by 
2025 and will be reviewing its shared targets for 2025 and onwards, to account 
for this new initiative and its new strategy launched in September 2021. 

“We recognize that eliminating methane emissions from the upstream oil and gas 
industry represents one of the best short-term opportunities for contributing 
to climate change mitigation and for advancing the goals of the Paris 
agreement,” said OGCI Chair, Bob Dudley. “The time has come for us to go 
further, and we believe that the oil and gas industry can and should lead this 
effort.” 

Bjorn Otto Sverdrup, OGCI Executive Committee Chair said, “With this leadership 
initiative, we are calling for an all-in approach that treats methane emissions 
as seriously as the oil and gas industry already treats safety: we aim for zero 
and we will strive to do what is needed to get there. We are encouraging all 
oil and gas companies to join us in this approach.” 

ENDS 

The Oil and Gas Climate Initiative 

The Oil and Gas Climate Initiative (OGCI) was founded in 2014 and today 
consists of 12 global oil & gas majors representing around 30% of the world’s 
total oil and gas production. 

OGCI’s overarching mission is to use its collective resources to accelerate 
actions that mitigate the greenhouse gas emissions from the oil and gas 
industry’s operations and the use of its products, while still meeting the 
world’s energy needs.

All OGCI member companies aim to reach net zero emissions from operations under 
their control, and also to leverage their influence to achieve the same in 
non-operated assets, within the timeframe set by the Paris agreement. OGCI 
member companies have pledged to stay action-oriented, report transparently, 
and update the Consortium’s ambitions as progress towards net zero is achieved.

SOURCE: Oil and Gas Climate Initiative (OGCI)