具有ESG意識(shí)的投資者正在要求大型石油公司在投資低成本的新石油項(xiàng)目的同時(shí)降低碳足跡

埃克森美孚公司首席執(zhí)行官伍茲：能源政策和公司戰(zhàn)略需要在能源安全和減少石油和天然氣排放之間取得正確的平衡

雪佛龍公司計(jì)劃今年推進(jìn)100多個(gè)項(xiàng)目，以降低其運(yùn)營(yíng)的碳強(qiáng)度

據(jù)油價(jià)網(wǎng)報(bào)道，世界上最大的國(guó)際石油和天然氣公司繼續(xù)承諾降低排放，以供應(yīng)世界需要的碳?xì)浠衔锖臀磥韺⑿枰奶細(xì)浠衔铩２恍业氖牵瑢?duì)于石油巨頭來說，并不是所有的盆地和生產(chǎn)區(qū)域都是一樣的，所以近幾年來，石油巨頭把重點(diǎn)放在了投資最多產(chǎn)的油氣項(xiàng)目，后者生產(chǎn)的石油利潤(rùn)最高，而且排放量相對(duì)低于其他地區(qū)。

為了留住投資者，最大的石油公司繼續(xù)宣傳他們?cè)跍p排方面取得的進(jìn)展。但為了通過更高的回報(bào)為股東創(chuàng)造額外的價(jià)值，石油公司正在優(yōu)先考慮特定的盆地和資源，他們認(rèn)為這些盆地和資源可以在他們的投資組合中產(chǎn)生最便宜的石油和天然氣。

在ESG投資的時(shí)代，以及爆發(fā)地緣政治沖突以后的能源危機(jī)中，如果石油巨頭想繼續(xù)獲得運(yùn)營(yíng)許可證的話，他們現(xiàn)在要在繼續(xù)生產(chǎn)石油和天然氣的需求與減少排放之間進(jìn)行平衡。

盡管近幾年來可再生能源激增，但世界仍依賴化石燃料滿足80%以上的能源需求。

“找到正確的平衡”

埃克森美孚公司首席執(zhí)行官達(dá)倫·伍茲日前在標(biāo)普全球舉行的劍橋能源周(CERAWeek)會(huì)議上表示，政策和企業(yè)需要在能源安全和減少石油和天然氣排放之間取得正確的平衡。

伍茲說：“放棄其中任何一個(gè)目標(biāo)都是錯(cuò)誤的。”

埃克森美孚公司的目標(biāo)是將其二疊紀(jì)盆地的原油日產(chǎn)量提高到100萬(wàn)桶，同時(shí)到2030年前，其在二疊紀(jì)盆地運(yùn)營(yíng)的非常規(guī)資產(chǎn)實(shí)現(xiàn)凈零排放。

伍茲在CERAWeek會(huì)議上說：“這樣做的意義之一是向世界證明我們可以做到這兩點(diǎn)。”

這位埃克森美孚公司高管還表示，埃克森美孚公司還是全球排放密集度最低的煉油商之一。

伍茲指出，如果埃克森美孚公司不生產(chǎn)世界需要的柴油和汽油，其他排放強(qiáng)度更高的公司就會(huì)生產(chǎn)，那么在減排方面，世界就不會(huì)獲得凈收益。

他說，大家都認(rèn)識(shí)到這個(gè)問題有多么緊迫，“效果有多么巨大”。伍茲說，解決辦法將根據(jù)世界各地的情況而有所不同。

另一家美國(guó)石油巨頭雪佛龍公司在2月份舉行的2023年投資者日活動(dòng)上表示：“我們正在朝著上游二氧化碳強(qiáng)度降低目標(biāo)取得進(jìn)展。我們將繼續(xù)優(yōu)先考慮那些有望以成本效益最大的方式減少碳排放的項(xiàng)目。”

雪佛龍公司預(yù)計(jì)今年將推進(jìn)100多個(gè)項(xiàng)目，以降低其業(yè)務(wù)的碳強(qiáng)度，重點(diǎn)是能源管理、減少伴生氣放空燃燒和甲烷管理等。

“我們對(duì)甲烷的目標(biāo)很簡(jiǎn)單——把甲烷留在管道里。”

新優(yōu)勢(shì)資源  

分析師對(duì)《華爾街日?qǐng)?bào)》表示，高產(chǎn)油田和新投產(chǎn)油田的每桶原油的排放強(qiáng)度往往較低，原因是這些油田產(chǎn)量巨大，而且新油田的開采采用了電氣化等新設(shè)計(jì)，降低了碳排放強(qiáng)度。

伍德麥肯茲全球勘探研究主管朱莉·威爾遜告訴《華爾街日?qǐng)?bào)》，在美國(guó)墨西哥灣深水區(qū)和沙特阿拉伯陸上，每桶原油的排放強(qiáng)度是最低的，同時(shí)也是最清潔的，因?yàn)槟抢锏挠途a(chǎn)量很高。

挪威也是全球原油排放量最低的國(guó)家之一。挪威海上運(yùn)營(yíng)商已經(jīng)開始用陸上電力取代燃?xì)廨啓C(jī)(挪威的電力主要來自水力發(fā)電)，從而減少了新油田的排放。

例如，挪威能源巨頭Equinor表示，得益于來自陸上的電力，約翰斯維爾德魯普大油田的二期工程每生產(chǎn)一桶原油將排放0.67公斤二氧化碳。根據(jù)挪威石油巨頭的數(shù)據(jù)，全球平均水平為每桶原油排放15公斤二氧化碳。

然而，伍德麥肯茲能源研究副總裁安德魯·萊瑟姆在最近的一份報(bào)告中說：“真正有利的資源，低盈虧平衡(對(duì)低價(jià)格的適應(yīng)能力)和排放(范圍1和范圍2的可持續(xù)性)并不充足。”

萊瑟姆說：“碳?xì)浠衔飼r(shí)代還遠(yuǎn)未結(jié)束。”

根據(jù)伍德麥肯茲的能源轉(zhuǎn)型展望(ETO)報(bào)告，全球石油需求將在2030年達(dá)到峰值，然后在2050年將緩慢下降至9400萬(wàn)桶。即使在能源加速轉(zhuǎn)型展望(AET)報(bào)告中，到2050年全球凈零排放，并實(shí)現(xiàn)《巴黎協(xié)定》中最雄心勃勃的目標(biāo)，屆時(shí)全球石油日需求仍將為3300萬(wàn)桶。

萊瑟姆表示：“從目前的情況來看，我們認(rèn)為到2050年，我們只能滿足全球一半左右的基本油氣需求。”

“‘峰值優(yōu)勢(shì)’這個(gè)問題越來越突出，并提出了一個(gè)巨大而緊迫的行動(dòng)呼吁。正如最近的供應(yīng)中斷提醒我們的那樣，如果我們忽視了上游，后果將很嚴(yán)重。無論是石油，還是天然氣，都將繼續(xù)需要巨大而持續(xù)的投資。”萊瑟姆如是說。

李峻 編譯自 油價(jià)網(wǎng)

原文如下：

Oil Majors Juggle Cheaper Crude With Lower Emissions

·     ESG conscious investors are demanding that big oil companies lower their carbon footprint while investing in low-cost greenfield oil projects.

·     ExxonMobil CEO Woods: Policies and companies need to strike the right balance between energy security and ways to cut emissions from oil and gas.

·     Chevron looks to advance more than 100 projects this year to lower the carbon intensity of its operations.

The world’s biggest international oil and gas firms continue to pledge lower-emission operations to supply the world with the hydrocarbons it needs and will need in the future.  Unfortunately for Big Oil, not all basins and areas of production are equal, so companies have focused in recent years on investing in the most prolific operations that yield the most profitable oil with relatively lower emissions than in other locations.   

To keep investors in the sector, the largest oil firms continue to tout their progress in reducing emissions. But to create additional value for shareholders via higher returns, companies are prioritizing specific basins and resources they believe will yield the cheapest-to-extract oil and natural gas in their portfolios.  

In the era of ESG investment and the energy crisis following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Big Oil is now juggling the need to keep producing oil and gas with the imperative to cut emissions if they want to continue to have a license to operate.

Despite the surge in renewable energy in recent years, the world still relies on fossil fuels for more than 80% of its energy needs. 

“Strike The Right Balance”

Policies and companies need to strike the right balance between energy security and ways to cut emissions from oil and gas, ExxonMobil’s chief executive Darren Woods said at the CERAWeek by S&P Global conference last week. 

“It would be a mistake to abandon any one of those objectives,” Woods added. 

ExxonMobil targets to grow its Permian production to 1 million barrels per day (bpd) and, at the same time, reach net-zero emissions at its operated unconventional assets in the Permian by 2030. 

“One of the points in doing that is to demonstrate to the world that we can do both,” Woods at CERAWeek. 

Exxon is also one the least emission-intensive refiners in the world, the executive added. 

If Exxon doesn’t make the diesel and gasoline the world needs, someone else – with higher emission intensity operations – will, and there wouldn’t be a net benefit for the world in terms of emissions abatement, Woods noted. 

There is a recognition of how urgent the issue is and “how enormous the lift is,” he said. The solutions will vary according to the circumstances around the world, Woods said. 

The other U.S. supermajor, Chevron, said on its Investor Day 2023 last month, “We’re making progress toward our upstream CO2 intensity reduction targets. We continue to prioritize the projects expected to return the largest reduction in carbon emissions cost efficiently.” 

Chevron looks to advance more than 100 projects this year to lower the carbon intensity of its operations, focusing on energy management, flaring reduction, and methane management, among others. 

“Our goal on methane is simple – keep it in the pipe.” 

The New Advantaged Resources

Very productive fields and newer basins tend to be less emission-intensive per barrel due to the sheer volumes of production and new designs to make extraction in newer fields less carbon-intensive, by electrifying operations, for example, analysts tell The Wall Street Journal.

In the deepwater U.S. Gulf of Mexico and onshore Saudi Arabia, per-barrel production is among the cheapest and cleanest at the same time because the wells there are very productive, Julie Wilson, research director of global exploration at Wood Mackenzie, told the Journal. 

Norway also boasts some of the lowest-emission barrels globally. 

Operators offshore Norway have started to replace gas turbines with electricity from onshore – Norway’s electricity comes predominantly from hydropower – bringing down emissions from the newer oilfields. 

For example, Phase 2 of the giant Johan Sverdrup oilfield will emit 0.67 kilograms (kg) of CO2 per barrel of produced oil, thanks to power from shore, operator Equinor says. The global average is 15 kg/barrel, according to the Norwegian major.  

However, “truly advantaged resources, with low breakeven (resilience to low prices) and emissions (sustainability in scope 1 and 2 terms) are anything but plentiful,” Andrew Latham, Vice President, Energy Research at Wood Mackenzie, said in a recent report.  

“The world is far from the end of the hydrocarbon era,” Latham said. 

According to WoodMac’s base-case Energy Transition Outlook (ETO), oil demand peaks in 2030, before declining slowly to 94 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2050. Even in the Accelerated Energy Transition (AET) outlook of global net zero by 2050 and achieving the most ambitious targets in the Paris Agreement, oil demand will still be 33 million bpd by 2050.  

“As things stand, we see enough to satisfy only about half of our base-case oil and gas demand forecast to 2050,” WoodMac’s Latham says.     

“This problem of ‘peak advantage’ looms ever larger and presents a huge and urgent call to action. As recent supply interruptions serve to remind us, we neglect the upstream at our peril. Both oil and, in particular, gas will continue to need huge and sustained investment.”