Oil majors invest $28bn in low-carbon solutions as emissions targets met

The Oil and Gas Climate Initiative has reported that its member companies invested 28 billion dollars in low-carbon solutions, acquisitions and research during 2025. This annual contribution has raised the cumulative investment in these areas to 156 billion dollars. The organisation stated that its members, which include the world’s largest oil producers, have met their target to reduce the carbon intensity of their operations for a fifth consecutive year. Bob Dudley, chair of the initiative, noted that the group has delivered significant emissions reductions over a long period while continuing to supply energy to the market.

The latest progress report indicates that total upstream greenhouse gas emissions among the members amounted to 260 metric tonnes in 2025. This represents a 28 per cent decrease compared with levels recorded in 2017. The initiative estimates that this reduction is broadly equivalent to eliminating the emissions of most of Scandinavia in less than a decade. Aggregate upstream carbon intensity from operations was reduced to 16.5 kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalent per barrel of oil equivalent in 2025. This result met the group’s voluntary ambition to keep emissions below 17.0 kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalent per barrel of oil equivalent for that year.

Methane emissions have also seen substantial declines, falling by 58 per cent since 2017. In 2025, total aggregate upstream methane emissions among the members’ operations was 0.76 million metric tonnes, which was 1.2 million metric tonnes less than the amount emitted in 2017. The methane intensity in the upstream oil and gas industry was kept below 0.20 per cent for a fifth consecutive year. The group stated that it has reduced aggregate methane emissions in the industry by 61 per cent in nearly a decade. Addressing methane is considered one of the most important action areas by the organisation, with Bjørn Otto Sverdrup, executive committee chair, noting that technical measures are required on the ground to fix methane and flaring issues.

Despite these reductions, oil and gas production among the member companies grew by three per cent year on year to 43.4 million barrels of oil equivalent a day. Flaring, defined as the routine burning of natural gas emitted during oil extraction, has been reduced by 74 per cent since 2018. Three of the member companies reported no flaring in 2025. The aggregate upstream methane intensity was recorded at 0.13 per cent in 2025, maintaining the level below the 0.20 per cent target. Julien Perez, the managing director, described the overall trend in methane intensity as extremely positive, attributing a marginal increase in methane emissions in the past year to a rounding effect rather than a rise in actual output.

The initiative’s members include Aramco, BP, Chevron, CNPC, Eni, Equinor, ExxonMobil, Occidental, Petrobras, Repsol, Shell, and TotalEnergies. Collectively, these companies produce about a quarter of global oil and gas operationally. They are investing in advancing more than 50 carbon capture, usage and storage hubs and direct air capture projects, including the Northern Lights and Liverpool Bay CCS projects. Dudley acknowledged that the industry is cyclical and that individual companies face commercial constraints that can influence investment decisions. He described the current period as one of profound geopolitical uncertainty that is testing the pace of the energy transition, but affirmed that the commitment of the companies remains strong.

The group has set a new voluntary collective ambition to reduce upstream methane intensity to 0.1 per cent by 2030. Chief executives of the members have pledged to remain committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, backing new innovation, and accelerating low-carbon solutions. The initiative acts as the secretariat to the Oil and Gas Decarbonization Charter, which was signed by 56 companies producing about 40 per cent of the globe’s oil. The charter was launched at COP28 in the UAE with the aim of achieving net-zero operations and near-zero methane by adopting the group’s reporting framework. In Bahrain, Colombia, Libya, Nigeria and Pakistan, oil majors have abated upstream methane emissions through a Satellite Monitoring Campaign that uses drones, satellites, and sensors to monitor emissions.