14 January 2021 Shell, Exxon Join Group Seeking $2.5 Billion in Dutch Subsidies for Carbon Storage A consortium that includes oil majors Royal Dutch Shell and ExxonMobil has requested a total of $2.55 billion in subsidies for a project to store carbon dioxide in empty Dutch gas fields in the North Sea, the Dutch Economy ministry said.
14 January 2021 IRS Issues Final Rules on CCS Tax-Credits Regulations US taxpayers, investors, and the American energy sector applaud long-awaited, final regulations on the CCS tax credit. The final rules provide needed clarity on how to qualify for and use the credit.
16 December 2020 BP Takes Majority Stake in US Carbon Offset Firm Finite Carbon BP has acquired a majority stake in the largest US carbon offset developer, Finite Carbon, the oil major said, as part of its climate goals and to develop a new revenue stream.
11 December 2020 Denmark Becomes First Major Oil-Producing Nation To Set Deadline To End Extraction The country has announced that it plans to phase out all oil extraction by 2050.
08 December 2020 Petrobras CEO Calls Net Zero a Fad, Echoing Exxon Oil Focus Petrobras is pledging a 25% cut in carbon emissions by 2030, but that hasn’t stopped Chief Executive Officer Roberto Castello Branco from dismissing pledges by peers to completely neutralize their carbon footprints 2 decades later.
08 December 2020 The Future of ESG Is … Accounting? Companies, investors, and consumers alike are frustrated by a lack of standardized accounting for corporate ESG performance. This might be about to change thanks to a recent proposal from the IFRS Foundation, which is the body that oversees the work of the International Accounting Standards Board.
25 November 2020 Methane Hits Record High in Atmosphere as Fossil Fuel Companies Diverge Oil and gas producers in Europe commit to reporting emissions, but major US firms do not.
19 November 2020 Halliburton Commits to Lower Emissions The oilfield service company said it expects to set emissions-reduction targets by next year to meet the goals of the Paris Accord.
18 November 2020 NextTier and NOV Field Test Their First Electric Fracturing Fleet Electrically powered completions equipment takes another step toward greater sector adoption with the announcement of this new agreement.
06 November 2020 Norway’s Ulstein Debuts Hybrid H2 Design for Vessels A Norwegian shipping company is eyeing smaller battery energy storage systems to design and develop greener heavy-lift jackups.
02 November 2020 Equinor Aims To Become Net-Zero Energy Company by 2050 As it reaches for net-zero emissions, the company said its operations offshore Norway remain central to its long-term strategy.
29 October 2020 Solaris Water-Reuse Complex in New Mexico Begins Operations The Eddy State Complex adds 300,000 B/D of recycled produced-water treatment capacity in the northern Delaware Basin. The company said it is on track to recycle 25 million bbl of produced water this year.
14 October 2020 TechnipFMC and McPhy Plan Collaboration To Accelerate Green Hydrogen TechnipFMC and McPhy signed a memorandum of understanding to work together on the development and project implementation of hydrogen technology. Separately, McPhy and Chart Industries also signed a memorandum to scale up hydrogen projects across various markets.
08 October 2020 Permian Basin Produced-Water-Recycling Facility Up and Running Breakwater’s produced-water-recycling facility has the flexibility to recycle, store, or dispose of water. It has already recycled nearly 5 million bbl of produced water in the third quarter of 2020.
30 September 2020 Shell To Shed More Than 10% of Staff as Part of Net-Zero Restructuring Push Shell's CEO said the Dutch supermajor has "too many layers" and that the move to downsize will help ensure its future. As a result, at least 9,000 people are expected to leave the oil and gas producer between now and 2022.
24 September 2020 Shell and Microsoft Form Alliance To Address Carbon Emissions The companies say they will expand their existing technology collaboration to create and deliver solutions to help customers, suppliers, and other businesses lower emissions.
23 September 2020 Shell Launches Major Cost-Cutting Drive To Prepare for Energy Transition Royal Dutch Shell is looking to slash up to 40% off the cost of producing oil and gas in a major drive to save cash so it can overhaul its business and focus more on renewable energy and power markets, sources told Reuters.
17 September 2020 Oxy and Total’s Carbon-Capture Project Takes Next Step With US Government Funding Phase 1 involved a feasibility study for a facility capable of capturing 750,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide annually. The next phase will explore building a facility capable of more than twice that amount.
10 September 2020 Baker Hughes Aims To Balance Shifting Portfolio With Energy Transition As the company aims to become carbon net zero by 2050, it is undertaking a three-pronged approach focused on transforming its core, investing for growth, and positioning for the future.
10 September 2020 BP Takes on Billion-Dollar Stake in Equinor’s US Offshore Wind Power Projects Two of Europe’s largest oil and gas producers will lead four offshore wind projects that together have the potential of powering 2 million homes.
01 September 2020 Worley Spotlights Sustainability as Central to Its Agenda The company’s latest sustainability report highlights progress despite the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
27 August 2020 Schlumberger and Thermal Energy Partners To Create STEP Energy The new geothermal project development company will offer expertise in subsurface and drilling, project development, and risk mitigation.
26 August 2020 Range Resources Among First Shale Producers To Aim for Net-Zero Emissions by 2025 Through a combination of reducing operational emissions and offsetting projects, the shale-gas producer has set a new benchmark for its sector.
17 August 2020 Plugging Orphaned and Abandoned Oil and Gas Wells Can Create Jobs, Reduce Pollution New research released by Columbia University's Center on Global Energy Policy and Resources for the Future estimates that a federal program to plug roughly half a million abandoned and so-called "orphaned" oil and gas wells could create as many as 120,000 jobs and reduce pollution.
17 August 2020 Investors Demand ESG Reporting From the Oil and Gas Industry Many oil and gas companies have been at the forefront of the development of sustainability reporting in recent years, but expectations of greater transparency are now filtering down to mid-sized and smaller players.
07 August 2020 Air Quality Monitoring Company Merges With Certification Firm International Environmental Standards, the new company created by the merger of Project Canary and Independent Energy Standards, will combine continuous emissions-monitoring technology with TrustWell certification to create a provider of independent environmental, social, and governance performance.
29 July 2020 Maersk Invests in Rocket Science Technology To Achieve Carbon-Neutral Drilling The offshore drilling contractor’s latest effort to curb emissions relies on technology developed during the US space shuttle program and could become commercial by 2022.
28 July 2020 Top ESG Trends in Energy Investors and consumers are pressuring companies to incorporate environment, social, and governance (ESG) practices into their culture and operations. Now, ESG has gone from a nice-to-have feature to a must-have prerequisite.
22 July 2020 Local Content Compliance: Employment and Training of Nonskilled Ghanaians In the Upstream Petroleum Industry The objective behind Ghana's local content requirement is to ensure the involvement of Ghana's industry, including its national oil company, in the development of the exploration, production, and decommissioning value and supply chain.
06 July 2020 Energy Industry Searches Soul on Diversity, Inclusion The 25 May death of George Floyd, a black man, at the hands of Derek Chauvin, a white Minneapolis police officer, sparked national and international protests—and the oil and natural gas industry was not immune to the calls for social change.
26 June 2020 Shell Plans Major Restructuring Around Climate Drive, CEO Tells Employees Royal Dutch Shell will announce a major restructuring by the end of the year as the energy company prepares to accelerate its shift toward low carbon, Chief Executive Officer Ben van Beurden told employees, a company source said.
26 June 2020 Petrobras Publishes 2019 Sustainability Report Operations during the COVID-19 pandemic and actions to decarbonize operations are among the highlights.
12 June 2020 Column: Four Ways To Reinvent the Oil and Gas Industry The oil and gas industry was created by fierce entrepreneurs, wildcatters, and visionaries. But, in the last 50 years, it has lost its way. The industry desperately needs a paradigm shift. Here are four pillars upon which we think the reinvention of the oil and gas industry should be based.
12 June 2020 Eni Launches New Business Structure Focused on Energy Transition The company is creating two new business groups: Natural Resources, focused on developing the upstream oil and gas portfolio sustainably, and Energy Evolution, dedicated to supporting the evolution of the company’s power generation, product transformation, and marketing.
11 June 2020 Microsoft Launches Center of Excellence To Promote Innovation and Sustainability in the Energy Industry Launched in collaboration with industry leaders and academia, the Microsoft Energy Core aims to accelerate digital transformation, build coalitions for responsible innovation, deliver skilling initiatives, and address sustainability and societal challenges.
08 June 2020 Fishers Say Catch Has Dropped by 80% Since the Start of Seismic Surveying The controversial surveying technique has been used around Australia to look for oil and gas, but some environmentalists and scientists have warned the effects on marine life could be deadly.
29 May 2020 Report Underscores Urgency To Expand Sustainable Energy Solutions and Protect Gains To meet the targets of the UN Sustainable Development Goals by 2030, countries must safeguard the gains already attained and accelerate efforts to achieve affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all.
26 May 2020 Petronas Joins World Business Council for Sustainable Development The Malaysian firm has become the newest member of the organization of companies, which carries the mission of accelerating the transition to a sustainable world by making more sustainable companies successful.
12 May 2020 Oil Communities Face Prospect of Years-Long Recovery Communities reliant on the oil and gas industry say it may take years, not months, to bounce back from the coronavirus pandemic that’s ravaging local economies.
13 April 2020 For Boom/Bust Oil Towns, Coronavirus Is a Very Different Kind of Crisis Past price crashes have produced widespread layoffs and bankruptcies, sunk local real estate markets, and drained public funding for years. This time around, local officials and analysts say it could be even worse.
01 April 2020 Equinor Leaves Petroleum Lobby Group Over Lack of Climate Position The company’s departure from the Independent Petroleum Association of America is in line with its climate roadmap.
26 March 2020 Teekay Offshore Changes Name To Reflect Sustainability Efforts The energy infrastructure firm is becoming Altera Infrastructure as part of a global rebranding initiative.
12 March 2020 Sustainability Shift—Report Analyzes Oil’s Future in the Energy Transition When considering the energy markets and climate risks, the debate around the energy transition has shifted from when it will happen to what it will look like.
27 February 2020 BP Cuts Ties With Three US Trade Groups Over Climate Policies The decision comes after the UK oil corporation’s new chief executive, Bernard Looney, set an ambitious target to shrink its carbon footprint to net zero by 2050. To achieve this it will have to cut more greenhouse gas emissions every year than the amount produced by the whole of the UK.
20 February 2020 Is Carbon-Capture Technology Scalable? In the past, carbon capture and sequestration seemed to be going nowhere. Today, according to the Global CCS Institute, 19 large-scale commercial carbon capture and sequestration facilities are operating around the world, 10 of which are in the US.
17 February 2020 Oil Majors Seek Sustainable Power for North Sea Projects North Sea operators BP, Shell, and Total have begun an effort to fuel their platforms using sustainable power sources through a connection with Norway’s onshore power grid, which is driven almost wholly by renewable energy.
11 February 2020 EIA Projects Total US Energy-Related Carbon Dioxide Emissions To Be Relatively Flat Through 2050 In the US Energy Information Administration’s Annual Energy Outlook 2020 reference case, which assumes no new laws and regulations, US energy-related carbon dioxide emissions decrease through the early 2030s before increasing to 4.9 billion metric tons in 2050.
06 February 2020 Equinor Broadens Scope of Carbon Targets To Match Rivals Equinor has joined other major European oil and gas companies by including emissions from the fuel it sells to customers in its carbon reduction targets as investors step up the pressure on fossil fuel producers.
05 February 2020 Exxon Plans Carbon Capture Project in Wyoming ExxonMobil is planning to build and operate a carbon capture facility in southwest Wyoming, according to a permit application filed with the state's environmental regulatory agency in January.
27 January 2020 Lundin Petroleum Joins Decarbonization Movement With a Name Change The Swedish oil and gas producer is aiming to produce 200,000 B/D while offsetting the entirety of its carbon footprint.
24 January 2020 Oil and Gas Industry Works To Increase Awareness of Human Trafficking A mobile exhibit highlighting the risks and dangers of human trafficking in the oil and gas industry is part of an increased effort by the industry to combat human trafficking, a euphemism for modern-day slavery of forced labor and prostitution.
24 January 2020 Video: What Is Required for Net Zero Deirdre Michie, chief executive for OGUK, and David Clark, Lloyd’s Register’s energy director, discuss how OGUK’s Roadmap 2035 is being delivered to help achieve net zero greenhouse-gas emissions and what is required with regard to policy, people, and technology.
21 January 2020 Converted Hybrid Vessel Earns Companies Environmental Sustainability Award Subsea 7 and Eidesvik Offshore have been awarded the 2019 Environmental Sustainability Award from the International Marine Contractors Association in recognition of their efforts to reduce vessel emissions and improve energy efficiency.
20 January 2020 IEA Warns Oil Companies That Doing Nothing on Emissions Is Not an Option Oil and gas companies must boost investment in low carbon energies or face an increasing backlash that could threaten their long-term profits and social acceptance, the International Energy Agency said.
20 January 2020 Eni, ADNOC Sign Carbon Capture Agreement The companies will focus on research and development to reduce CO2 emissions and promote the circular economy.
06 January 2020 BP Signs Sustainable Energy Agreements With Amazon Web Services BP says it will supply Amazon Web Services with 170 MW of renewable energy, the equivalent of powering 125,000 homes each year.
01 January 2020 Sustainability Is the New Safety Integrating sustainability in the core business is not a quick fix but a complex journey that touches all parts of the business and requires new ways of alignment and cooperation. Safety has gone through similar challenges, and we can learn a lot from that journey.
23 December 2019 Schlumberger Becomes First Upstream Services Company To Commit to Science-Based Target in Emissions Reduction The target will align the company with the goals of the Paris Agreement to mitigate climate change.
09 December 2019 World Bank Urges Gulf Countries To Prioritize Environmental Sustainability The World Bank has urged countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council to prioritize environmental sustainability while diversifying their economies away from a reliance on hydrocarbon revenues in an era of lower energy prices.
05 December 2019 African Group Pushes OPEC Members To Focus on Energy Poverty The African Energy Chamber is pushing African OPEC and non-OPEC members to commit to a declaration of cooperation and work to ensure compliance.
15 November 2019 European Investment Bank To Stop Funding Oil and Gas Projects The bank funded some €2 billion in projects last year.
11 November 2019 Google Launches Incubator for Startups Aligned With the UN's Sustainable Development Goals The tech giant has said it will choose startups to support based solely on their past work or their potential to drive progress toward the 169 targets listed under the framework of the Sustainable Development Goals.
11 November 2019 Total Quits US Oil Lobby Group Over Climate Policy Stance French oil giant Total said it will not renew its membership of the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers association because the organization’s stance on climate issues does not align with its own.
04 November 2019 Video: Equinor Chief Looks To Adjust to the New Global Energy Mix In this video from Bloomberg, Eldar Saetre, chief executive officer and president of Equinor, talks about the company's increased push into the offshore wind power market.
01 November 2019 Industry Continues To Make Progress on Carbon Capture Rapid scale-up of carbon capture, use, and storage is essential for meeting climate and emissions targets while not crippling economic growth. Yet, its potential remains largely untapped because of reasons that include growing pains of immature technologies and uncertainty around public policy.
28 October 2019 Eni Makes “No Go” Commitment for World Heritage Natural Sites Italian oil major Eni formally committed not to perform oil and gas exploration and development activities within the boundaries of natural sites included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
28 October 2019 Can the Energy Industry Rise to the Challenge of Climate Change? Wood Mackenzie energy transition experts take on some of the trickiest questions about how to meet the world’s future energy needs while managing climate change.
09 October 2019 Column: How Can Shell Bring More Solar Power to India? Nearly 168 million people in India lack access to electricity. And, for millions more connected to the grid, the reliability and affordability of electricity remains patchy. Now, Shell has secured a nearly 20% stake in the Bangalore-based solar firm Orb Energy.
25 September 2019 Column: What 1,000 CEOs Really Think About Climate Change and Inequality To solve the world’s biggest challenges, such as climate change and inequality, the business community will have to play a critical role. Last month, nearly 200 CEOs declared that the purpose of business is no longer just maximizing shareholder profit. But are they ready to follow through?
17 September 2019 DNV GL Report: The Future of Energy Is Decarbonized Gas and Renewables The report reveals there is no single pathway to a decarbonized energy mix. A combination of energy sources—primarily gas and renewables—will be the quickest route to delivering a supply of affordable, decarbonized energy in the lead-up to the midcentury.
04 September 2019 Industry and Governments Back New Net Zero Solution Centre The Oil & Gas Technology Centre has announced it will create, in partnership with industry, a Net Zero Solution Centre to accelerate the development and deployment of technologies to decarbonize offshore operations and develop the UK continental shelf as the first net zero oil and gas basin.
23 August 2019 Environmental, Social, and Governance: The ABCs of ESG Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) refers to three central factors in measuring the sustainability and ethical impact of investments. At its core, ESG investment involves gauging a company’s long-term, rather than short-term, sustainability.
20 August 2019 Digitalization Drives Sustainability and Financial Performance for Equinor Equinor is using its digital transformation to be more sustainable. “It’s not just about running a smarter business," said Bjorn Otto Sverdrup, Equinor's senior vice president of sustainability. "It’s also about running a more sustainable business.”
19 August 2019 Sinopec Releases Sustainability Report in Saudi Arabia The report, the first by a Chinese company in Saudi Arabia, outlines how Sinopec is fulfilling its economical, safety, environmental, and social responsibilities in Saudi Arabia.
01 August 2019 Transforming Natural Resource Management for a Sustainable Planet This paper presents the recent expansion of UNFC guidance to cover social and environmental effects and the further transformation of the system to make it a valuable tool in resource management for governments and businesses.
27 July 2019 Earth Overshoot Day Shifts to Earliest Date Ever On Earth Overshoot Day, humanity will have used nature’s resource budget for the entire year, according to the Global Footprint Network, an international sustainability organization. Earth Overshoot Day has moved up 2 months over the past 20 years to 29 July this year, its earliest date ever.
22 July 2019 Ecuador Tribe Wins Legal Battle Over the Amazon The ruling protects half a million acres of land in the Amazon forest on which the Waorani have lived for centuries from being earmarked for oil drilling, campaigners said.
22 July 2019 US Shale Firms Put Up $16.5 Million To Build West Texas Charter Schools Twenty top US energy companies agreed to contribute $16.5 million to open new schools in West Texas, where an influx of oil and gas workers have strained schools, roads, and other civic services.
22 July 2019 Column: The Time for Impact Investing Is Now Impact and environmental/social/governance investing are reshaping adviser and investor relations. They are fast becoming the business model of the future, with investors exercising a greater degree of diligence on how their investments are bringing wider benefits.
08 July 2019 Repsol Launches Social-Impact Investment Fund Fundación Repsol has created an investment fund through which it will develop social enterprises to contribute to energy transition and generate professional opportunities for vulnerable groups. The fund will allocate €50 million to the development of enterprises with a distinctively social profile.
01 July 2019 2019 SPE Offshore Europe Explores the Industry’s License To Operate The biennial SPE Offshore Europe conference will explore a diverse set of topics, including the application of digital technologies and preparing for a low-carbon energy future and ongoing work around standardization and decommissioning.
14 June 2019 Column: Business as Usual Will Not Save the Planet The UN's sustainable development goals were designed to engage the private sector in addressing the world’s most pressing challenges. Four years into the timeline, the question is whether companies are advancing serious solutions or are simply embarking on a massive public relations charade.
11 June 2019 Businesses Double Down on Sustainability as Consumers Focus on Costs While most businesses have intensified their sustainability efforts, many residential consumers’ actions have stalled as cost and complexity have slowed commitment to clean-energy solutions, according to a study released by the professional services firm Deloitte.
28 May 2019 Column: Why Proponents of Major Projects Need To Consider the Link Between Climate Change and Human Rights By refusing development consent of a coal mine on the basis of likely contribution to climate change and adverse social impacts, the New South Wales Land and Environment Court has drawn attention to the increasing importance of human rights considerations in assessing the impact of major projects.
23 May 2019 Range Publishes First Corporate Sustainability Report Range Resources announced the release of its Corporate Sustainability Report, highlighting the company’s efforts and commitments to responsibly develop natural gas.
16 May 2019 An Uncommon Victory for an Indigenous Tribe in the Amazon A parade of hundreds of Waorani, members of an indigenous nation in a remote part of the Amazon, marched triumphantly through the streets of Puyo, Ecuador, celebrating a court ruling that held that the Ecuadorian government could not auction off their land for oil exploration without their consent.
01 May 2019 Circular Economy: A Sustainability Innovation and Solution for Oil, Gas, and Petrochemical Industries The developed world must no longer tolerate the buildup of mountains of waste while other places in the world, especially in underdeveloped countries, lack access to energy, food, clean water, and clean air.
30 April 2019 Award Recognizes Arctic Environmental Impact Assessment The 2019 Global Award of the International Association for Impact Assessment was awarded to the Arctic Council, honoring the council’s promotion of sustainable development and environmental protection.
16 April 2019 Murphy Oil Releases Its First Sustainability Report The company's 2019 report reinforces the strategic importance of responsible oil and natural gas development while investing in local communities.
05 April 2019 Aramco Asia Singapore Teams With Planet Water Foundation To Provide Safe Drinking Water in Indonesia The program includes water-filtration systems and water health and hygiene education in 10 Indonesian villages.
28 March 2019 Report Reveals Burden of Energy Waste, Methane Emissions on Navajo Communities A recent study of oil and gas methane emissions on the Navajo Nation reveals companies operating on tribal lands pollute 65% more than the national average, wasting millions in tribal resources every year and underscoring the opportunity for tribal leaders to reduce emissions.
26 March 2019 JPT Technology Minute Poll: To Which of the Top Five UN Sustainability Development Goals Do You Think the Oil and Gas Industry Will Contribute the Most? The papers identified in the article cover sustainable development of oil and gas resources in various aspects.
04 March 2019 Study Finds Green Certification Improves Public Opinion of Oil and Gas Development Researchers at Indiana University's School of Public and Environmental Affairs found that public opinion of oil and gas development could be improved if firms were "green certified," meaning that they pledged to adhere to stricter environmental standards than required.
04 March 2019 How Should We Engage With Investors on Sustainability? In its report "Change the Conversation: Redefining How Companies Engage Investors on Sustainability," nonprofit Ceres provides some guidance on how companies should best engage with their investors on the issue of sustainability.
01 March 2019 The Technology Arm of Sustainability The oil and gas industry faces three key questions with regard to sustainability.
01 March 2019 One Industry of Global Citizens An assortment of sustainability initiatives shows how the oil and gas industry, leveraging its reach, diversity, and resources, is going well beyond just supplying energy to impact the world for the better.
01 March 2019 The Challenge of Public Perception Are you annoyed by all the wrong things passing for facts about oil and gas? A lot of petroleum engineers are. As for what to do to solve the problem, that gets complicated, and likely will require studying psychology.
01 March 2019 How the Oil and Gas Industry Is Contributing to Sustainability In September 2015, the United Nations adopted 17 Sustainable Development Goals, addressing the global challenges facing humanity, including poverty, inequality, health, education, energy, climate, the environment, and prosperity.
01 March 2019 Why We Matter When worldwide oil and gas consumption reached record levels yet again in 2017, SPE members were there when it counted, helping to generate more light and power for billions of people across the world.
18 February 2019 How AI Can Help Solve Some of Humanity’s Greatest Challenges—and Why We Might Fail In 2015, the United Nations ratified the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. Technology will be critical in the pursuit of these ambitious targets, but the pace and scale of change creates risks that humanity must take very seriously.
14 February 2019 Column: Yes, Sustainability Can Be a Strategy Is the adoption of sustainability practices a form of strategic differentiation that can lead to superior financial performance? Or, is it a strategic necessity that can ensure corporate survival but not necessarily outperformance?
05 February 2019 Alberta Oil Town Fights Man Camps in Effort To Boost Population Fort McMurray, the remote Canadian town largely built by the oil-sands industry, is trying to limit the ability of those companies to fly in out-of-town workers.
24 January 2019 Column: Here’s How a 100% Renewable Energy Future Can Create Jobs and Even Save the Gas Industry The world can limit global warming to 1.5℃ and move to 100% renewable energy while still preserving a role for the gas industry and without relying on technological fixes such as carbon capture and storage, according to this new analysis.
24 January 2019 Former US Commerce Secretary To Lead Group To Help Permian Residents Former US Commerce secretary and energy executive Don Evans will lead a partnership of oil and gas firms that have pledged $100 million toward easing the civic strain of the shale oil and gas boom in West Texas and New Mexico.
22 January 2019 Sustainability Means Survivability for the Oil and Gas Industry, World Abroad Sami Alnuaim, 2019 SPE president, welcomed the addition of two new oil and gas sustainability initiatives at the University of Houston and highlighted a number of ways the industry is already acting as a good global steward.
11 January 2019 How CSR Managers Can Inspire Other Leaders To Act on Sustainability Many companies care about corporate social responsibility. But putting it into practice requires more than CEO speeches and company policies; managers and employees have to be on board.
11 January 2019 Policies or Technology? The Key to a Sustainable Energy Future The chicken or the egg? The cart or the horse? Should policy or technology take the lead? It is not a reasonable question when it comes to deciding where the keys to a sustainable energy future lay—we need both.
20 December 2018 Colorado Regulators OK Bigger Buffer Zone for Oil, Gas Drilling Near Schools Commission approves 1,000-ft setback from school property, including outdoor areas.
10 December 2018 Surge of Oil and Gas Flowing to Texas Coastline Triggers Building Boom, Tensions For Texas ports, the rise in oil and gas exports is a windfall. For some communities, it’s not so simple.
28 November 2018 New Zealand Farmers Concerned Over Safety Exclusion Zones Taranaki farmers say they will be collateral damage if a recommendation that safety exclusion zones be enforced around oil and gas installations is taken up.
27 November 2018 Equatorial Guinea Congratulates Oil Services Companies for Steps Toward Local-Content Compliance The announcement follows the decision to cancel all contracts awarded to international oil services firm Subsea 7 for failure to comply with local-content rules in Equatorial Guinea.
14 November 2018 Reports Aim To Dive Into the Future of the Ocean and the Industries That Rely on It Reports from DNV GL will look at how ocean industries and future opportunities in the Arctic are can be managed as part of a sustainable future.
14 November 2018 Big Oil Tells Big Tech: Trust Us, Being Arrogant Will Backfire Royal Dutch Shell Chief Executive Ben van Beurden said the oil industry’s own behavior in years past has eroded its relationship with society. He warned that tech companies could face similar fates and that “the alarm bells are ringing quite clearly.”
25 October 2018 KBC Establishes Energy and Sustainability Copilot hub in Singapore KBC, a Yokogawa company, announced the launch of a new Energy and Sustainability Co-Pilot hub in Singapore to address the Singapore government’s environmental sustainability initiatives.
25 October 2018 New York Sues Exxon for Misleading Investors on Climate Change Risk New York’s attorney general sued Exxon Mobil Corp. on 24 October, alleging that the world’s largest oil company for years misled investors about the risks of climate change regulations on its business.
13 October 2018 Why People Aren’t Motivated To Address Climate Change Climate change involves a combination of factors that make it hard for people to get motivated.
10 October 2018 Local Content Compliance—Employment and Training of Nonskilled Ghanaians in the Upstream Industry The object behind Ghana's local content requirement is to ensure the involvement of Ghana's own industry, including its national oil company, in the development of the exploration, production, and decommissioning value and supply chain.
02 October 2018 Transiency, Fly-In/Fly-Out Workers, and Sustainability: Perceptions From Within a Resource-Based Community Using semistructured interviews with key informants from Fort McMurray, Alberta, this paper details how residents perceive fly-in/fly-out workers and what effects this new employment strategy may have on their community.
02 October 2018 Getting Beyond Greenwashing: Why Companies Need To Rethink Their Approach to Sustainability Pascual Berrone has spent the last 10 years studying the phenomenon of greenwashing—appearing to limit environmental impact without actually doing so—and determines that it causes more harm than good in terms of companies’ standing and their market value.
17 September 2018 Hess Named to Dow Jones Sustainability Index North America for Ninth Consecutive Year Hess has earned a place on the Dow Jones Sustainability Index North America for the ninth consecutive year. The index recognizes public companies for outstanding performance across economic, environmental, and social factors.
13 September 2018 Most Executives Believe in the Business Case for CSR. So Why Don’t They Invest More in It? Given companies’ track record in achieving great things, the question is not whether companies can be a force for good. The question is, why don’t all executives lead their companies to be a force for good?
05 September 2018 US Army Corps Stands By Permit for Dakota Access Oil Pipeline The US Army Corps of Engineers said on 31 August that a permit it granted for the Dakota Access Pipeline last year was environmentally sound, handing a setback to tribal and green groups hoping to stop the flow of oil on the pipeline.
21 August 2018 Oil Major and Miner Ethics Scrutinized by Methodist Investors The Central Finance Board of the Methodist Church is developing a system for analyzing company ethics, and top mining and oil companies will be graded by the end of 2018.
21 August 2018 US Says Conserving Oil Is No Longer an Economic Imperative Conserving oil is no longer an economic imperative for the US, the Trump administration declares in a major new policy statement that threatens to undermine decades of government campaigns for gas-thrifty cars and other conservation programs.
16 August 2018 How Can a Circular Plastics Economy Grow the Oil Industry? Chemical demand is essential to long-term oil demand growth. However, the focus to tackle plastics waste by reducing and recycling is raising concerns on future chemical demand growth.
16 August 2018 Marked for Demolition? Ugandans on Pipeline Route Fear Land Loss Ugandan farmer James Mubona, 73, looked pensive as he sat in a blue plastic chair under a mango tree next to three of his four wives, one breastfeeding a 5-month-old baby, contemplating the imminent loss of his 22-acre farm to an oil pipeline.
25 July 2018 Baltimore Lawsuit Blames Oil and Gas Companies for Climate Change The city of Baltimore filed a lawsuit on 20 July against 26 oil and gas companies and entities, including BP, Chevron, and ExxonMobil, for knowingly contributing to what the city called the catastrophic consequences of climate change.
25 July 2018 Broomfield, Colorado, Council Passes Sweeping Land Use Regulations The new ordinance affects oil and gas operations and is likely to be challenged in court.
03 July 2018 Rhode Island Sues Major Oil Companies Over Climate Change The lawsuit is the first by a state seeking to hold oil companies responsible for costs associated with climate change and followed similar cases by several local governments nationally.
03 July 2018 Declines in Trust Present a Must-Seize Opportunity for American Natural Gas In 2018, trust across institutions among members of the US general population declined by nine points—the steepest drop ever measured in the United States by the Edelman Trust Barometer. But the drop was even more dramatic for the American natural gas industry.
03 July 2018 Report Identifies Areas of Research To Fill Gaps in Knowledge of Gulf Coast's Interconnected Natural and Human System Improved understanding of the coupled natural/human coastal system will help promote resilience of coastal communities and ecosystems under rapidly changing environmental conditions, says a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.
02 July 2018 ExxonMobil Foundation Invests $10 Million in Guyana for Research, Sustainable Employment, and Conservation The program aims to advance Guyana’s sustainable economy through investments in education, research, sustainable management, and conservation of the country’s vast ecosystems.
26 June 2018 US Court Dismisses Climate Change Lawsuits Against Top Oil Companies A California federal court dismissed climate change lawsuits against five oil companies by the cities of San Francisco and Oakland, saying the complaints required foreign and domestic policy decisions that were outside the purview of courts, Chevron said on 25 June.
26 June 2018 Report Names Countries Best Prepared for the Global Energy Transition According to the report by the World Economic Forum, 43 countries boast well-performing energy systems and high-transition readiness, which indicates their ability to address the energy transition based on current performance.
21 June 2018 Ten Inconvenient Truths About Climate Change Tort Claims In the last decade, a series of tort claims have been brought in the US against oil, gas, and coal producers; power companies; and car manufacturers seeking compensation for loss and damage said to be the result of climate change caused by greenhouse-gas emissions. To date, none has succeeded.
04 June 2018 Pope Tells Oil Executives to Act on Climate: ‘There Is No Time to Lose’ The Vatican was host to executives of the world’s top oil companies for a conference on climate change and the transition away from fossil fuels on 9 June.
30 May 2018 Colorado City Approves $3 Million Deal To End Oil and Gas Surface Drilling Longmont, Colorado's City Council voted to give final approval to the city's $3 million agreement with TOP Operating and Cub Creek Energy that officials have said will end oil and gas drilling from the surfaces of properties within the city, as well as city-owned properties east of Longmont.
30 May 2018 Wave of Climate Change Tort Suits Against Industry Continues In the latest effort by municipalities seeking to hold fossil fuel companies liable for their alleged contribution to climate change, the city and county of Boulder, Colorado, and the county of San Miguel filed suit against two companies on 17 April.
29 May 2018 IOGP Report: Growing Oil and Gas Demand Requires Global Investment Oil and gas demand is stable or rising in all regions of the world, meaning additional investments are needed for production to keep up. Growing indigenous requirements reduce volumes available for export in many regions, IOGP’s new Global Production Report shows.
16 May 2018 Statoil To Become Equinor, Dropping 'Oil' To Attract Young Talent Shareholders in Norway’s largest company, Statoil, approve the board’s proposal to drop “oil” from its name as its seeks to diversify its business and attract young talent concerned about fossil fuels’ impact on climate change.
10 May 2018 Hess Ranked Top Oil and Gas Company in 2018 Best Corporate Citizens List Hess has earned a place as the No. 1 oil and gas company on Corporate Responsibility magazine’s list of 100 Best Corporate Citizens for 2018.
04 May 2018 Branding in Body Armor: Risk and Respect in Southern Iraq Forging an authentic and meaningful brand for major projects in complex and challenging regions is an under-rated tool for managing risk—but not at the Rumaila oilfield in Southern Iraq.
25 April 2018 Navigating Uncertain Future Indigenous Engagement Requirements: A Road Map for Project Proponents Proponents seeking to develop large energy, infrastructure, and mining projects in Canada face significant uncertainty regarding future requirements for engaging with Indigenous peoples. These requirements may be influenced by a number of factors.
17 April 2018 Under Military Rule, Venezuela Oil Workers Quit in a Stampede Thousands of oil workers are fleeing the state-run oil firm under the watch of its new military commander, who has quickly alienated the firm’s embattled upper echelon and its rank-and-file, according to union leaders.
19 March 2018 Chevron, Oil Giants Lose Latest Fight Over Climate Jurisdiction California cities and counties seeking to hold five of the largest oil companies accountable for their contribution to climate change through a trio of lawsuits will make their case in California state court, a judge ruled.
19 March 2018 Toolkit Aims To Help Companies Improve Human Rights in Conflict Areas "Human Rights Due Diligence in Conflict-Affected Settings" responds to growing concerns by companies working in fragile areas about possible human rights violations in those contexts.
06 March 2018 US Interior Chief Holds Off on Federal Oil Lease Sale After Outcry US Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke said on 5 March that he has postponed a second federal oil and gas lease sale planned for March in less than a week in response to local opposition to the possibility of drilling near national parks and monuments.
05 March 2018 Tiny Canada Town Defeats Oil Firm in Court Fight Over Drinking Water A small municipality in the Canadian province of Quebec that was facing a million-dollar lawsuit from an oil and gas exploration company has won its court battle, bringing an end to a 4-year ordeal that began when residents took steps to protect their water supply.
21 February 2018 Column: Guyana Is About To Open Up Pandora's Barrel Expats hold the key to whether its big offshore oil deposits bring riches—or ruin.
01 February 2018 Landowners, Drillers in Tense Faceoff in Wake of Colorado Blast The hydraulic fracturing frenzy in Colorado is spurring a tense faceoff between shale drillers in the region and residents seeking a better handle on the dangers in their own backyards after a killer pipeline explosion last year.
