March 6, 2023: JGC Holdings Corporation has pledged its support for the OGCI-developed Aiming for Zero Methane Emissions Initiative, becoming the first Japanese company to join a growing oil industry effort to eliminate methane emissions from operations to support net zero.
Welcoming the engineering, construction and procurement specialist, OGCI Executive Committee Chairman Bjørn Otto Sverdrup said: “I’m delighted JGC Holdings has joined this important initiative.
“Eliminating methane from oil and gas operations is one of the quickest ways to help meet the Paris Agreement targets. JGC’s commitment further strengthens the Aiming for Zero initiative and sends a clear signal that the industry is stepping up action to decarbonize.”
Oil and gas production is responsible for about a quarter of global man-made methane emissions.
While methane is shorter-lived in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide, it packs a bigger warming punch and is responsible for 30% of the rise in global temperatures since the start of the Industrial Revolution, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).
JGC joins over 70 companies, including major oil and gas and service companies, in Aiming for Zero. It said today in a statement <LINK> that joining the initiative is an important step in the company’s decarbonization path.
Supporters like JGC are key to the initiative as they can enable oil and gas producers to eliminate their methane footprint. The initiative outlines a clear pathway toward rapid emissions reductions for signatories. But they cannot solve the methane problem on their own. That’s why the initiative is open to supporters who can help them to eliminate their methane footprint – and why the participation of companies such as JGC is so important.
Aiming for Zero supplements a number of other multi-stakeholder initiatives to drive down methane emissions, including the Methane Guiding Principles, the Oil and Gas Methane Partnership 2.0 and the Global Methane Alliance.
The CEOs of OGCI member companies – Aramco, bp, Chevron, CNPC, Eni, Equinor, ExxonMobil, Occidental, Petrobras, Repsol, Shell and TotalEnergies, launched Aiming for Zero in March 2022.
Energy companies involved in the exploration, extraction and/or production of oil or natural gas can join as signatories. Other organizations striving to help reduce methane emissions from the oil and gas industry can join as supporters.
As well as the OGCI member companies, signatories include the world’s largest LNG exporter, QatarEnergy, and upstream gas producer, Wintershall. The initiative’s supporters include energy technology giant Baker Hughes, Australian-American engineering company Worley and industry association IPIECA.
The Oil and Gas Climate Initiative (OGCI) is a CEO-led organization bringing together 12 of the world’s largest energy companies to lead the oil and gas industry’s response to climate change. The group aims to accelerate collective action towards a net zero emissions future consistent with the Paris Agreement.
