Oil CEOs to unveil fund in climate push

LONDON: Top oil companies including Saudi Aramco and Shell will join forces to set up an investment fund to develop technologies to cut carbon emissions and promote renewable energy, sources said on Wednesday.

The chief executives of seven oil and gas companies -- BP, Eni, Repsol, Saudi Aramco, Shell, Statoil and Total -- will announce the details of the fund and other steps to reduce greenhouse gases in London on Friday.

The sector faces mounting pressure to take an active role in the fight against global warming, and Friday’s event will coincide with the formal entry into force of the 2015 Paris Agreement to phase out man-made greenhouse gases in the second half of the century.

The group is part of the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative, which was created with the backing of the United Nations in 2014 and includes11firmsrepresenting20% of global oil and gas production.

The company leaders are expected to detail plans to create an investment vehicle that will focus on developing technologies to lower emissions and increase car engine and fuel efficiency, according to the sources involved in the talks who declined to be named.

The fund will also focus on ways to reduce costs of carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology, which involves capturing carbon dioxide emissions produced from fossil fuel burning plants and re-injecting them into underground caverns.

The CEOs are also expected to announce the next phase of their plan to reduce oil sector’s emissions, mainly by reducing flaring of excess gas at fields, increasing the use of CCS and limiting the release of methane.