Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are one of the primary causes of rising global warming, and the oil and gas industry accounts for one-third of global emissions, both directly and indirectly. A substantial amount of greenhouse gases emitted by burning oil, fossil fuels, and other sources include CO2, methane, and NOx. As corporate GHG emissions have increased, it has become increasingly important for key contributing industries to track greenhouse gas emissions throughout their operations.
Scope 1,2, and 3 emissions are the three categories of GHG emissions. Direct GHG emissions from sources owned or controlled by the corporation are referred to as Scope 1 emissions. GHG emissions from the company's purchased or acquired energy, steam, heat, and cooling are included in Scope 2 (Indirect GHG emissions). Scope 3 refers to the company's other indirect emissions, which arise from sources that the company does not own or control. Scope 3 emissions account for the majority of oil and gas companies' total GHG emissions.
Shell, Petrobras, and TotalEnergies are major oil and gas companies with a huge amount of Scope 3 GHG emissions.
Shell, an integrated oil and gas company based in the UK, is one of the major GHG emitters. In 2021, Shell’s Scope 3 emissions accounted for 1,299 million tonnes CO2 equivalents (MtCO2eq) which is 97.14% of Shell’s total GHG emissions. The company is working to reduce emissions, announcing in October 2021 that it aims to reduce absolute emissions by half by 2030.
Petrobras, a Brazil-based leading oil and gas company, is the second-largest contributor to Scope 3 emissions. In 2021, Petrobras’ total GHG emissions are dominated by Scope 3 emissions, accounting for 87.6% of its' total GHG emissions. The oil and gas company has invested around $248 million for decarbonization in its “Neutral Carbon Program” to promote sustainability.
TotalEnergies is one of the leading oil and gas companies and the third-largest contributor to Scope 3 emissions. Scope 3 emissions form the majority of TotalEnergies’ total GHG emissions, accounting for nearly 92% of its GHG emissions in 2021. To promote clean energy and reduce GHG emissions, the oil and gas company is working on new energy sources such as geothermal, solar, wind, biofuels, biogas, and hydrogen.
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