PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Oil and gas major Santos has set a target of reducing its absolute emissions by 30% by 2030, with a 40% reduction in emissions intensity and a Scope 3 target to reduce customer emissions by 1.5-million tonnes of carbon equivalent a year.

The company has previously set a target of becoming a net-zero emissions energy and fuels company by 2040.

Santos on Wednesday released its 2022 Climate Change report, outlining its initiatives to achieve this target, including a commitment to only selling its products to customers from countries that have a net-zero commitment or that are signatories to the Paris Agreement.

The company is also expected to make a final investment decision (FID) on the Moomba carbon capture and storage (CCS) project which is expected to store 1.7-million tonnes of carbon dioxide a year, making it one of the world’s biggest CCS projects, as well as taking an FID on new offshore greenfield projects from 2025, which will require abatement or offset of reservoir carbon dioxide emissions

Santos MD and CEO Kevin Gallagher said Santos is well-positioned to decarbonise its natural gas business and generate new revenue streams through carbon solutions such as CCS, using existing infrastructure and depleted natural gas reservoirs, providing a platform to develop clean fuels such as hydrogen as customer demand evolves over time.

“With a strong, low-cost base business supplying natural gas to meet ongoing customer demand and a clear action plan to develop cleaner energy and clean fuels, Santos remains resilient, value accretive and at the leading edge of the energy transition to a low-carbon future,” Gallagher said.

“Last week, at the International Energy Agency’s invitation, I participated in the 2022 IEA Ministerial meeting. This important event, involving energy ministers of member countries and around 30 global business leaders focused on accelerating global action on clean energy without compromising energy security.

“This year’s Climate Change report comes as countries around the world are finding that energy and fuel price stability and supply security risks remain critical considerations on the journey to net zero. With natural gas playing a central role in decarbonising energy markets and balancing renewable energy, more investment is needed to ensure supply can keep pace with demand and to diversify supply sources.

“This is a great opportunity for our projects in Australia, Papua New Guinea and Timor-Leste.

“It is vitally important that new supply investment happens in a sustainable way. Companies like Santos, which are publicly listed, subject to environmental and social governance scrutiny by their investors, and which report transparently on carbon emissions and their climate transition plans, are best placed to supply critical fuels such as oil and gas more sustainably, striving for lower emissions intensity and better environmental outcomes. Divesting assets and driving investment in new supply to less transparent producers will not reduce global emissions or advance the transition to net zero,” Gallagher said.

“A just transition that focuses on reliability, affordability and decarbonisation is critical to ensuring broad global support for the huge task ahead of us as we reach our net-zero targets.”