RUSSIA

RUSSIA -- Gazprom Neft has said it intends to reduce the carbon intensity of its own operations (Scope 1 and 2 emissions) by one-third by 2030. CEO Alexander Dyukov said the company aims to achieve this by improving its energy efficiency, increasing the share of natural gas in its overall production and halting the routine flaring of associated gas (a byproduct of oil production). He told the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum that the company won't sell any carbon-intensive assets to reduce its carbon footprint. Nor will it announce any plans to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emission plans anytime soon, he added, because it needs to crunch the numbers thoroughly to determine how it could arrive at net zero. Over the last year or so, Russian oil and gas companies have gradually started to set targets for decreasing their carbon footprint. However, these have generally fallen short of the more ambitious goals set by large European oil and gas producers, most of which are targeting net zero by 2050, including the Scope 3 emissions caused when end-users burn oil and gas (PIW Oct.2'20).