The Oil and Gas Climate Initiative (OGCI)

Background

The Oil and Gas Climate Initiative (OGCI) is a coalition of major oil and gas companies created to promote a climate-friendly image for some of the world’s largest polluters.

Established in 2014, the OGCI claims to be “committed to the direction set out by the Paris Agreement on climate change.” As of 2017, it described its goal as being “a catalyst for change in our industry and more widely.”¹“Catalyst for Change” (PDF), Oil and Gas Climate Initiative, October 2017. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.

The OGCI’s members have included Shell, BP, Statoil, Saudi Aramco, Eni, Total, Repsol, CNPC, Pemex, and Reliance Industries among others.

The OGCI regularly makes statements of intent in the weeks leading up to the annual UN international climate talks. These announcements have been criticised²Mat Hope. “Big Oil Called out for Greenwashing, Issues Essentially the Same Pre-COP Climate Pledge as Last Year,” DeSmog, November 4, 2016. as “greenwashing” exercises,³Kyla Mandel. “Six Commitments Missing From the Oil and Gas Major’s Climate Declaration,” DeSmog, October 16, 2015. with many of the same companies often involved in obstructing efforts to take action on climate change through lobbying activities.⁴Carol Linnitt. “Oil and Gas Industry Publicly Supports Climate Action While Secretly Subverting Process, New Analysis Shows,” DeSmog, November 2, 2015.

Stance on Climate Change

September 2018

According to a statement from representative OGCI CEOs, published in a 2018 report by the group:⁵“At Work: Committed to climate action” (PDF), Oil and Gas Climate Initiative, September 2018. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.

“As the CEOs of OGCI member companies, we balance our responsibilities as major global energy providers with the essential need to tackle the threat of climate change.”

2017

The OGCI’s website formerly stated:⁶“OGCI,” Oil and Gas Climate Initiative. Archived November 4, 2017.

“We, the leaders of the ten major oil and gas companies, are committed to the direction set out by the Paris Agreement on climate change. We support its agenda for global action and the need for urgency. Through our collaboration in Oil and Gas Climate Initiative (OGCI), we can be a catalyst for change in our industry and more widely.

“OGCI aims to increase the ambition, speed and scale of the initiatives we undertake as individual companies to reduce the greenhouse gas footprint of our core oil and gas business – and to explore new businesses and technologies.”

Funding

Analysts at the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit think tank said the new $1 billion fund to go towards carbon capture and storage technology research and development launched in 2017 was nothing more than a “drop in the ocean” for the large oil companies part of OGCI.⁷Damian Carrington. “Oil firms announce $1bn climate fund to clean up gas,” The Guardian, November 4, 2016. Archived January 23, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/uE9IJ

Key People

Leadership

As of 2019, the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative listed two people on their website:⁸“Strategy & Policy,” Oil and Gas Climate Initiative. Archived January 23, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/vDyXH 

• Jerome Schmitt — Chair, OGCI Executive Committee
• Julien Perez — Strategy & Policy Director of OGCI Climate Investments

Companies & CEOs

Below are representatives who signed on to key CNPC documents year over year, listed by company represented:

Actions

March 8, 2022

OGCI launched “Aiming for Zero”, an initiative to reduce methane emissions among its members and signatories. The aim of the initiative states: “We will strive to reach near zero methane emissions from our operated oil and gas assets by 2030, and we will encourage our partners to achieve similar results.”⁹“Aiming for Zero: Methane Emissions Initiative,” OGCI, Accessed June 28, 2022. Archived June 28, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/v4oe0

According to the OGCI, the “Signatories and Supporters” of the Aiming for Zero initiative “believe that virtually all methane emissions from the industry can and should be avoided.”¹⁰“Action and Engagement,” OGCI, Accessed June 28, 2022. Archived June 28, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/nemlh

The OGCI said that the initiative had already been endorsed by CEOs from oil and gas companies including Aramco, BP, Chevron, CNPC, Eni, Equinor, ExxonMobil, Oxy, Petrobras, Repsol, Shell, and TotalEnergies.¹¹“Action and Engagement,” OGCI, Accessed June 28, 2022. Archived June 28, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/nemlh

September 2021

According to S&P Global Market Intelligence, OGCI announced that “its companies aim to reach net zero emissions from operations under their control, which spans Scopes 1 and 2 emissions.” S&P noted:¹²Karin Rives and Allison Good. “Oil group’s net-zero goal shuns emissions cuts that would threaten core assets,” S&P Global Market Intelligence, September 28, 2021. Archived March 14, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/xZvmD

“The commitment did not include Scope 3 emissions: those associated with products and services needed for exploration and production of oil. Importantly, Scope 3 also includes downstream greenhouse gases emitted from the oil, gasoline and diesel oil that companies sell to anyone who drives a car or flies a plane.”

In 2019, these upstream Scope 3 emissions alone “made up just over half of the companies’ carbon footprint.”¹³Karin Rives and Allison Good. “Oil group’s net-zero goal shuns emissions cuts that would threaten core assets,” S&P Global Market Intelligence, September 28, 2021. Archived March 14, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/xZvmD

September 2018

Exxon, Chevron and Occidental joined the group. At the time, OGCI claimed its members represented about 30 percent of oil and gas production worldwide and supply 20 percent of primary energy consumption.¹⁴“Oil and Gas Climate Initiative welcomes Chevron, ExxonMobil and Occidental Petroleum into its international membership,” Oil and Gas Climate Initiative. Archived January 23, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/UsJoO

October 2017

A few weeks before the annual climate talks in Bonn, Germany, the OGCI announced a new $1 billion fund to go towards carbon capture and storage technology research and development.¹⁵Jess Shankleman and Rakteem Katakey. “Big Oil to Invest $1 Billion in Carbon-Capture Technology,” Bloomberg, November 4, 2016. Archived January 23, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/DUC1l

Climate campaign group 350.org called the announcement “outrageous filibustering from an industry with no future.” Analysts at the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit think tank said the fund was nothing more than a “drop in the ocean” for the companies.¹⁶Damian Carrington. “Oil firms announce $1bn climate fund to clean up gas,” The Guardian, November 4, 2016. Archived January 23, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/uE9IJ

November 2016

The OGCI announced a strategy to limit warming to two degrees above pre-industrial levels on the day the Paris Agreement came into force. At the core of these companies’ climate plan is setting up a $1 billion (£80m) fund to ramp us gas instead of coal, clean up the industry’s own emissions, invest in carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology, and make cars more efficient.¹⁷Mat Hope. “Big Oil Called out for Greenwashing, Issues Essentially the Same Pre-COP Climate Pledge as Last Year,” DeSmog, November 4, 2016.

The plan “might sound like sweaty, desperate greenwashing,” wrote Grist.¹⁸Eve Andrews. “OIL, SHMOIL,” Grist, November 2, 2016. Archived January 23, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/HAxfW Greenwashing, describes The Gurardian, was “coined in the 1980s to describe outrageous corporate environmental claims” however has grown much more sophisticated in more recent years.¹⁹Bruce Wilson. “The troubling evolution of corporate greenwashing,” The Guardian, August 20, 2016. Archived January 23, 2019. Archive.fo URL:https://archive.fo/VUPOo

October 2015

The OGCI launched a Joint Collaborative Declaration just days before the start of the international climate negotiations in 2015, which would conclude with the creation of the much-celebrated Paris Agreement. The announcement called for  “widespread and effective pricing of carbon emissions.”²⁰“Oil & Gas Climate Initiative Joint Collaborative Declaration” (PDF), OGCI, October 16, 2015. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.

Think-tank Carbon Tracker suggested a number of items were missing from the declaration, including a commitment to targets commensurate with limiting warming to two degrees, or any promises to increase spending on clean or renewable energy technologies.²¹Kyla Mandel. “Six Commitments Missing From the Oil and Gas Major’s Climate Declaration,” DeSmog, October 16, 2015.

Related Organisations

According to the group’s website and a published report, members of OGCI have included:

*A September 2018 press released announced that ExxonMobil, Occidental Petroleum, and Chevron would be joining OGCI at that time. The membership of those companies was not confirmed on on other OGCI materials or its web page as of January 2019.²²“Oil and Gas Climate Initiative welcomes Chevron, ExxonMobil and Occidental Petroleum into its international membership,” Oil and Gas Climate Initiative. Archived January 23, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/UsJoO

Three interconnected “OGCI Climate” groups are registered with UK‘s Companies House, with OGCI Climate Investments LLP listing officers as including BP, Shell, Chevron, ENI, Repsol, among other shared groups.²³Search for “OGCI” at Companies House. Performed January 23, 2019.

• OGCI Climate Investments LLP (Company number OC415130) — Listed Officers include the following:
  • BP Technology Ventures Limited
  • Shell Petroleum Company Limited (The)
  • Chevron Products UK Limited
  • ENI UK Limited
  • Equinor Wind Limited
  • ExxonMobil Engineering Europe Limited
  • Oxy Climate Ventures, Inc
  • Petrobras Internationall Braspetro B.V.
  • Repsol Energy Ventures, S.A.
  • Saev Guernsey I, Ltd.
  • Total Holdings UK Limited
• OGCI Climate Investments Group LTD (Company number 10688335)
  • Dr. Pratima Rangarajan — Director
  • OGCI Climate Investments LLP — Director
  • Dr. Dominic Emery — Director (resigned)
• OGCI Climate Investments Holdings LLP (Company number OC416592)
  • OGCI Climate Investments Group LTD — LLP Designated Member
  • OGCI Climate Investments LLP — LLP Designated Member

Contact & Address

According to Companies House records for ”OGCI Climate Investments LLP,” which includes, and others, that group’s address is as follows:²⁴“OGCI CLIMATE INVESTMENTS LLP,” Companies House. Accessed January 23, 2019.

Suite 1, 3rd Floor 11-12 St. James’s Square, London, United Kingdom, SW1Y 4LB

Records show that group moved from its prior office as of June 2017:

• 20-22 Bedford Row London WC1R 4JS United Kingdom 

Social Media

• @OGCInews on Twitter
• The Oil and Gas Climate Initiative on LinkedIn

Photo via OGCI. CEOs pictured include Helge Lund, BG Group; Bob Dudley, BPOGCI member CEOs not pictured: Mukesh Ambani, Reliance Industries; Ben van Beurden, Royal Dutch Shell).

Resources

• 1
  “Catalyst for Change” (PDF), Oil and Gas Climate Initiative, October 2017. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
• 2
  Mat Hope. “Big Oil Called out for Greenwashing, Issues Essentially the Same Pre-COP Climate Pledge as Last Year,” DeSmog, November 4, 2016.
• 3
  Kyla Mandel. “Six Commitments Missing From the Oil and Gas Major’s Climate Declaration,” DeSmog, October 16, 2015.
• 4
  Carol Linnitt. “Oil and Gas Industry Publicly Supports Climate Action While Secretly Subverting Process, New Analysis Shows,” DeSmog, November 2, 2015.
• 5
  “At Work: Committed to climate action” (PDF), Oil and Gas Climate Initiative, September 2018. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
• 6
  “OGCI,” Oil and Gas Climate Initiative. Archived November 4, 2017.
• 7
  Damian Carrington. “Oil firms announce $1bn climate fund to clean up gas,” The Guardian, November 4, 2016. Archived January 23, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/uE9IJ
• 8
  “Strategy & Policy,” Oil and Gas Climate Initiative. Archived January 23, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/vDyXH 
• 9
  “Aiming for Zero: Methane Emissions Initiative,” OGCI, Accessed June 28, 2022. Archived June 28, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/v4oe0
• 10
  “Action and Engagement,” OGCI, Accessed June 28, 2022. Archived June 28, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/nemlh
• 11
  “Action and Engagement,” OGCI, Accessed June 28, 2022. Archived June 28, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/nemlh
• 12
  Karin Rives and Allison Good. “Oil group’s net-zero goal shuns emissions cuts that would threaten core assets,” S&P Global Market Intelligence, September 28, 2021. Archived March 14, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/xZvmD
• 13
  Karin Rives and Allison Good. “Oil group’s net-zero goal shuns emissions cuts that would threaten core assets,” S&P Global Market Intelligence, September 28, 2021. Archived March 14, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/xZvmD
• 14
  “Oil and Gas Climate Initiative welcomes Chevron, ExxonMobil and Occidental Petroleum into its international membership,” Oil and Gas Climate Initiative. Archived January 23, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/UsJoO
• 15
  Jess Shankleman and Rakteem Katakey. “Big Oil to Invest $1 Billion in Carbon-Capture Technology,” Bloomberg, November 4, 2016. Archived January 23, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/DUC1l
• 16
  Damian Carrington. “Oil firms announce $1bn climate fund to clean up gas,” The Guardian, November 4, 2016. Archived January 23, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/uE9IJ
• 17
  Mat Hope. “Big Oil Called out for Greenwashing, Issues Essentially the Same Pre-COP Climate Pledge as Last Year,” DeSmog, November 4, 2016.
• 18
  Eve Andrews. “OIL, SHMOIL,” Grist, November 2, 2016. Archived January 23, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/HAxfW
• 19
  Bruce Wilson. “The troubling evolution of corporate greenwashing,” The Guardian, August 20, 2016. Archived January 23, 2019. Archive.fo URL:https://archive.fo/VUPOo
• 20
  “Oil & Gas Climate Initiative Joint Collaborative Declaration” (PDF), OGCI, October 16, 2015. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
• 21
  Kyla Mandel. “Six Commitments Missing From the Oil and Gas Major’s Climate Declaration,” DeSmog, October 16, 2015.
• 22
  “Oil and Gas Climate Initiative welcomes Chevron, ExxonMobil and Occidental Petroleum into its international membership,” Oil and Gas Climate Initiative. Archived January 23, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/UsJoO
• 23
  Search for “OGCI” at Companies House. Performed January 23, 2019.
• 24
  “OGCI CLIMATE INVESTMENTS LLP,” Companies House. Accessed January 23, 2019.