Oil majors offer $20M for methane tackling tech in climate fix move

OGCI Climate Investments, an investment vehicle formed by several oil majors  through their joint Oil and Gas Climate Initiative, has this week announced a $20 million grant aiming to fund technologies that will help reduce methane emissions, helping slow down the global warming.

The announcement of the $20 million commitment was made on Wednesday by Pratima Rangarajan, CEO of OGCI Climate Investments, during the IHS CERAWeek energy event in Houston.

More specifically, OGCI is earmarking $20 million to invest in technologies and business ideas that have the potential to significantly reduce methane emissions across the energy value chain and that can be commercialized and deployed at scale.

Pratima Rangarajan said: “Natural gas is an excellent source of power, heat and raw materials for everyday life. Any leaks across production, distribution and use will result in emissions of methane, a key greenhouse gas that causes climate change. We are committed to stopping the leaks and moving toward zero methane emissions. Join us with technologies and solutions”.

OGCI Climate Investments and its venture partners are inviting companies with promising technologies and/or business models in the areas of methane detection, measurement, and mitigation, along the energy value chain, to submit their ideas or funding proposals.

Ten to fifteen companies will be selected to present at the OGCI Venture Day Towards Zero Methane Emissions” would be held on Monday, June 25, 2018 in Washington DC.

Successful applicants will benefit from funding, technical expertise, and potential piloting and deployment opportunities, OGCI said.

Methane emissions reduction is not the only focus area for of OGCI Climate Investments. The OGCI Climate Investments also focus on carbon capture, utilization and storage, energy efficiency, and transport efficiency.

The oil companies that form the OGCI are BP, CNPC, Eni, Pemex, Repsol, Saudi Aramco, Shell, Statoil, Reliance Industries,  Total, and Petrobras.

Offshore Energy Today Staff