Halliburton targeting greenhouse gas emission reduction

Following the trend set by many energy majors and service companies, Halliburton has committed to set science-based targets to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

Halliburton said on Thursday that it submitted its commitment letter to the Science-Based Targets initiative (SBTi), a collaboration between CDP, the United Nations Global Compact, World Resources Institute, and the Worldwide Fund for Nature.

According to the company, the commitment letter means that Halliburton will submit targets in 2021 with pending SBTi validation by 2022.

The announcement comes as the global energy industry faces intense pressure from investors worried about the climate impact of fossil fuels.

The company joins over 1000 global companies who have committed to set emissions reduction targets grounded in climate science through the SBTi.

Halliburton chairman, president, and CEO Jeff Miller said: “Our SBTi commitment reinforces our sustainability goals while helping our customers provide the world with affordable and reliable energy.

“Our industry plays an important role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and provides us a great opportunity to do what we do best: innovate, collaborate, and execute to drive efficiencies and affect change”.

Oilfield service companies such as Halliburton have been trying to expand their footprint beyond providing equipment and services to drill and extract oil and gas, as they prepare for a transition to a low-carbon future.

It is worth explaining that science-based targets are emissions reduction targets in line with what the latest climate science outlines is necessary to meet the goals of the Paris Accord, which seeks to limit global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

News of commitments regarding greenhouse gas emissions are getting more and more frequent. Just this month, Malaysian energy giant Petronas set out a target to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.

Days later, Chrysaor filed for a CO2 storage licence to assist in UK’s net-zero journey while the UK’s Environmental Audit Committee stated that it was considering the role of tidal energy in the country’s low-carbon energy mix.