Marathon Oil sets new greenhouse gas emissions target

Houston-based oil and gas company Marathon Oil has been able to reduce its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions intensity in 2020 when compared to the previous year.

Marathon said a statement on Wednesday that the reduction of GHG emissions was “central to [the company’s] strategic goals of minimizing its environmental impact, addressing the risks of climate change, and delivering strong long-term financial performance”.

During 2020, Marathon achieved an estimated 20 per cent reduction to its GHG emissions intensity relative to 2019 and improving total company gas capture to approximately 98.5 pre cent for fourth quarter 2020.

For 2021, the company established a quantitative GHG intensity target, representing a reduction of more than 30 per cent relative to 2019, which has been added to Marathon’s executive compensation scorecard.

Further, Marathon disclosed a new medium-term goal highlighting the company’s commitment to “significant ongoing improvement to its environmental performance”.

By 2025, the company’s goal is to reduce its GHG intensity by more than 50 per cent relative to 2019. Marathon has already identified concrete steps to assist in achieving this improvement including continued replacement of pneumatic controllers with lower-emitting technology, connecting additional sites to utility power, and investing in soil carbon sequestration to offset emissions.

President, CEO and chairman of Marathon Oil Lee Tillman said: “To realize improved outcomes for all stakeholders, we believe energy companies must deliver competitive financial results relative to the S&P 500 while simultaneously driving meaningful improvement to all elements of ESG performance.

“We are announcing an ambitious goal to meaningfully reduce our GHG emissions intensity by 2025, building on the momentum we established in 2020.

“We believe oil and gas will be an essential contributor to the transition to a lower-carbon future and it is imperative that the company and our industry address the dual challenge of meeting the world’s growing energy demand while also responding to the risk of climate change“.

In recent company news, Marathon Oil announced earlier this month that it appointed a new member of its board of directors. Namely, it elected Brent Smolik to the company’s board of directors effective 11 January 2021.