UK’s IOG commits to net-zero status as of 2021

UK gas company IOG plc has committed to Scope 1 & 2 net-zero status as of 2021 following the completion of an Emissions Assessment (EA), undertaken by its internal Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Taskforce in collaboration with Genesis.

On the basis of the EA, the company has committed to Scope 1 & 2 net-zero status as of 2021.

In the report, IOG said it is expected to have one of the lowest emissions profiles in the industry throughout this decade. Over their economic life, the projected cumulative average intensity of IOG’s Phase 1 Blythe and Southwark platforms is just 0.4 kgCO2e/boe.

IOG’s estimated Phase 1 lifetime Scope 1 and 2 average emissions intensity is estimated at 3.97 kgCO2e/boe this is compared to the North Sea average of 20.2 kgCO2e/boe.

According to IOG, its Phase 1 alone could generate a lifetime saving of close to 1 million tonnes of CO2e emissions versus a weighted average of UK gas imports.

IOG has committed to Scope 1 and 2 Net Zero status as of 2021, via investment in appropriate accredited voluntary offsets. In parallel, the company has recognised the importance of its ESG work, led since 2020 by James Chance, by appointing him to a new role as Head of Capital Markets and ESG.

IOG has also set suitable internal targets for annual actual emissions, to which employee remuneration is linked. The emissions model will also be used as a planning tool to optimise the design of future developments to engineer out emissions at source as far as reasonably possible

Andrew Hockey, CEO of IOG, commented: “As our industry transforms in light of climate challenges, IOG’s ambition remains constant: to be a safe, efficient and low-carbon developer and producer of high-value gas. We know how important it is to all our stakeholders that IOG’s contribution to UK gas supply is consistent with a successful UK energy transition and the Paris Accord objectives. That is why we have committed to Scope 1 and 2 Net Zero, not as a future pledge but starting right now in 2021.

“In our 2020 Climate Change and Sustainability policy we committed to a detailed Emissions Assessment as our primary ESG objective for 2021 and I’m pleased that it confirms our very low carbon intensity operating model”.

Earlier this week, IOG started drilling the Blythe development well located in the UK North Sea ahead of the first gas from the Blythe Hub planned for 4Q 2021.

Following Elgood, Blythe is the second development well in IOG’s Phase 1 project and is expected to take under three months to drill and complete, after which the rig will move on to Southwark.