Petronas: PETRONAS Announces Pathway to Net Zero

PETRONAS today announced its Net Zero Carbon Emissions by 2050 (NZCE 2050) pathway to accelerate and advance groupwide actions and commitment towards achieving net zero future ambitions.

The pathway – with short-, medium- and long-term targets – will steer and provide a trajectory for the Group and its stakeholders to progress towards the ambitious NZCE 2050 aspiration that was announced earlier in November 2020.

PETRONAS President and Group CEO, Datuk Tengku Muhammad Taufik said, “PETRONAS remains fully committed to providing the world with the energy it needs, while still ensuring it meets the climate goals of the Paris Agreement. The pathway will see us address emissions from our integrated energy portfolio at pace in order to ensure our customers have safer, reliable, cost-optimised, and emissions-abated energy solutions. As we progress towards NZCE 2050, PETRONAS’ priority is to remain in step with the societies we serve, and address energy transition in a just and responsible manner.”

PETRONAS’ short-term target for 2024 is to cap its greenhouse gas (“GHG”) emissions at 49.5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (MtCO₂e) for Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions in Malaysia. By 2025, the target is to achieve a 50 per cent reduction in methane emissions from the PETRONAS groupwide natural gas value chain. These targets focus on operations within its immediate control that can affect direct change.

In the medium-term, PETRONAS targets to achieve GHG emissions reductions of 25 per cent by 2030 from 2019 levels of 57.73 MtCO₂e to reach 43.29 MtCO₂e for groupwide operations based on an equity share approach, where PETRONAS GHG emissions reflect the economic interest of its operations.

Part of this effort includes a methane emissions reduction target of 70 per cent set for assets where PETRONAS has operational control, as well as a 50 per cent reduction in methane emissions from Malaysia’s natural gas value chain in support of the country’s Global Methane Pledge.

With these targets in place, PETRONAS is allocating 20 per cent of its capital expenditure for decarbonisation projects and expansion into cleaner energy solutions from 2022 to 2026.

PETRONAS Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer, Charlotte Wolff-Bye said, “Our NZCE 2050 pathway will provide the strategic steer and direction as we further intensify efforts in our net zero carbon emissions by 2050 journey, putting us in a better position to support Malaysia’s own net zero greenhouse gas emissions target and Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) to the Paris Agreement. We know we must do more and this is an important milestone on our journey.”

As of 2021, PETRONAS has achieved a reduction of ~17.5 MtCO₂e through various groupwide projects and initiatives since the organisation introduced its Carbon Commitments in 2012.

PETRONAS’ decarbonisation efforts will anchor on four levers: zero routine flaring and venting, energy efficiency, electrification, and carbon capture and storage to reduce GHG emissions from its operations.

PETRONAS will continue to pursue public-private collaboration and cross-industry partnerships to stimulate green growth development of new value chains in carbon capture and storage and opportunities in renewables, hydrogen and green mobility under the newly launched Gentari Sdn. Bhd.