ConocoPhillips: Exploring more low-carbon opportunities in China | New opportunities for CIIE
Interface News Reporter | Hou Ruining
"We hope to strengthen dialogue with more Chinese partners and explore more opportunities for cooperation in areas such as low-carbon, new energy and LNG supply. ”
During the 6th China International Import Expo (CIIE), Markel Hübinette, President of ConocoPhillips China Co., Ltd. (ConocoPhillips China), made the above remarks in an interview with Jiemian News.
According to Jiemian News, ConocoPhillips is exploring low-carbon cooperation opportunities with CNOOC and other Chinese partners, such as offshore wind power, green energy projects, carbon capture and storage (CCS), hydrogen energy and carbon offsetting.
During the 5th CIIE last year, ConocoPhillips China partnered with CNOOC to launch the Penglai Oilfield Offshore Wind Power Demonstration Project in Bohai Bay. With a total installed capacity of 34 megawatts, the project is expected to meet more than 30% of the electricity demand of the Penglai Oilfield, with an average annual carbon dioxide emission reduction of tens of thousands of tons.
ConocoPhillips is an American oil and gas giant, a global upstream oil and gas exploration and development and production company, with more than 20 billion barrels (about 2.7 billion tons) of oil equivalent resources.
The company is also one of the largest foreign investors in China's upstream oil and gas industry, cooperating with Chinese companies in oil and gas exploration and production, LNG supply, and potential green energy development.
Since the energy transition, ConocoPhillips is the first U.S. oil and gas company to commit to net-zero emissions in line with the Paris Agreement. The company plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions intensity by 50%-60% by 2030 and achieve net-zero emissions from project operations by 2050.
Last year, ConocoPhillips invested about $150 million to support low-carbon projects and more than 90 emissions reduction projects around the world.
In September last year, Japanese energy company JERA announced a partnership with ConocoPhillips to jointly evaluate projects to produce green ammonia and blue ammonia along the U.S. Gulf Coast. Engineering studies are currently underway.
According to Hu, ConocoPhillips is working with agencies focused on CCS monitoring, renewable energy, energy efficiency, electrification, hydrogen production and hydrogen deployment, transportation, to drive low-carbon opportunities around the world.
At present, oil and gas production and sales are still ConocoPhillips' main business.
ConocoPhillips believes that the resources with the lowest supply costs and greenhouse gas emissions intensity will be more competitive in meeting the energy needs of the transition period, as oil and gas remain an important part of the energy mix.
"ConocoPhillips will continue to optimize its portfolio to reduce the cost of existing supply through capital efficiency, innovation and the use of new technologies. Hu said ConocoPhillips will reduce its Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions, and strive to achieve net-zero emissions from project operations by 2050.
Scope 1 refers to direct emissions from sources owned or controlled by the company, and Scope 2 refers to indirect emissions from purchased electricity, steam, heating and cooling.
Hu said that because the greenhouse gas emission intensity of LNG is lower than that of traditional energy sources such as coal, it will play an increasingly important role in meeting the needs of the energy transition.
This spring, it announced a new LNG business strategy with a focus on equity-controlled offtake to meet growing demand in Europe and Asia.
In March, ConocoPhillips announced that it plans to increase its stake in the Australian Pacific Liquefied Natural Gas Project (APLNG) from 47.5% to 49.9%, and that ConocoPhillips is also involved in the eastern and southern expansion of Qatar's northern gas fields through a joint venture with QatarEnergy.
ConocoPhillips also participated in the offtake and interest in Sempra's Port Arthur LNG project in the U.S. Gulf Coast, a long-term agreement with Mexico Pacific on the west coast of Mexico for the Saguaro LNG export facility, and a long-term agreement for European regasification capacity at the Gate terminal in the Netherlands.
ConocoPhillips has two LNG joint ventures in Qatar and Australia. Among them, ConocoPhillips' annual attributable production is about 6 million tons. Its annual LNG production is expected to double by 2028.
Hu Kaicheng said that with the continuous expansion of ConocoPhillips' global LNG business, he hopes to seek more cooperation opportunities.
Currently, ConocoPhillips sells nearly 10 million tons of LNG annually to China through global joint ventures.
Last year, China's apparent natural gas consumption fell for the first time in history. Hu said China's LNG demand is affected by a combination of factors such as economic development, environmental policies, domestic production, pipeline imports and LNG prices, but ConocoPhillips' commitment to long-term supplies to China will not change.
In terms of oil and gas exploration and development, ConocoPhillips has been cooperating with Chinese companies for a long time.
In 1999, ConocoPhillips cooperated with CNOOC to discover and develop the Penglai Oilfield in Bohai Bay. Up to now, Penglai Oilfield has invested in the construction of 16 offshore platforms and an offshore floating production and storage vessel, with an annual output of 4 million tons of crude oil.
Hu Kaicheng said that it has been 20 years since the Penglai Oilfield was put into production, but there is still a long production cycle in the future. ConocoPhillips China and CNOOC Limited are working together to promote a new round of Penglai oilfield development and construction projects, contributing to the Bohai Sea's target of 40 million tons during the 14th Five-Year Plan period.
