Hydrocarbon venting occurs when associated gas is released into the atmosphere unburnt. This can happen deliberately during oil and gas processing (venting ‘by design’), due to unplanned upset conditions or as a deliberate alternative to flaring.
Since 2013, PETRONAS’ upstream operations in Malaysia have been collectively working towards achieving zero routine hydrocarbon venting in all its 22 operated oil facilities (based on a 2017 baseline) by 2024, a goal which was successfully achieved at the end of 2023.
This significant achievement towards PETRONAS’ Net Zero Carbon Emissions by 2050 Pathway has cumulatively resulted in the reduction of over 9 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent per year (mil tCO2e), contributing to a methane emissions reduction of more than 80%, from 2013 levels.
Close collaboration between PETRONAS’ Malaysia Assets, Carbon Management Division and Enterprise Decarbonization team enabled the accomplishment through a combination of gas to sales projects (86% = 7.84 mil tCO2e) and vent to flare projects (14% = 1.29 mil tCO2e). PETRONAS’ zero routine hydrocarbon venting efforts in Malaysia contributes towards its commitments to the Oil and Gas Decarbonization Charter (OGDC), which includes the goal of achieving near-zero methane emissions by 2030. As of 2024, PETRONAS remains on track to meet this target, having attained a methane emissions intensity of 0.32 per cent for PETRONAS-operated assets.
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