The CEO's blog, 01/12/23

Why have I come to COP? To make the case for combined energy security & 1.5 degrees

MR COP blog.jpeg

I believe that all participants in the energy and industrial dynamic need to work together to find practicable solutions to the climate and socio-economic challenges that face us all. We must find a way to balance energy security with the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees.

 

Energean is a regional energy and sustainability leader, consistently decarbonizing and providing energy security.

 

We were the first independent E&P to commit to a net-zero target. We have reduced our emissions intensity by 80% since that pledge in 2019, now at 9 kgCO2e/boe, significantly below the sector average of 15. We have won prizes for our sustainability strategy, and we have consistently been rated in the top tier by Sustainalytics, Bloomberg, CDP, and our shares are included in the FTSE4Good index.

 

How have we achieved this? Through focusing on natural gas and industry-leading operations. Oil is undoubtedly more flexible, profitable, and faster to monetization. However, at Energean, we have never taken the simple and easy path.

 

Natural gas is and will remain a vital energy carrier in SE Europe and the E Med for decades. In our region, gas has and will continue to displace more carbon-intensive forms of energy, such as coal and fuel oil. Gas also provides a secure and reliable energy source that both complements renewable development and underwrites millions of industrial jobs in the Eastern Mediterranean alone.

 

A pioneer: the only CO2 storage in SE Europe/the E Med

Our oldest project at Prinos will be transformed into the only carbon storage facility in SE Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean region. Included in the sixth Union list of European Projects of Common Interest (PCIs), the project has also been committed €150m in grants by the Greek government. This should be a model for depleted fields across Southern Europe – as it has been in the North.

We have signed 4.8mmtpa 8 non-binding MoUs with hard-to-abate industries in Greece, Croatia, Southern Italy, and Bulgaria (cement, refinery, and waste industries). We have set an operational target of Q4 2025.

Prinos Carbon storage goes beyond supporting our own net-zero strategy – in fact, it is marginal to Energean’s emissions reduction strategy. We are, however, committed through our unique ETHOS, to support the communities that host our operations. By contributing to the decarbonization of regional heavy industries, Prinos Carbon Storage underwrites thousands of regional industrial jobs and € billions of investments.

So back to the start, why have I come to COP?

We have come to COP to listen, learn, and debate. We have also come to promote Carbon Storage as the only EU PCI approved project in SE Europe and to defend the role of natural gas in the global energy dynamic.

Without CCUS, without sustainably produced natural gas, the East Med and SE Europe face energy security and industrial unemployment. They are vital foundations for the path to secure reliable, sustainable, and affordable energy. We are part of the solution.

Energean has always been a point of positive difference. I believe that we can repeat this at COP.