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RESEARCH ARTICLE (Non peer reviewed)
Contents Vol 50 (Conference Proceedings)

What is best practice greenhouse and energy reporting in the oil and gas industry?*

Liza Maimone A , Susie Smith B and Rob Campbell-Watt C
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A PricewaterhouseCoopers Freshwater Place, Level 19, 2 Southbank Boulevard, Southbank VIC 3006 Australia. Email: liza.maimone@au.pwc.com

B Santos Ltd 60 Flinders Street, Adelaide SA 5000. Email: susie.smith@santos.com

C PricewaterhouseCoopers Freshwater Place, Level 19, 2 Southbank Boulevard, Southbank VIC 3006 Australia. Email: rob.campbell-watt@au.pwc.com

The APPEA Journal 50(2) 695-695 https://doi.org/10.1071/AJ09059
Published: 2010

Abstract

The upstream oil and gas industry is diverse and many of the assets are geographically dispersed in offshore and onshore locations. The first year of National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting (NGER) in the 2009 financial year (FY09) challenged the industry to come to terms with complex issues such as the reporting structure, defining facilities, determining appropriate reporting methodologies, determining incidental emissions, obtaining contractor emissions and considering uncertainty estimates.

This paper will explore the range of industry responses during FY09 and will be accompanied by a case study from Santos Limited to illustrate the journey.

In responding to NGER requirements in FY09, the oil and gas industry was required to absorb many new legislative compliance obligations. At a company level, difficult decisions had to be made about the allocation of resourcing for NGER preparation and response. Companies were also faced with financial implications of the reported data, because that data would underpin permit liability under the proposed Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (CPRS).

Going forward, a key optimisation challenge for FY10 and beyond is the management and use of the NGER data. This paper will cover the processes and systems used to collect and report data and how the use of that data for organisational decision making will all be an important optimisation consideration in a CPRS environment.

The paper will also explore other NGER reporting issues for the oil and gas industry, such as:

  1. arrangements with stakeholders, such as joint venture parties, partners and contractors;

  2. selection of measurement methods, including complexities with venting, flaring and other fugitive emissions;

  3. availability of appropriate measurement equipment;

  4. issues with reporting of own-use emissions and intermediate energy use and production; and,

  5. measurement of exploration activities.

These issues are likely to present an optimisation challenge to many in the industry during FY10 and beyond. The paper will then conclude with a case study by Santos Limited.

Keywords: greenhouse and energy reporting, upstream oil and gas, National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Act 2007 (Cth) (NGER Act), National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting (NGER)

Liza Maimone leads PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Sustainability and Climate Change services practice in Australia. She has led sustainability and climate change professional service teams for the past 10 years and has over 15 years’ experience in the field. Her oil and gas experience covers a wide range of advisory and assurance projects in the areas of greenhouse and energy reporting and carbon risk management, sustainability report assurance and strategy, and health, safety and environment risk management.

Liza is a chemical engineer with postgraduate qualifications in energy and resources law, and is an environmental and greenhouse accredited auditor in Australia.

Susie Smith is Santos’ Manager, Climate Change and Sustainability where she is responsible for Santos’ climate change: policy; compliance: business strategy for carbon abatement; and, pricing. Susie represents Santos on matters relating to climate change including emissions pricing and energy efficiency. She is also serving as a member of the international Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Working Group, on the Oil and Gas Sector Supplement for Sustainability Reporting. Susie published Santos’ first Sustainability Report in December 2004 and has developed Santos’ unique scorecard approach to integrating sustainability and assessing performance.

Before joining Santos, Susie managed Ecos Consulting’s South Australian office, leading native title negotiations and major project impact assessments on behalf of clients on the east and west coasts of Australia.

Rob Campbell-Watt is a Senior Manager in PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Sustainability and Climate Change team, where he provides specialist advisory and transactions services to clients. He draws on over 8 years’ experience in climate change and the broader sustainability field (i.e. since 2002), which includes legal, project management and other advisory experience. Rob has oil and gas experience in the areas of greenhouse and energy reporting, project approvals advice and transactions due diligence.

Prior to 2002, Rob worked in project management and logistics roles for the Australian Government. He holds postgraduate qualifications in environmental law and science, and is a qualified legal practitioner.