HOUSTON—As the world focuses on achieving net-zero emissions, the reality is that hydrocarbons will continue to make up a significant portion of the energy mix.

In order to continue supplying energy, the oil and gas industry needs to make “significant and ongoing investments” in projects and focus on technological innovation to reduce emissions, executives told a plenary session audience at the Unconventional Resources Technology Conference on June 20.

Addressing climate change alongside meeting the projected increasing energy needs of the world are dual challenges the industry faces, said Richard Lynch, senior vice president for technology and services for Hess Corp.

“Oil demand is resilient, and as a fuel source is a significant part of the energy mix for decades to come,” he said. “For an affordable transition, oil and gas need to be a part of the mix for decades to come.”

T. Ryder Booth, Chevron’s vice president North America E&P, Mid-Continent Business Unit, also echoed the idea that oil and gas will be necessary in the future.

“No source of fuel has systematically reduced over time,” he said. People still use wood chips and “more coal now than ever in human history.”

Because oil and gas will still be part of the energy mix, he said, it makes sense to incentivize lower-carbon basins.

“If you’re going to incentivize a basin to deliver oil and gas for the future,” shale basins like the Bakken “are the last barrels you want to restrict with policy,” he said.

But supplying those hydrocarbons will require “ongoing and significant investment,” Lynch said, noting that Hess has increased its own investment in the Bakken by contracting a fourth rig for its acreage.

At the same time, technology innovations are required to “unlock energy supplies” in a sustainable way, Lynch said.

“That’s going to require some breakthroughs,” he said.

Mark Berg, executive vice president for corporate operations at Pioneer Natural Resources.Co., said there are a number of challenges to overcome to best reduce emissions. For instance, he said, electric frac fleets are available, but they require a substantial amount of energy on location.

“The technology is there, the infrastructure is not,” Berg said. “It somewhat defeats the purpose to run a diesel generator to run an electric frac fleet.”

In addition to needing power infrastructure to support electrification, methane detection is critical, he said. Detection is being accomplished via fixed monitors and flyovers.

“But we need to take that data and the scientific capabilities and gain better confidence from the public that the methane we’re reporting is accurate,” he said. “It’s not an easy task, but we hope to be in a position to be able to attack methane in the way we are attacking flaring.”

Kirk Johnson, senior vice president, Lower 48 assets and operations for ConocoPhillips Co., said the industry should focus on producing the “best barrels,” or those that are both the lowest cost to supply and the lowest in greenhouse-gas intensity. 

One of the ways ConocoPhillips is working to drive down emissions is through remote sensing to identify abnormal operations like venting and flaring.

“It puts us in a position to quickly rectify something that is unwanted,” he said.

Lynch said Hess has made reduced emissions part an incentive for employees, and the company has declared a “war on flaring” as part of its effort.

“We are committed to zero routine flaring by 2025,” he said.

But Hess is also investing in nature-based carbon capture and storage technologies that are being developed at the Salk Institute. That technology is focused around plants for coastal estuaries and mangroves to pull CO₂ from the air and store it in the soil, he said.

“They are developing global solutions to remove CO₂ on a planetary scale,” Lynch said.

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