Article

Our commitment to responsibly meeting energy needs

The need for energy is universal. That's why ExxonMobil scientists and engineers are pioneering new research and pursuing new technologies to reduce emissions while creating more efficient fuels. We're committed to responsibly meeting the world's energy needs.

Article

ExxonMobil aims for industry-leading greenhouse gas performance across its businesses by 2030, and recently announced new emission reduction plans for 2025, which are projected to be consistent with the goals of the Paris Agreement. The emission reduction plans cover Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions from assets operated by the Company.

ExxonMobil Australia has been reliably meeting energy needs of Australians for more than 125 years. Our operations in Gippsland supply 40% of the natural gas used across eastern Australia, including all of the natural gas needed by our cooler southern states of Victoria and Tasmania during winter. We are also a major supplier of transportation fuels across the country, including diesel, jet fuel and petrol.

As Australia’s energy landscape transitions, ExxonMobil Australia’s operations will continue to have a critical role in ensuring a reliable supply of energy when and where it is needed.

In this short video, members of our team share some of the innovative ideas we’re exploring to reduce emissions while maintaining our essential supply of Gippsland gas to Australia.

Reducing our greenhouse gas emissions

We are committed to maintaining our supply of essential energy while striving to achieve meaningful reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. Since 2017, we have implemented a range of activities to reduce emissions associated with our Victorian operations by 26%. This work is ongoing as we continually seek ways to improve the sustainability of our operations while meeting Australia’s energy needs.

Reducing the carbon intensity of Gippsland gas

Esso Australia is taking steps to transition to a modern gas business, focused on continuing our much-needed supply of natural gas to Victoria and eastern Australia, whilst simultaneously reducing the carbon intensity of Gippsland gas. This involves improving the efficiency of our operations and actively identifying alternative uses for greenhouse gases. We’re making some great progress – for example, between 2019 and 2020 we reduced flaring associated with our Gippsland operations by around 22% and we’ve achieved even greater reductions in the first half of 2021.

We've achieved a

22% reduction

in flaring accross our Gippsland operations since 2019

Emissions reduction at Longford Gas Plants

The team at Longford Gas Plants have reduced the use of fuel gas and flare by approximately 30% over the last two years. We achieved this through optimising the energy footprint of individual pieces of equipment within the site and implementing changes to improve energy use.

Identifying alternative uses for greenhouse gases

Carbon dioxide (CO2) occurs naturally in the gas sourced from the Gippsland Basin and most CO2 must be removed before the natural gas can be used to power Australian homes and businesses. We are working to identify alternative outlets for greenhouse gases, such as the recently announced supply agreement with Air Liquide, who will process CO2 from our Longford Gas Plant to food and beverage grade quality and provide in-demand gas to Australian businesses. Learn more.

Using excess ethane to generate power at Long Island Point

The Long Island Point Plant has an important role in this supply of energy, processing the associated gas liquids from our Longford gas production, to create ethane, propane and butane. Propane and butane is sent to domestic and overseas customers via truck, ship or pipeline, while all ethane from Long Island Point is currently provided as feedstock to an industrial customer in Melbourne’s west.

To improve community and environmental outcomes, we are planning to install three small, modern, efficient ethane power generation units at the Long Island Point plant that will utilise excess ethane whenever our customer cannot accept it, such as during planned maintenance. The power generation units will be capable of converting ethane into 35-40 megawatts of electricity to power Victorian homes while also reducing the need to flare at Long Island Point in the future. Learn more.

Vapour recovery unit to capture fuel emissions at Yarraville terminal

Mobil recently installed a new vapour recovery unit at Yarraville terminal which has reduced vapour emissions associated with loading fuel tankers at the site.

The new vapour recovery unit captures emissions from the the fuel tankers as they load fuel and then returns the recovered product back into the tanks. It is approximately 70% more efficient than the two smaller units it replaced, helping Mobil to reduce emissions while meeting Australia’s demand for transportation fuel. Learn more.

Our role in Australia’s energy future

As Australia’s energy landscape transitions, ExxonMobil Australia will continue to have an important role in reliably supplying the energy needed to support the way of life many Australians enjoy. Natural gas, in particular, will play an essential role maintaining the energy security we are used to, even assuming a lower carbon future. Its use as a back-up power supply remains important even in instances of transitions to intermittent renewable energy sources such as wind and solar.

We are committed to maintaining our supply of essential energy and acknowledge that it will take a wide range of solutions to achieve meaningful reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and improve the sustainability of our operations into the future.

Natural gas - an essential energy source