Register for Decarbonisation Technology

The people who publish Petroleum Technology Quarterly are launching a new magazine called Decarbonisation Technology.

While the first issue will not be available till August 2021, since it is published by the same people responsible for PTQ-Petroleum Technology Quarterly [http://www.eptq.com/], it is likely to be of the same high quality as PTQ.

TIP: Visit http://www.eptq.com/ and browse an issue or two of PTQ to get a sense of what Decarbonisation Technology is likely to be. NOTE: The digital version of PTQ is free. You do have to register, however.

Here is the text of the email that landed in my inbox …

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The launch issue of Decarbonisation Technology will be published this August and discuss the global deployment of technologies powering the transition to sustainable fuels and energy, whether mature, at early adoption, under demonstration or still a prototype, together with the growth of supporting infrastructure and the latest policies and proposed legislation.
     Articles from industry experts will focus on:
   Towards 2030: Roadmap to sustainability
   Catalysts and adsorbents in the energy transition
   First principles of energy transition: an unbiased look at the data and principles
   CCUS challenges and opportunities: the Chilean case
   Carbon capture policy development and the pathway forward
   Large carbon capture project in the US
   Reducing CO2 emissions through process electrification
   Capturing the complete process of green hydrogen production and distribution
   SMR integration and increase in CO2 production
   Optimal energy and emissions management during the energy transition
   Sustainable aviation fuel
   Use of liquefied natural gas for marine fuels
   Zero emission steam generation with electricity
   Cognitive furnace 4.0 – CarbonSense
   Understanding the mechanisms to reduce CO2 emissions
   A novel approach to CO2 removal from natural gas
   Fuel oil to LNG: exploring the decarbonisation route in fired heaters
Register here to receive the August issue
If you would like to contribute editorially to future issues, please send your suggestions to editor@decarbonisationtechnology.com
If you have any questions or would like to discuss advertising, contact Paul Mason: info@decarbonisationtechnology.com  - Mobile: +44 7841 699 431
source: https://decarbonisationtechnology.com/
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Google® Better!
Jean Steinhardt served as Librarian, Aramco Services, Engineering Division, for 13 years. He now heads Jean Steinhardt Consulting LLC, producing the same high quality research that he performed for Aramco.

Follow Jean’s blog at: http://desulf.blogspot.com/  for continuing tips on effective online research
Email Jean at research@jeansteinhardtconsulting.com  with questions on research, training, or anything else
Visit Jean’s Web site at http://www.jeansteinhardtconsulting.com/  to see examples of the services we can provide

Conference Alert: Submit your abstracts to speak at Asian Downstream Summit 2021

“It’s not easy being green.” – Kermit’s Song from Sesame Street

You are invited to speak at the Asian Downstream Summit 2021. Well, sort of. Submit your abstract by July 9, 2021. If accepted, you will participate in the summit’s theme: “Preparing the plants of tomorrow for a sustainable & low carbon future.”

Details from an email that landed in my inbox appear below.

TIP #1: Visit the event’s Web site (https://asiandownstreaminsights.com/events/asian-refining-technology-conference/submit-speaker-abstract/) and look at the list of the event sponsors. Then Google each sponsor, ANDing the sponsor name with sustainable OR green. You will come up with some interesting results.

TIP #2: Save time: Google all the sponsors with one search string, to wit …
(sustainable OR green) AND (Schneider OR Axens OR Grace OR Sulzer OR “Air Liquide” OR ABB OR Becht OR CPTDC OR enablon OR HCpect OR Albemarle OR Hexagon OR THE OR JGC OR Petrogenium OR QPinch OR Technip)

TIP #3: Reduce the number of hits you need to scroll through by clicking, in order …
Tools--Any Time--Past Year

Here is the text of the email describing the event …

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Clarion Events

2021 marks an important year for the oil & gas industry. Despite the current downturn and uncertainty brought on by COVID-19, oil and gas companies continue to make progress toward a lower-carbon future, in line with the broader energy transition taking place across the entire energy, resources, and industrials sector.

“There’s no getting away from it” – says Tanushree Mulraj, Managing Director at World Refining Association APAC. “Oil & Gas plays a critical role in meeting global energy demand, and there is an increased pressure for companies to decarbonise operations post-pandemic”.

This year at ADS & ARTC 2021, will focus on the theme “Preparing the plants of tomorrow for a sustainable & low carbon future”, gathering industry influencers and experts to share their insights and first-hand experience on global refining and petrochemical market trends.

We seek influential downstream oil & gas thought leaders to share their intelligence, technological insight and expertise to help shape the future of this industry.

Abstract submission is due on 9 July 2021. If you haven't already, please submit your abstract and other supporting documents no later than this date.

Submit speaker abstract
ARTC seeks inspirational industry leaders and vital intelligence and technology insights from the leading downstream oil & gas influencers.
To submit your interest in speaking at the Summit, please email your Abstract with all supporting documents by 9th July 2021 to Tanushree.Mulraj@clarionevents.com
source: https://asiandownstreaminsights.com/events/asian-refining-technology-conference/submit-speaker-abstract/
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Google® Better!
Jean Steinhardt served as Librarian, Aramco Services, Engineering Division, for 13 years. He now heads Jean Steinhardt Consulting LLC, producing the same high quality research that he performed for Aramco.

Follow Jean’s blog at: http://desulf.blogspot.com/  for continuing tips on effective online research
Email Jean at research@jeansteinhardtconsulting.com  with questions on research, training, or anything else
Visit Jean’s Web site at http://www.jeansteinhardtconsulting.com/  to see examples of the services we can provide

National Reconnaissance Office Director's Innovation Initiative Program

This has nothing to do with oil and gas … or does it? Think Colonial Pipeline.

The NRO-National Reconnaissance Office (https://www.nro.gov/ ) Director's Innovative Initiative (DII) Program funds cutting-edge scientific research for future national security intelligence needs.

NRO is a little known office. In fact, until 1992 its very existence was a classified secret.

Now, not only has it come out of the shadows. It is seeking the brightest minds and breakthrough technologies from industry, academia, national laboratories, and U.S. government agencies to provide cutting-edge scientific research in a high-risk environment to discover innovative concepts that transform overhead intelligence capabilities for future national intelligence needs.

The NRO focus is on satellite reconnaissance, which could be very useful in monitoring oil and gas pipelines, among other critical infrastructure.

More details from the NRO web site appear below.

By the way, I discovered NRO thanks to an item in a recent issue of MIT’s newsletter “The Download.” (https://forms.technologyreview.com/newsletters/briefing-the-download/ )

TIP: Google® National Reconnaissance Office to find non-NRO articles describing the agency.

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The National Reconnaissance Office Director's Innovation Initiative (DII) program funds cutting-edge scientific research in a high-risk environment to discover innovative concepts that transform overhead intelligence capabilities for future national intelligence needs.

The program seeks the brightest minds and breakthrough technologies from industry, academia, national laboratories, and U.S. government agencies.

The National Reconnaissance Office (https://www.nro.gov/ ) Director's Innovative Initiative (DII) Program funds cutting-edge scientific research for future national security intelligence needs.
The National Reconnaissance Office Director's Innovation Initiative (DII) program funds cutting-edge scientific research in a high-risk environment to discover innovative concepts that transform overhead intelligence capabilities for future national intelligence needs.

The program seeks the brightest minds and breakthrough technologies from industry, academia, national laboratories, and U.S. government agencies.

Director's Innovation Initiative

The Director's Innovation Initiative provides a risk-tolerant environment to invest across the United States in cutting edge technologies and high payoff concepts relevant to the NRO's mission of Innovative Overhead Intelligence Systems for National Security.

Program Objectives

    Provide continuous access to revolutionary concepts and ideas
    Provide access to non-traditional developers of NRO technology and broaden the developer base
    Establish a risk tolerant environment for conducting potentially high payoff projects

Program Philosophy

    Reach out to a broad range of potential offerors
        UNCLASSIFIED solicitation via Federal Business Opportunities
        Open to industry, academia and US Government sources
    Seek a wide range of ideas
        Areas of Interest reflect the NRO Strategic Goals
        Most innovative ideas are funded -- no quotas for any given area
    Prove feasibility of key concepts
        Fund many ideas by limiting project funding and duration
    Goal is 10 – 15% of completed projects developed further

Be on the lookout for the FY22 DII Broad Area and Government Sources Sought Announcements (BAA / GSAA) in June 2021. Keep checking the Innovation Web Portal on the Acquisition Center of Excellence, Acquisition Research Center (ARC) website for further details.
Architecture After Next (AAN)

The Architecture After Next (AAN) Program is an Open Broad Agency Announcement (BAA), built using the FY21-22 AS&T BAA Framework - Architecture After Next, consisting of multiple broad areas of interest providing traditional and non-traditional developers an opportunity to participate in building the NRO of the 21st century by presenting innovative idea. Innovative ideas can be submitted through 30 September 2022. The period performance is not to exceed 12 months. Visit the Acquisition Research Center for more information.

Tactical Defense Space Reconnaissance Program

The Tactical Defense Space Reconnaissance (TacDSR) Program expeditiously develops, matures, and integrates technologies that enhance the access, content and timeliness of NRO Overhead Systems data products and services for the Warfighter. The program accomplishes this objective by pursuing highly selective, short duration, high pay-off Research and Development activities, funding about 30 such projects each year.

TacDSR Deactivation FAQs

Request an NRO Speaker

Do you want to invite an NRO speaker to your event?  Fill out the NRO Speaker Invitation Request Form and email to publicaffairs@nro.mil
Contracting Opportunities

Learn about contracting opportunities with the NRO.

June 16 2020- On Thursday, June 11, 2020, the NRO released an unclassified Request for Information(RFI) on a draft End User License Agreement construct designed to ensure maximum shareability of commercial imagery across a diverse user community. The RFI seeks industry comment on the proposed construct. Interested respondents should visit the Acquisition Center of Excellence, Acquisition Research Center, CSPO Phase B.
source: https://www.nro.gov/Business-Innovation-Opportunities/mc_cid/10ff9cd289/mc_eid/76363cef0a/
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About the NRO
Develop. Acquire. Launch. Operate.

When the United States needs eyes and ears in critical places where no human can reach – be it over the most rugged terrain or through the most hostile territory – it turns to the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO). The NRO is the U.S. Government agency in charge of designing, building, launching, and maintaining America’s intelligence satellites. Whether creating the latest innovations in satellite technology, contracting with the most cost-efficient industrial supplier, conducting rigorous launch schedules, or providing the highest-quality products to our customers, we never lose focus on who we are working to protect: our Nation and its citizens.

From our inception in 1961 to our declassification to the public in 1992, we have worked tirelessly to provide the best reconnaissance support possible to the Intelligence Community (IC) and Department of Defense (DoD). We are unwavering in our dedication to fulfilling our vision: Supra Et Ultra: Above and Beyond.

    The National Reconnaissance Office
    Leadership
    NRO Brochure
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One result of Googling National Reconnaissance Office …

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The Verge
It’s Sentient: Meet the classified artificial brain being developed by US intelligence programs
By Sarah Scoles Jul 31, 2019
[ EXCERPTS ]

AtAt the final session of the 2019 Space Symposium in Colorado Springs, attendees straggled into a giant ballroom to listen to an Air Force official and a National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) executive discuss, as the panel title put it, “Enterprise Disruption.” The presentation stayed as vague as the title until a direct question from the audience seemed to make the panelists squirm.
Just how good, the person wondered, had the military and intelligence communities’ algorithms gotten at interpreting data and taking action based on that analysis? They pointed out that the commercial satellite industry has software that can tally shipping containers on cargo ships and cars in parking lots soon after their pictures are snapped in space. “When will the Department of Defense have real-time, automated, global order of battle?” they asked.
“That’s a great question,” said Chirag Parikh, director of the NGA’s Office of Sciences and Methodologies. “And there’s a lot of really good classified answers.”
He paused and shifted in his seat. “What’s the next question?” he asked, smiling. But he continued talking, describing how “geospatial intelligence” no longer simply means pictures from satellites. It means anything with a timestamp and a location stamp, and the attempt to integrate all that sundry data.
Then, Parikh actually answered this question: When would that translate to near-instantaneous understanding and strategy development?
“If not now,” he said, “very soon.”
Sentient is (or at least aims to be) an omnivorous analysis tool
Parkih didn’t mention any particular programs that might help enable this kind of autonomous, real-time interpretation. But an initiative called Sentient has relevant capabilities. A product of the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), Sentient is (or at least aims to be) an omnivorous analysis tool, capable of devouring data of all sorts, making sense of the past and present, anticipating the future, and pointing satellites toward what it determines will be the most interesting parts of that future. That, ideally, makes things simpler downstream for human analysts at other organizations, like the NGA, with which the satellite-centric NRO partners.
Until now, Sentient has been treated as a government secret, except for vague allusions in a few speeches and presentations. But recently released documents — many formerly classified secret or top secret — reveal new details about the program’s goals, progress, and reach.
Research related to Sentient has been going on since at least October 2010, when the agency posted a request for Sentient Enterprise white papers. A presentation says the program achieved its first R&D milestone in 2013, but details about what that milestone actually was remain redacted. (Deputy director of NRO’s Office of Public Affairs Karen Furgerson declined to comment on this timing in an email to The Verge.) A 2016 House Armed Services Committee hearing on national security space included a quick summary of this data-driven brain, but public meetings haven’t mentioned it since. In 2018, a presentation posted online claimed Sentient would go live that year, although Furgerson told The Verge it was currently under development.
The agency has been developing this artificial brain for years
“The NRO has not said much about Sentient publicly because it is a classified program,” says Furgerson in an email, “and NRO rarely appears before Congress in open hearings.”
The agency has been developing this artificial brain for years, but details available to the public remain scarce. “It ingests high volumes of data and processes it,” says Furgerson. “Sentient catalogs normal patterns, detects anomalies, and helps forecast and model adversaries’ potential courses of action.” The NRO did not provide examples of patterns or anomalies, but one could imagine that things like “not moving a missile” versus “moving a missile” might be on the list. Those forecasts in hand, Sentient could turn satellites’ sensors to the right place at the right time to catch ill will (or whatever else it wants to see) in action. “Sentient is a thinking system,” says Furgerson.

Free full text source: https://www.theverge.com/2019/7/31/20746926/sentient-national-reconnaissance-office-spy-satellites-artificial-intelligence-ai
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Google® Better!
Jean Steinhardt served as Librarian, Aramco Services, Engineering Division, for 13 years. He now heads Jean Steinhardt Consulting LLC, producing the same high quality research that he performed for Aramco.

Follow Jean’s blog at: http://desulf.blogspot.com/  for continuing tips on effective online research
Email Jean at research@jeansteinhardtconsulting.com  with questions on research, training, or anything else
Visit Jean’s Web site at http://www.jeansteinhardtconsulting.com/  to see examples of the services we can provide

Abandonment Issues: No new oil, gas or coal development if world is to reach net zero by 2050, says IEA

In light of the recent IEA-International Energy Agency announcement to abandon fossil fuels by 2035, the following press release from EMAP, publisher of PTQ & Digital Refining, is worthy of our attention.

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In response to feedback from organisations across the industry, EMAP, publisher of PTQ & Digital Refining, is launching Decarbonisation Technology, which will focus on the strategies, legislation and technologies powering the transition to sustainable fuels and energy.
Decarbonisation Technology will explore the global deployment of technologies, whether mature, at early adoption, under demonstration or still a prototype, together with the growth of supporting infrastructure and the latest policies and proposed legislation.
Our new multi-platform media brand will include a website, digital magazine, online Q&A, and weekly newsletter, and will become a popular forum for conversation between governments, policy makers, energy companies and technology providers. This will be followed up with a series of conferences worldwide.
Each digital issue will feature an executive viewpoint focusing on ‘Towards 2030: roadmap to sustainability’, a Q&A section discussing transition strategies, and a Sustainable Technologies section, which will highlight new decarbonisation technologies.
The first issue, to be published in August 2021, will examine:
   Reducing CO2 emissions
   Carbon capture, utilisation and storage
   Hydrogen’s role in the energy transition
   Marine and aviation fuels
   Catalysts and adsorbents in the energy transition
   Digital technologies: a key enabler to low-carbon fuels and energy
   Improving energy efficiency
If you would like to contribute editorially, please send your suggestions to editor@decarbonisationtechnology.com
If you have any questions or would like to discuss advertising, contact
Paul Mason: info@decarbonisationtechnology.com - Mobile: +44 7841 699 431
Register FREE of charge for the launch issue!
Copyright © 2021. All Rights Reserved. Crambeth Allen Publishing Ltd, publisher of PTQ, DigitalRefining and Decarbonisation Technology
If you have any questions or would like to discuss advertising, contact
Paul Mason: info@decarbonisationtechnology.com – Mobile: +44 7841 699 431
https://decarbonisationtechnology.com/
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For context, you might be interested in the following Guardian article, describing recommendations to the world community from the International Energy Agency (IEA).

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The Guardian, Tue 18 May 2021
No new oil, gas or coal development if world is to reach net zero by 2050, says world energy body
Governments must close gap between net zero rhetoric and reality, says International Energy Agency head
Fiona Harvey, Environment correspondent

Exploitation and development of new oil and gas fields must stop this year and no new coal-fired power stations can be built if the world is to stay within safe limits of global heating and meet the goal of net zero emissions by 2050, the world’s leading energy organisation has said.

In its strongest warning yet on the need to drastically scale back fossil fuels, the International Energy Agency (IEA) also called for no new fossil-fuel cars to be sold beyond 2035, and for global investment in energy to more than double from $2tn (£1.42tn) a year to $5tn (£3.54tn) The result would not be an economic burden, as some have claimed, but a net benefit to the economy.

Fatih Birol, the IEA’s executive director and one of the world’s foremost energy economists, told the Guardian: “If governments are serious about the climate crisis, there can be no new investments in oil, gas and coal, from now – from this year.”

He said strong new policies were needed from governments around the world: “More and more countries are coming up with net zero commitments, which is very good, but I see a huge and growing gap between the rhetoric [from governments] and the reality.”

The IEA has released its most comprehensive report yet into what is needed to achieve the world’s climate goals, the implications of which will be felt around the world. Few governments intend to halt fossil-fuel exploration. The UK is licensing new oil and gas fields in the North Sea, China is building coal-fired power plants, and oil companies are still investing in new output.
Advertisement
Read the entire article at:
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/may/18/no-new-investment-in-fossil-fuels-demands-top-energy-economist
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And, for the truly diligent, here is the source for the IEA report described in the Guardian article above …

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Net Zero by 2050: A Roadmap for the Global Energy Sector
Flagship report — May 2021
Download the full report at: https://www.iea.org/reports/net-zero-by-2050
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Google® Better!
Jean Steinhardt served as Librarian, Aramco Services, Engineering Division, for 13 years. He now heads Jean Steinhardt Consulting LLC, producing the same high quality research that he performed for Aramco.

Follow Jean’s blog at: http://desulf.blogspot.com/  for continuing tips on effective online research
Email Jean at research@jeansteinhardtconsulting.com  with questions on research, training, or anything else
Visit Jean’s Web site at http://www.jeansteinhardtconsulting.com/  to see examples of the services we can provide

Impact of knowledge search practices on the originality of inventions: A study in the oil & gas industry through dynamic patent analysis

I am the wisest man alive, for I know one thing, and that is that I know nothing – Socrates

One of my Google Scholar alerts turned up a recent academic paper that may interest you and some of your colleagues.

The paper, titled “Impact of knowledge search practices on the originality of inventions: A study in the oil & gas industry through dynamic patent analysis,” notes that while oil & gas firms do lots of research, the money spent on R&D effort could be used more effectively.

The authors explore the ways in which enterprises, and the inventors within those enterprises, identify the information they need to create innovative solutions to problems faced by their firm. As the title implies, the oil & gas industry is used to illustrate the authors’ approach.

Within an enterprise, inventors may face obstacles to finding corporate knowledge within their own company, because of the structure of the internal knowledge base.

So how can the authors of this paper help you make better use of your R&D resources?

POSIT: You need to identify innovative solutions for the problems facing your enterprise.
QUESTION: What are the best search practices you can use to identify those solutions?
ANSWER: Take some time to read the following research article. It may offer some guidance.

The authors’ method combines interviews with patent analysis. Patent analysis is used as a proxy for knowledge components.

They identify four search approaches used by major oil firms:

(1) refinement, (2) clustering, (3) absorption and (4) recomposition

No matter which approach used by a particular firm, results can be improved by structuring the knowledge in such a way that the firm’s inventors can easily access all knowledge components they need to produce innovative solutions to the firm’s problems.

The paper is written by academics for an academic audience. As such, it is not easy reading. But I think you will find it worth your effort.

The abstract appears below, as does the URL for the free, full text of the paper.
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Impact of knowledge search practices on the originality of inventions: A study in the oil & gas industry through dynamic patent analysis
Quentin Plantec1,2, Pascal Le Masson1 & Benoît Weil1
1. MINES ParisTech, PSL University, Centre for Management Science (CGS), i3 UMR CNRS, 60 Boulevard St Michel, 75006 Paris, France1
2. Institut National de la Propriété Industrielle (INPI), 15 rue des Minimes, 92677 Courbevoie CEDEX, France
Free full text source: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2021.120782
ABSTRACT:
The paper suggests a new taxonomy of knowledge search modes to describe the creative process of new invention design, in particular how firms combine knowledge components from their own knowledge base—taking into account both the components and the structures of knowledge bases—with those from newly acquired or newly internally developed. Using network theory techniques, we defined four knowledge search modes: (1) refinement, (2) clustering, (3) absorption and (4) recomposition. We conducted an exploratory study on the oil & gas industry, reviewing 50,776 utility patents filed by 16 major firms between 1989 and 2016. The results showed, first, that firms relied to varying extents on different knowledge search modes in their invention design processes. Second, reviewing the technological originality of the designed inventions showed that simply absorbing new knowledge components, without major changes in knowledge base structure, was associated with low technological originality, but constituted one of the main knowledge search modes used by the analyzed firms. In contrast, major changes in knowledge base structure favored technological originality, with or without new knowledge components, but were nevertheless the least used mode. Understanding organizational learning practices associated with the phenomena described here can foster innovation performance in firms.
HIGHLIGHTS:
Oil & gas firms are heterogeneous in their knowledge search practices for designing inventions.
Firm’s knowledge expertise should be bridged to design original inventions.
New knowledge not bridged with firm’s expertise negatively affect originality.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT: We would like to thanks B. Cabanes (MINES ParisTech – PSL University), C. Sternberger (INPI), N. Sennequier (INPI), F. Caillaud (WIPO), C. Vahlibay (MINES ParisTech—PSL University), G. de Rassenfosse (EPFL), M. Wustmans (Bonn University), M. Chebre, J. Luo (IDC), S. Sarica (IDC) and the participants of the Data & Algorithms for Science, Technology and Innovation Studies Conference organized by EPO and KU Leuven for their useful insights in relation to this research project.
FUNDING: This work was supported by the Institut National de la Propriété Industrielle (INPI) [collaborative Ph.D. (CIFRE scheme) grant number 2018/0255] and the Chair of Design Theory and Methods for Innovation (DTMI) of MINES ParisTech – PSL University.
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Google® Better!
Jean Steinhardt served as Librarian, Aramco Services, Engineering Division, for 13 years. He now heads Jean Steinhardt Consulting LLC, producing the same high quality research that he performed for Aramco.

Follow Jean’s blog at: http://desulf.blogspot.com/  for continuing tips on effective online research
Email Jean at research@jeansteinhardtconsulting.com  with questions on research, training, or anything else
Visit Jean’s Web site at http://www.jeansteinhardtconsulting.com/  to see examples of the services we can provide

Jounalizing Oil & Gas: Why ExxonMobil supports carbon pricing

Journalism 101: Verify your sources
“If your mother says she loves you, don’t believe it unless you can get confirmation from at least two independent sources.”

Reading press releases is a good way to become aware of new developments in your field of interest. But it is helpful to take a skeptical approach to whatever any given press release is touting.

Professional journalists do this. So can you.

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There's "no other job where you get paid to tell the truth...we are detectives for the people." The late, great investigative reporter Wayne Barrett, in his last column for the Village Voice.
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You don’t have to be a journalist to benefit from journalism’s method of getting at the truth of statements made in press releases.

To illustrate, consider the following ExxonMobil Blog post …

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ExxonMobil Blog: EnergyFactor (03.29.2021)
Why ExxonMobil supports carbon pricing
Darren Woods

The recent steps by the American Petroleum Institute (API) to support a carbon price will contribute to advancing a lower-carbon future. For some time, we have been encouraging trade associations to support a price on carbon and promote actions that enable the goals of the Paris Agreement. We encourage Congress to adopt this market-based, national policy solution.

To better understand the steps needed to help realize a lower-carbon future, it’s helpful to begin with some important context: the world’s growing need for energy.

Underpinning future energy demand is economic growth driven by an increasing population and growing prosperity. The continuing demand for our products is concentrated in three growing sectors: power generation, industrial, and commercial transportation.

Today, there is a lack of lower-emission alternatives to adequately meet the many needs in these sectors, which together account for 80 percent of global energy-related CO2 emissions. We have spent decades researching new technologies to address this challenge, and recently created a new business, ExxonMobil Low Carbon Solutions, to commercialize key technologies from our extensive research and development portfolio.

For example, ExxonMobil Low Carbon Solutions is advancing plans for more than 20 new carbon capture and storage (CCS) opportunities around the world to enable large-scale emission reductions, building upon a Carbon Capture Venture we began in 2018.

We’re the global leader in carbon capture and have captured more than 40 percent of all the world’s captured anthropogenic CO2. ExxonMobil was the first company in the world to capture more than 120 million tonnes of CO2, equivalent to the annual emissions of more than 25 million cars.

We’ll also leverage ExxonMobil’s significant experience in the production of hydrogen which, when coupled with CCS, is likely to play a critical role in a lower-carbon energy system. Other low-carbon technology focus areas in our portfolio will be added as they mature to commercialization. We’re planning to invest $3 billion on lower-emission energy solutions through 2025 on top of $10 billion we’ve spent over the past two decades.

In other emission-reduction efforts, we are working to find new and better ways to monitor and reduce methane emissions, including via a collaboration with universities, environmental groups, and other industry partners. In 2019, we reduced our methane emissions nearly 18 percent across our U.S. unconventional operations, compared to 2016, when the Paris Agreement was signed.

Overall, our operated greenhouse gas emissions went down by 6 percent from 2016 to 2019, and we’ve laid out plans for further reductions by 2025.

While we will continue to advance these plans, there is also a clear role for government – which brings us back to policy.

Durable, predictable, and cost-effective policies will be required to develop and deploy multiple needed low-carbon technologies at scale. Carbon pricing would send a clear signal through the market, creating incentives to reduce emissions. Such a signal will also incentivize and coordinate the research, investment, and technology development that is needed to bring about key solutions.

Putting a price on carbon will allow policymakers to eliminate the inefficient patchwork of regulations that is broadly recognized to be more expensive. Through the current approach, policymakers are putting a very high, but hidden, price on carbon that people can’t see and are unaware they are paying. An explicit price on carbon would be transparent, incentivize behavior to reduce emissions, allow the market to function efficiently, and stimulate the cross-sector opportunities needed to uncover the largest emission reduction opportunities at the lowest cost.

API now joins major trade groups representing diverse industries in publicly backing carbon pricing. Collectively, they echo a report released last August in which the International Energy Agency noted, “Carbon pricing, in particular, is a useful tool to guide investment decisions, especially those that will have long-term impacts on future emissions.”

The Climate Leadership Council (CLC), of which ExxonMobil is a founding member, is similarly calling for the adoption of a carbon fee. As noted by the CLC, the Council’s bipartisan plan could cut U.S. CO₂ emissions in half by 2035, as compared to 2005 levels.

As the world increasingly focuses on addressing the biggest emissions challenges, a price on carbon is an important policy component that can aid in solving these challenges. We look forward to continuing our work with stakeholders to help move an effective policy solution forward.

Read more about ExxonMobil’s climate strategy and our engagements on related policies in our Energy & Carbon Summary.

Darren Woods is ExxonMobil’s Chairman and CEO
source: https://energyfactor.exxonmobil.com/perspectives/supports-carbon-pricing/

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TIP: Google®: ExxonMobil Low Carbon Solutions to begin to verify the claims made in the blog post, i.e. press release.

Here are excerpts from three of the results of the search …

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The ChemicalEngineer, 17th February 2021
ExxonMobil creates low-carbon business
[ EXCERPTS ]
Article by Amanda Jasi
EXXONMOBIL has created a new business unit to commercialise its low-carbon portfolio, which it is calling Low Carbon Solutions (LCS).

According to reports, Exxon’s announcement comes as it faces increasing pressure from environmentalists and investors to do more for climate change.

According to reports, Exxon’s announcement comes as it faces increasing pressure from environmentalists and investors to do more for climate change. In a report from think tank Carbon Tracker, the company was shown to be notably lagging behind competition with regards to its efforts for transition to a lower carbon economy. Additionally, unlike competitors such as BP, Repsol, Shell, and Total, ExxonMobil has not committed to a long-term net-zero ambition.
source: https://www.thechemicalengineer.com/news/exxonmobil-creates-low-carbon-business/

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Oil & Gas Journal, Feb 5th, 2021
ExxonMobil creates business to commercialize emission-reduction technology

ExxonMobil has created a new business, ExxonMobil Low Carbon Solutions, to commercialize its low-carbon technology portfolio. The new business will initially focus on carbon capture and storage and hydrogen.

ExxonMobil Low Carbon Solutions is advancing plans for more than 20 new carbon capture and storage opportunities and plans to invest $3 billion on lower emission energy solutions through 2025.

New CCS projects and partnerships under evaluation include:

    US Gulf Coast – ExxonMobil is assessing multiple that have the potential to collect millions of tonnes of CO2 from industrial sources for storage in onshore and offshore geologic formations. Included in these projects is a CCS hub concept in Southeast Texas.
    Wyoming, USA – ExxonMobil has progressed permitting for the expansion of its La Barge CCS facilities, which could enable an additional 1 million tonnes/year (tpy) of CO2 to be captured. Existing facilities currently capture 7 million tpy, largest amount of CO2 captured by any industrial facility in the world.
    Netherlands – ExxonMobil has executed a joint development agreement to advance its interest in the Port of Rotterdam CO2 Transportation Hub and Offshore Storage project (Porthos). The project aims to collect CO2 emissions from industrial sources and transport them by pipeline to depleted North Sea offshore gas fields. Porthos and its potential customers have applied for EU and national support mechanisms. ExxonMobil also participates in the H-Vision study into large-scale production of low-carbon hydrogen in Rotterdam.
    Belgium – ExxonMobil is participating in the multi-stakeholder CCS project at the Port of Antwerp, Europe’s largest integrated energy and chemicals cluster. The project, which would collect CO2 emissions from industrial sources for storage, recently applied for support from the European Union.
    Scotland – Through its joint venture in the SEGAL system in Northeast Scotland, ExxonMobil is progressing discussions to support the Acorn project, which will collect CO2 from the St. Fergus gas processing complex for transport and storage in offshore gas reservoirs.
    Singapore – ExxonMobil is planning a CCS hub concept to capture, transport, and permanently store CO2 generated by industrial activity in the Asia-Pacific region. The project concept is based on a plan to capture CO2 emissions from Singapore manufacturing facilities for storage in the region.
    Qatar - ExxonMobil is a partner in several existing joint ventures with Qatar Petroleum that operate a CCS project with an annual capacity of 2.1 million tonnes at Ras Laffan. ExxonMobil is evaluating opportunities to add additional capture capacity in the region.

source: https://www.ogj.com/general-interest/hse/article/14196935/exxonmobil-creates-business-to-commercialize-emissionreduction-technology

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Bloomberg Green, February 1, 2021
Climate Adaptation
Exxon’s New Carbon Capture Plan Looks a Lot Like Its Old One
[ EXCERPTS ]
By Kevin Crowley
    Oil giant’s $3 billion pledge less than 5% of capital budget
    Exxon appeals for government to support carbon capture

Exxon Mobil Corp. pledged to spend $3 billion on low-emission technologies through 2025 to address investor concerns over its environmental record, unveiling a plan that comprises several projects that have already been announced.

Several of the projects touted by Exxon aren’t new. The carbon capture efforts in the Netherlands, Belgium and Qatar are already being developed with partners. Exxon said it has moved ahead with permitting for the expansion of its LaBarge facility in Wyoming, which would be the company’s biggest carbon capture project, but that project is still in doubt after being put on hold.

source: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-02-01/exxon-makes-3-billion-carbon-capture-vow-after-climate-pressure

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Professional journalists have a number of guidelines to establish the veracity of whatever it is that they report.

The most important of these is determining at least two independent sources to corroborate the story.

I recommend that you take a few minutes to read the journalistic guidelines. Practicing what journalists preach will help you get past the press release hype.

TIP: Google® How do journalists verify their sources

Here are a few results of the search …

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Science News for Students
[ Excerpt ]
Fact checking: How to think like a journalist
When in doubt — and you should always be in doubt — here’s how to assess what “facts” you can trust

By Janet Raloff
September 21, 2017

Today, getting information is as easy as opening a browser on your computer or phone, typing in a question and waiting a nanosecond for a long list of links to load. These websites will promise to answer your question. But actually, they may not be all that trustworthy. What do you do?

There are plenty of people who call themselves a “journalist.” What separates a good journalist from a bad or lazy one is often where they get their information. Good reporters are always on the lookout for a “scoop” — new information or new interpretations of existing data. But for them, a scoop is worthless if it’s based on bogus or misinterpreted data.

To verify a new claim, a reporter contacts experts on the topic. Often many. In journalism, such experts are known as “sources.” This may be a scientist who discovered something new in the lab. Or it could be the witness to a crime. The more strange or controversial that claim is, the more sources a reporter may need to contact.

Just because I read something — or hear a scientist say something — doesn’t mean I believe it. Reporters are taught to ask questions, then verify every factoid they can. Indeed, sooner or later every cub reporter hears: “If your mother says she loves you, don’t believe it unless you can get confirmation from at least two independent sources.” That line is meant to make us question everything! Journalists are skeptics. And you should be too.

You should also be skeptical — of everything you read, even here. That’s acting like a journalist.
source: https://www.sciencenewsforstudents.org/blog/outside-comment/fact-checking-how-think-journalist
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NPR Ethics Handbook
[ EXCERPT ]
Accuracy

Our purpose is to pursue the truth. Diligent verification is critical. We take great care to ensure that statements of fact in our journalism are both correct and in context. In our reporting, we rigorously challenge both the claims we encounter and the assumptions we bring. We devote our resources and our skills to presenting the fullest version of the truth we can deliver, placing the highest value on information we have gathered and verified ourselves.
Accuracy in our reporting

Accuracy is at the core of what we do. We do our best to ensure that everything we report faithfully depicts reality – from the tiniest detail to the big-picture context that helps put the news into perspective. Facts are incredibly slippery. Studies of press accuracy routinely find mistakes – sometimes many of them – in news media reports. This means that when journalists – even the best ones – think they're getting it right, they're all too often wrong. Errors are inevitable. But our best defense against them is constant vigilance. This is why we systematically and rigorously review our facts before we make our reporting public.

Guideline: Be able to identify the source of each fact you report.

When making a general assertion of fact in a story, the reporter and editor should be able to immediately identify the source and explain why that person or organization is credible and authoritative. This is essential to the editing process and it also lets us stand by our reporting in a clear and convincing way if a story comes under question. We should never be in the position of looking for corroboration after a report has been published or broadcast.

In addition to this care in the way we source general assertions of fact, the language of such assertions must be precise. We shouldn't put ourselves in a position where we believe the thrust of a statement is correct and supported by the facts, but the statement is open to question because we didn't express it with enough precision.

Guideline: Guard against subjective errors.

Ensuring we have our factual details correct is only part of the accuracy equation. It's just as important to make sure we've correctly interpreted those facts in our reporting. The burden is on us to ensure that the way we use the material we collect — sound, photos and words — is true to their intended meaning and context. When quoting or paraphrasing anyone - whether in a blog post, an online story or in an on-air "actuality" – consider whether the source would agree with the interpretation, keeping in mind that sources may sometimes parse their words even though we accurately capture their meaning. An actuality from someone we interview or a speaker at an event should reflect accurately what that person was asked, was responding to or was addressing.

Guideline: Edit like a prosecutor.

Great journalism comes in part from the collaborative efforts of researchers, reporters, editors and producers, who all play a key role in ensuring accuracy. We believe in teamwork. But good editors are also good prosecutors. They test, probe and challenge reporters, always with the goal of making NPR's stories as good (and therefore as accurate) as possible.

"A successful editor has to help the reporter see the big picture, but also needs to fret over details," says Jonathan Kern in Sound Reporting. And, "above all ... editors are responsible for making sure that reports are accurate and fair."

Guideline: Take special care with news that might cause grief or damage reputations.

Any falsehoods in our news reports can cause harm. But errors that may damage reputations or bring about grief are especially dangerous, and extra precautions should be taken to avoid them. We don't report an individual's death, for example, until it has been confirmed by authoritative sources and we're certain the family is aware. In those cases, err on the side of caution. Go slowly, and above all, get clearance from a senior manager.

This cautious, considered approach also applies to what we do on social media sites. (For more on that point, see the discussion below about accuracy online.)

source: https://www.npr.org/about-npr/688139552/accuracy
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CUNY-City University of New York
Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism
Fact Checking & Verification for Reporting: Fact-Checking Your Reporting
[ EXCERPT ]
The Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics states that journalists must "seek truth and report it."

There's "no other job where you get paid to tell the truth...we are detectives for the people." The late, great investigative reporter Wayne Barrett, in his last column for the Village Voice.

It is because “journalism is a discipline of verification,”[1] that journalists consider the commitment to verification and accuracy a “strategic ritual” and part of their “professional identity,” which is “something that legitimizes a journalist’s social role as being demonstrably different from other communicators.”[2] A devotion to accuracy is the value that journalists add to issues and stories in the information ecosystem. Barbara Gray, Newmark J-School, The Emerald Handbook of Modern Information Management, p 421

Always ask yourself these questions when trying to verify information:

    "Who says?"
    "How do they know?"
    "Are they biased?"
    "What don't I know?"

Where do I fact check?

    Go to the primary source when possible. Using secondary sources like articles can perpetuate errors.
    Use your university library’s, your news organization’s, or your public library’s electronic and print resources.
    Search databases of news and journal articles, like LexisNexis or ScienceDirect, which aren’t accessible on the web, but are available in libraries.
    Contact an expert - but check them out
    Google Scholar
    Google Books
    Open data portals
    Reference books
    Find a stakeholder - someone who's interested in the same thing you are

Keep good records (physical or electronic) of your reporting process and sources:
Keep your reporter’s notes.
Archive webpages & articles used as sources on Evernote  (https://evernote.com/ )(https://evernote.com/basic) or Wayback Machine  (https://archive.org) .
Keep a list of databases searched and search results used in reporting.
List all sources.
List statistics used and where you found them, etc.
  Write fast, fact check slow: These tips will get your brain into a fact-checking mode.
  Get physical with your story! Print it out in a larger and a different font.

source: https://docs.google.com/document/d/11O_kLgoWEzkY0yql9ZnXxVLNwq-3PZmKlZSKwkuCD8s/edit
Source: Carroll, Brian. Writing and Editing for Digital Media. Routledge: 2014.

source: https://researchguides.journalism.cuny.edu/c.php?g=547454&p=4256107
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Google® Better!
Jean Steinhardt served as Librarian, Aramco Services, Engineering Division, for 13 years. He now heads Jean Steinhardt Consulting LLC, producing the same high quality research that he performed for Aramco.

Follow Jean’s blog at: http://desulf.blogspot.com/  for continuing tips on effective online research
Email Jean at research@jeansteinhardtconsulting.com  with questions on research, training, or anything else
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