DEPARTMENTS • ENVIRONMENT, SOCIAL AND GOVERNANCE
Hess earns 100% score
on Corporate Equality Index
Hess announced it has achieved a score
of 100% on the Human Rights Campaign’s
Corporate Equality Index for 2022 and
earned the designation as one of the Best
Places to Work for LGBTQ+ Equality. For
the third consecutive year, Hess also has
earned a place on the Bloomberg Gender-
Equality Index , which tracks the perfor-
mance of public companies committed to
achieve or adopt best-in-class statistics
or policies and to transparency in gender-
data reporting.

Chevron seeks to certify
environmental performance
of select US land assets
The Transocean Enabler, contracted to Equinor, will drill a carbon injection well
and sidetrack for the Northern Lights Carbon Capture Storage Project this year.

Transocean to drill wells for Northern Lights project
Later this year, the Transocean
Enabler semisubmersible will drill one
carbon injection well and a sidetrack for
another carbon injection well that had
been drilled in early 2020. The wells will
be drilled as part of Transocean’s current
drilling contract with Equinor and in
support of the Northern Lights Carbon
Capture Storage Project , a joint venture
by Equinor, Shell and TotalEnergies. The
project aims to mitigate emissions and
remove CO 2 from the atmosphere by cre-
ating the first cross-border, open-source
CO 2 transport and storage infrastructure
network in the European Union.

“Beyond our core business of drilling
ultra-deepwater and harsh-environment
wells, this is an excellent example of
how we can further leverage our rigs
and core competencies in support of
renewable and alternative energy proj-
ects in offshore markets across the
globe,” said Janelle Daniel, Transocean’s
Vice President of Human Resources,
Sustainability and Communications.

Upon completion, the Northern Lights
project will offer companies across
Europe the opportunity to store carbon
dioxide safely and permanently under-
ground. Parker outlines plan to achieve new goals in ESG report
Parker Wellbore recently launched a
plan to ensure the organization plays a
leading role in tackling climate change
challenges for its customers. The pro-
gram is outlined in the company’s inau-
gural ESG report .

“This report represents a new forum
for sharing our ESG trajectory, includ-
ing environmental stewardship, social
awareness, and strong corporate gov-
ernance, which are ingrained in our
mission, vision, values and company
strategy,” said Sandy Esslemont, Parker
10 Wellbore President and C EO. “Our lead-
ership team and stakeholders – includ-
ing customers, investors, employees
and the communities where we work –
appreciate that companies which excel
in ESG performance also achieve safe,
responsible and profitable operations.”
The company has conducted a green-
house gas (GHG) emissions study to
establish a baseline to help understand
historical and future GHG emissions
trends . This baseline provides a founda-
tion to set emissions goals in the future.

Chevron has announced a pilot project
with Project Canary to independently cer-
tify operational and environmental perfor-
mance in the company’s North American
upstream region.

Project Canary will use its TrustWell
Certification program to review and ana-
lyze aspects of the environmental and
social performance of individual wells and
facilities in the Permian Basin of Texas
and the DJ Basin of Colorado. Chevron will
also deploy the Canary X pad-level meth-
ane emissions monitoring units at select
locations. More than 600 data points within 24
operational categories are included in a
TrustWell analysis. Operators who earn
top rankings are determined by Project
Canary to utilize the highest standards and
practices across their operations.

The certification process is expected to
begin in the first half of 2022. Based on
ratings earned during the review process,
Chevron anticipates being ready to deliver
certified Responsibly Sourced Gas to mar-
ket by mid-2022.

Chevron says its 2020 US onshore pro-
duction methane intensity was already
85% lower than the US industry average .

The company has reduced fugitive meth-
ane and volatile organic compound emis-
sions through leak detection and repair,
low-/no-emissions pneumatic devices,
and centralized production facilities. The
company is also expanding its methane
detection capabilities to identify the best
opportunities to further lower emissions.

M A R C H/A P R I L 202 2 • D R I L L I N G C O N T R AC T O R



ENVIRONMENT, SOCIAL AND GOVERNANCE • DEPARTMENTS
DNV report: Energy transition is accelerating, but skills shortage is critical challenge
Energy industry leaders say the energy
transition is accelerating faster than ever
and 2022 is set to be a strong year for
industry growth, according to a new report
from DNV analyzing the views of more
than 1,000 senior energy professionals.

Findings show that industry players
from across power, renewables and oil and
gas believe the commercial opportunities
presented by the transition outweigh the
risks to their businesses . Skills shortages
are the greatest barrier to growth , followed
by a lack of policy support .

Maintaining reliable energy sup-
ply is also a concern, with many in the
oil and gas industry convinced that not
enough is being invested in exploration
and upstream expansion to meet future
demand. Some 38% of oil and gas respon-
dents say that their organization is finding
it increasingly difficult to secure reason-
ably priced finance for projects.

Across the energy industry , expecta-
tions are increasing for large, capital-
intensive projects to be approved in the
year ahead, while almost half of the indus-
try expects their organization to increase
capital expenditure. Green hydrogen is
the technology that the greatest num-
ber of energy companies are targeting for
increased investment in 2022, followed by
solar PV, floating offshore wind, and car-
bon capture and storage .

Much of the industry is increasing
investment in decarbonization, but it is
telling that only 42% are optimistic about
their company reaching its decarboniza-
tion targets and 28% are outright pessi-
mistic. Survey confirms COVID-19
advanced actions on ESG
The H2opZee project to produce green hydrogen offshore the Netherlands could
help to decarbonize energy-intensive sectors.

New offshore green hydrogen project to begin this year
Neptune Energy and RWE have signed
a n agreement to develop an offshore
green hydrogen project called H2opZee.

The demonstration project will aim to
build 300-500 megawatts electrolyzer
capacity in the North Sea to produce
green hydrogen using offshore wind. The
hydrogen will then be transported to
land through an existing pipeline.

The project is an initiative of TKI Wind
op Zee, supported by the Dutch govern-
ment .

In the first phase of H2opZee , a fea-
sibility study will be carried out, likely
starting in Q2 2022, and an accessi-
ble knowledge platform will be set up.

The objective is to start the roll-out of
hydrogen at sea in the Netherlands.

Implementation will then be carried out
in the second phase of the project. For
this phase, a tender methodology has yet
to be defined.

“We see an important role for green
hydrogen in future energy supply, and it
can be produced here in the North Sea,”
said Lex de Groot, Neptune’s Managing
Director in the Netherlands. “The energy
transition can be faster, cheaper and
cleaner if we integrate existing gas infra-
structure into new systems.”
Sven Utermöhlen, CEO Offshore Wind
at RWE Renewables, said: “Hydrogen is a
game changer in the decarbonization of
energy-intensive sectors.”
A new survey by GlobalData has revealed
that 67% of 1,500 ESG and corporate social
responsibility executives across indus-
tries believe the COVID-19 pandemic has
increased focus and action on ESG issues .

“The sudden disruption of numerous
business activities due to COVID-19 led
many to realize that environmental action
was much more feasible than previously
thought,” Filipe Oliveira, Thematic Analyst
at GlobalData, said. “Most of the focus and
investment within ESG is going towards
environmental issues — 69% prioritized
environment issues, while 16% prioritized
social and 15% governance. ”
Further, 65% of respondents said ESG in
decision making is “very important” while
an additional 32% said it is “important.”
“Since the COVID-19 outbreak, leading
oil and gas companies have been reevalu-
ating their operations, with emphasis on
clean energy ,” said Bargavi Gandham, Oil
& Gas Analyst at GlobalData. “This has
brought about a change in their approach
towards ESG, especially on the environ-
mental aspect. Activities from leaders such
as Shell, BP and Equinor has also trickled
down to smaller players, national oil com-
panies and service companies. Around
1,800 industry players have pledged to
achieve net-zero in carbon emissions by
2050. Companies are also publishing sus-
tainability reports annually to improve the
transparency of their operations ”
GlobalData’s annual ESG Strategy
Survey report is based on a survey of 1,500
ESG leaders and executives worldwide and
was conducted in October 2021.

D R I L L I N G C O N T R AC T O R • M A R C H/A P R I L 202 2
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