Emission impossible? decarbonising hydrocarbons: All eyes are on oil and gas companies to cut down on emissions. Will they rise to the occasion?

DECARBONISING hydrocarbon production might sound like a contradiction. But we still rely on a significant amount of it; 45 per cent of the UK's energy needs came from North Sea oil and gas in 2019, and then there's petrochemical use. Major efforts are under way to reduce that reliance, but also to reduce the carbon intensity of the stuff we still use. It's a big task, especially for an industry where 40 per cent of its offshore facilities and a quarter of its pipelines were installed more than 30 years ago.