A new supply chain carbon emissions platform has been announced to enable energy sector collaboration on carbon emissions and carbon intensity benchmarking and analysis.
The platform, called Agora for Energy, was announced on Wednesday at the Asia Pacific Petroleum Conference (APPEC) in Singapore. Developed by Trafigura and Palantir Technologies, the platform aims to help the energy sector track and analyse supply chain carbon emissions to support the rapid decarbonisation of the sector.
The first users of the platform include BP, Ecopetrol, and Trafigura. The tool draws on S&P Global Commodity Insights’ carbon intensity which measures oil and gas, refined products, and biofuels, and provides a suite of carbon intensity (CI) assessments that calculates the carbon emissions throughout the upstream and midstream sectors.
In addition to the Platts assessment, Agora for Energy also allows users to input their own primary data in order to help understand the variations in carbon intensity of existing supply chains from the point of production. This will enable a common approach to assets owned and operated by different companies.
“We believe that carbon intensity as a commodity specification can enable greater visibility of low carbon alternatives,” said Ben Luckock, co-head of oil trading at Trafigura. “As first users of Agora, we are pioneering innovative solutions to collaboratively decarbonise energy operations and foster unprecedented transparency.”
According to Agora, the platform will enable users to actively share and receive carbon emissions data from supply chain participants, reducing the administrative burden, while improving transparency of the overall carbon intensity of supply chains. It also enables the evaluation of alternative supply chain pathways by modelling the commercial impacts of carbon pricing mechanisms on supply chain choices.
The advisory committee for Agora for Energy is currently being formed and will focus on exploring avenues for industry standardisation of carbon intensity reporting and developing methodologies of reporting. The platform is expected to be available to a wider range of users in the coming months.
The energy sector is the largest emitter of greenhouse gases, accounting for 72% of global emissions. In June, Shell, one of the largest oil producers, announced it was shifting its strategy to stabilise oil production instead of gradually reducing it, in order to ensure “cash flow longevity”, despite the companies head of renewables taking over as CEO.
