Business View Magazine | Volume 8, Issue 10

51 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 8, ISSUE 10 THE TEXAS OI L & NATURAL GAS SECTOR Real progress has been the result of open dialogue and collaboration, a spirit the oil and natural gas industry has embraced through several multibillion-dollar initiatives to protect and improve the climate. Eighty-three energy companies are part of the Environmental Partnership, whose members are reducing methane emissions by sharing best practices, investing in low-emission equipment and world-class emission control systems, and using advanced technologies like optical gas imaging cameras and drones to detect and repair leaks. In Texas, more than 40 oil and natural gas companies formed the Texas Methane and Flaring Coalition to share best practices and develop recommendations with the goal of reducing emissions and ending routine flaring as early as 2030. These ideas are tangible and will have a real, beneficial impact. Several of the world’s largest oil and natural gas companies participate in the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative (OGCI), whose members collectively invest about $7 billion every year in low-carbon solutions and research and development. In addition to investments by its individual member companies, OGCI maintains a billion- dollar fund that invests in innovative startups whose solutions lower the carbon footprints of the energy and industrial sectors. Oil and natural gas companies are also pioneering breakthrough technologies to capture, store and reuse carbon dioxide. ExxonMobil recently announced a $100 billion proposal for a carbon capture and storage (CCS) project in Houston with the goal of sequestering 100 million metric tons of CO2 per year once it is fully online. Advances in water recycling and reuse are also having a positive impact on the environment and our natural resources. Valero, for example, has mastered a way to treat wastewater from its