Intertek Group Regulatory News (ITRK)

29 JUly 2020

Intertek, a leading Total Quality Assurance provider to industries worldwide, announces the first certification awarded under its new CarbonClear independent upstream carbon intensity certification program. The first certification was awarded to Lundin Energy, one of Europe's leading independent oil and gas exploration and production companies, for its Edvard Grieg field in the central North Sea.

The CarbonClear Certification is designed to drive transparency, precision, and assurance of carbon emissions performance, while also serving as a catalyst for accelerating investment and performance in carbon footprint reduction across the energy sector, reducing emissions for current and future generations. In a recent independent survey*, 89% of investors said they would like oil & gas companies to adopt certifications that verify carbon transparency.

Intertek's CarbonClear is the world's first certification program that independently verifies the upstream carbon intensity per barrel of oil or gas equivalent. This program will enable traders, refiners, regulators and other stakeholders to confidently rely on certified and standardized emissions intensities, to further compare and differentiate the value of production streams, and how the purchase of commodities from these streams impacts a company's or country's overall progress toward emissions targets across the energy value chain.

Alex Schneiter, Chief Executive Officer of Lundin Energy, said: "Oil and gas will continue to play an important role in the future energy mix, but when it comes to emissions, we know not all barrels of oil are created equally. At Lundin Energy, we are proud of our Decarbonization Strategy, the investments made to materially reduce emissions from Edvard Grieg production, our leadership on low carbon intensity and our drive towards carbon neutrality by 2030. The CarbonClear Certification for Edvard Grieg is an important part of that strategy and creates an independent and verified validation of one of the lowest carbon intensive fields in the world. If you can certify the provenance of a barrel of oil, it should have clear benefits for everyone in the value chain seeking to deliver a product which has inherently reduced emissions intensity, aiding the shift towards a lower carbon future and ultimately be an enabler for the energy transition."

As stakeholders look for trusted mechanisms to evaluate carbon emissions in the energy industry, CarbonClear provides Lundin Energy with the credibility and assurance required to confidently differentiate Edvard Grieg production in terms of emissions performance. Further, the comprehensive CarbonClear process enables producers to spot clear and actionable high-impact emissions improvement opportunities by field across operations and supply chains and compare detailed performance year-over-year versus peers.

Today, an estimated 6% (Source: McKinsey1) of total global emissions originate from the production of oil and gas, but emissions vary significantly from field to field and opportunities exist to help operators gain transparency on where to improve to reduce climate impacts.

André Lacroix, Chief Executive Officer of Intertek, said: "As more and more companies and countries make commitments to emissions reduction and even carbon neutral targets, stakeholders are looking for ways to confidently verify progress and differentiate performance in the market. Building on our position as the industry-leading provider of Total Sustainability Assurance solutions, Intertek's CarbonClear program enables companies to demonstrate their end-to-end commitment to sustainability, further incentivizing the industry in delivering the lowest carbon Oil & Gas production in the world. In fact, we envision a future where companies will require emissions certification before acquiring assets to ensure acquisitions are in alignment with their path to carbon reduction targets. Certification under the CarbonClear program represents a historic shift in emissions transparency in the energy sector and is a meaningful step in the direction of emissions reduction. Our core purpose at Intertek centres around quality, safety and sustainability, and we are delighted to award the world's first Intertek CarbonClear certification to Lundin Energy and support their commitment to Sustainability and the drive toward a low-carbon future."

As part of the CarbonClear program, Lundin Energy's production from the Edvard Grieg field will carry the CarbonClear certification mark, and additional details of the certification are publicly listed for verification by investors, traders, refiners, regulators and other stakeholders in Intertek's Global Sustainability Directory.

To learn more, or to participate in the CarbonClear program, please visit our website intertek.com/CarbonClear or contact us at CarbonClear@Intertek.com.

-ENDS-

Contacts

For further information, please contact:

Denis Moreau, Investor Relations

Telephone: +44 (0) 20 7396 3415

Email: investor@intertek.com

Malissa Boudreaux, VP Sales & MarketingGlobal ResourcesTelephone: +1 346 306 7342

Email: carbonclear@intertek.com

Jonathon Brill, FTI Consulting

Telephone: +44 (0) 20 3727 1000

Email: scintertek@fticonsulting.com

About Intertek CarbonClear The world's first independent and standardized upstream oil and gas carbon intensity certification program

Building on its position as the industry-leading provider of Total Sustainability Assurance solutions, Intertek's CarbonClear Certification program provides a unique platform to consistently evaluate emissions across all stages of exploration and production, validate and disclose the carbon impact or intensity per barrel of oil equivalent (BOE) per field or across a company's portfolio, and identify key areas for emissions improvement versus peers and other industries, accelerating the transition to a lower-carbon economy. Delivering Carbon Transparency. Assured. intertek.com/carbonclear

About Intertek Sustainability Solutions

For more than 100 years, sustainability services have been core to Intertek's global business, giving it a unique perspective and advantage in this space. Today, organizations are responding to the challenges of climate change by rapidly improving their sustainability performance. The energy sector is a key part of this movement, working to supply the world with lower-carbon solutions whilst building resilience into the value chain to secure sustainable energy for future generations.

Global Sustainability Directoryintertek.com/sustainability 

About Intertek

Intertek is a leading Total Quality Assurance provider to industries worldwide. Our network of more than 1,000 laboratories and offices and over 46,000 people in more than 100 countries delivers innovative and bespoke Assurance, Testing, Inspection and Certification solutions for our customers' operations and supply chains. Intertek Total Quality Assurance expertise, delivered consistently with precision, pace and passion, enabling our customers to power ahead safely. intertek.com

About Lundin Energy

Lundin Energy has grown from an oil and gas exploration company into an experienced Nordic energy developer and operator. We continue to explore new ideas, new concepts, and new solutions to maintain our position as an industry leader in production efficiency, sustainability, and decarbonisation. (Nasdaq Stockholm: LUNE). For more information, please visit us at www.lundin-energy.com or download our App www.myirapp.com/lundin 

*About the research This research was conducted online by an independent research consultant company from 10th to 15th July 2020 with n=506 Global Institutional Investors (Location: Europe 36%, North America 28%, South America 12%, Asia-Pacific 9% and Middle East & Africa 14%) with a sum of AUM (Assets Under Management) in excess of USD$1 trillion.

References:

1) McKinsey - January 2020 - https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/oil-and-gas/our-insights/the-future-is-now-how-oil-and-gas-companies-can-decarbonize