Norway-focused Lundin makes first-ever certified carbon-neutral crude sale

London — Norway-focused Lundin Energy has made what it said was the first-ever certified carbon-neutral crude oil sale, according to an April 26 statement.

Lundin, which is a third-owned by Sweden's Lundin family, said the 600,000 barrel sale of Edvard Grieg crude oil to Italian refiner Saras had been certified carbon-neutral by certification company Intertek, taking into account all "life of field" emissions, from exploration through to development and production.

Lundin described the deal as a milestone as it intends all its production to be carbon neutral by 2025, saying the certification process provided a "transparent pathway to carbon neutrality."

Norway is attempting to lead the way in the shift to carbon neutrality, with state-controlled Equinor targeting carbon-neutral operations by 2030, and full carbon-neutrality, including from the consumption of its products, by 2050.

Lundin in its statement said the Edvard Grieg production process had been certified 'low-carbon,' with emissions of 3.8 kilograms/barrel of oil equivalent produced, with these remaining emissions to be offset by certified nature-based solutions.

"In order to supply a fully carbon-neutral barrel to Saras, residual emissions of 2,302 mt of CO2 were compensated through a high quality, nature-based carbon capture project, certified by the Verified Carbon Standard. In addition, the entire trade was independently certified as carbon neutral by Intertek.... As a result, there were no net emissions released during the production of each barrel delivered to Saras," Lundin said.

The sale follows another in similar vein by US upstream company Occidental Petroleum in January, however, Lundin said its sale to Saras was the first in which the entire process had received independent certification, rather than the carbon offsetting mechanisms.

"We were the first company to have one of its field's carbon emissions independently certified as low-carbon, and this certified carbon neutral transaction with Saras is the next stage in what we believe will become a key value differentiator for Lundin Energy," CEO Nick Walker said.

"The provenance of a barrel and how it is produced is increasingly important, as society and industry require lower carbon feedstocks to achieve emission reduction targets and meet the goals of the Paris Agreement. This trade has been enabled by our industry-leading decarbonization strategy and offers a proof point of where the crude market is heading and the potential value that can be realized through efficient, industry-leading emissions reductions."

The Edvard Grieg field produced 98,000 b/d of crude last year, transported via the Grane crude pipeline to the Sture terminal.