Bharat Petroleum Corporation

Bharat Petroleum recognises that it needs to decrease emissions to adhere to India’s NDC, which aims for a 33-35% reduction in the emissions intensity of its GDP by 2030 from 2005. However, the company has not publicly disclosed any targets to reduce its emissions intensity or absolute emissions. Bharat Petroleum should endeavour to set long-term targets that are aligned with its 1.5°C pathway for both its scope 1 and 2 and its scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions, along with regularly spaced intermediate targets to incentivize near-term action.

Bharat Petroleum is planning three second-generation biofuel refinery projects to align with the Indian government’s aim to increase ethanol blending. The first of these biofuel refineries is due to be completed in 2022, becoming the company’s first low-carbon business activity. The company has committed INR 16 billion (USD 227 million) of its capital expenditure (CapEx) to the project and expects to produce 100,000 litres of biofuel per day. However, this is a small proportion of the company’s total CapEx of INR 111 billion (USD 1.56 billion) and of the 43 billion litres of petroleum products the company sold in 2019.
The sectoral expectation for oil and gas companies is that they should invest 77% of CapEx in low-carbon projects to be aligned with a 1.5°C scenario; Bharat Petroleum should increase its CapEx in line with this.

There is no evidence that Bharat Petroleum includes subsidiaries in its transition plan, particularly those constituting its upstream assets. Instead, it focuses on efficiency gains in the short term at its wholly-owned refinery and downstream service station operations. This suggests that the company does not intend to transition away from oil and gas production in the long term, despite being estimated to exceed its 1.5°C carbon budget by 64% by 2050. Bharat Petroleum requires a long-term strategy that covers the company’s responsibility for all its operations, including its subsidiaries and joint ventures.

Bharat Petroleum has produced a road map to improve the sustainability of its supply chain. The company plans to develop a supplier sustainability policy and set up a comprehensive mechanism to track supplier performance on sustainability parameters. In the long term, it aims to define a continuous framework for improving supplier performance on sustainability and identifying leading performers.

However, the company fails to provide disclosure on its supplier assessment parameters. The company can demonstrate climate leadership by increasing transparency on its supplier sustainability policy and assessment and including greenhouse gas emissions reductions among its supplier assessment parameters.

Bharat Petroleum has not publicly reported any emissions reduction targets. However, it has committed to align with India’s nationally determined contribution (NDC), which aims for a 33-35% reduction in the emissions intensity of its GDP by 2030 from 2005.

Bharat Petroleum aims to improve energy efficiency and increase the proportion of renewable energy used to power its own refinery and service station operations. The company plans to set up three second-generation biofuel refineries in line with the Indian government’s aim to increase ethanol blending.

Bharat Petroleum has begun construction of its first second-generation biofuel facility, which is due to be completed in 2022 and is anticipated to produce 100,000 litres of biofuel per day. In 2019, the company increased its renewable energy capacity from 32 megawatts (MW) to 43 MW.

Between 2014 and 2019, Bharat Petroleum’s reliance on hydrocarbon assets increased as it expanded its refinery throughput by 37%. The company has made no significant change in its fuel mix and sold product mix. This has resulted in emissions intensity trends that are not aligned with its 1.5°C pathway.

Bharat Petroleum’s ambitions do not extend beyond aligning with the Indian government’s ambition for managing climate change issues. It has a short-term transition plan that does not consider its upstream subsidiaries or climate scenarios, and that suggests the company has limited commitments to transition away from oil and gas activities in the long term.