BP reports 10% drop in overall emissions in 2020

LONDON (Reuters) - BP Plc's greenhouse gas emissions dropped 10% to around 374 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent in 2020 from its oil fields to its clients' car exhausts, it said on Monday.

BP includes emissions from the combustion of its products when its customers, for example motorists, use them - also known as Scope 3 emissions - but it excludes gases from oil products BP sells to customers but which it bought from other producers. (Graphic: BP's greenhouse gas emissions, https://graphics.reuters.com/BP-EMISSIONS/bdwvkmjwbvm/chart.png)

In contrast, BP's rival Royal Dutch Shell emitted 1.38 billion tonnes of planet-warming gases from the combustion of fuels it produces itself in addition to the oil products it sells but which are produced by other companies.

BP runs around 20,000 retail fuel stations and its refined fuel sales fell over 11% to 5.3 million barrels per day last year as the coronavirus pandemic dampened demand. Shell owns 46,000 fuel retail stations, the world's biggest such portfolio. (Graphic: BP's fuel sales, https://graphics.reuters.com/BP-EMISSIONS/yzdpxeamdvx/chart.png)

European oil majors are planning to shift away from oil and gas to low-carbon energy, power trading and retail in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by mid-century, including the use of offsets for residual emissions.

(Reporting by Shadia Nasralla and Ron Bousso; editing by Jonathan Oatis)