First Carbon-Offset Condensate Shipment Leads to New Carbon Business

The use of carbon offsetting is increasingly catching on in segments of the maritime and fuel industries as companies look to enhance their environmental positioning. A recent shipment of 650,000 barrels of condensate is being billed as the world’s first delivery using carbon offset and is the first step in a new partnership between Australia’s Woodside Burrup and global commodity trader Trafigura for carbon management in the marketing of carbon offset condensate, crude oil, and liquefied petroleum gas.

Woodside and the participants of its Pluto LNG joint venture, Kansai Electric Power Australia and Tokyo Gas Pluto, worked together to deliver the first cargo of carbon offset condensate loaded at Pluto LNG in Western Australia to Trafigura. The carbon dioxide equivalent emissions associated with extraction, storage, and shipping of the cargo will be offset through a combination of efficiency measures, which reduce emissions, and surrender of high-quality carbon offsets. Trafigura is also working with the vessel owner to minimize actual emissions associated with transporting the cargo and Woodside and Trafigura are working jointly to calculate the carbon dioxide equivalent emissions generated by extraction, storage, and shipping of the cargo.

Trafigura reports that high-quality carbon offsets were sourced from nature-based projects located in the Asia-Pacific region, independently validated and verified by the Gold Standard or Verified Carbon Standard.

“We are pleased to be partnering with Trafigura, Kansai Electric and Tokyo Gas to deliver our first carbon offset condensate cargo. The transaction provided an opportunity to further develop our carbon offset marketing capability and gain an understanding of the carbon market in its early phases,” said Woodside Vice President Marketing Trading & Shipping Mark Abbotsford.

Woodside and Trafigura also announced that they have signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding to explore opportunities for carbon management in the marketing of carbon offset condensate, crude oil, and liquefied petroleum gas in the future.

“We’ve set ambitious targets to reduce our operational greenhouse gas emissions and by working with Woodside, which has similar ambitions, it is now possible to offset emissions associated with the cargo from wellhead to delivery. We are developing this offering for other oil products for our customers around the world,” said Dmitri Croitor, Global Head of Naphtha and Condensates for Trafigura.