XOM Exxon Mobil Corp

By Rebecca Elliott and Sarah Kent 

Exxon Mobil Corp. plans to reduce methane emissions 15% by 2020, the latest in a series of pledges by major oil companies to voluntarily curtail releases of the potent greenhouse gas.

The Texas-based company also said it intends to cut flaring, or burning of natural gas, by 25% over the same period. Those efforts likely will be concentrated in West Africa. Both reduction targets are compared with 2016 levels.

Exxon's move Wednesday, a week before its annual meeting May 30, comes as pressure from investors mounts on big oil companies to not only disclose climate-related business risks, but also take action to reduce emissions linked to global warming.

Companies have also come under fire from activists for flaring natural gas, which can increase air pollution, during oil and gas production.

"We have a longstanding commitment to improve efficiency and mitigate greenhouse gas emissions," said Exxon Chief Executive Darren Woods in a statement. "Today's announcement builds on that commitment and will help further drive improvements in our business."

BP PLC said in April that it will keep its emissions flat out to 2025 even as it grows. The company set a target to cut 3.5 million tons of greenhouse-gas emissions from its operations over the period, focusing on reducing methane emissions as a key part of this. Royal Dutch Shell PLC last year announced a plan to halve the company's carbon footprint -- including emissions caused by drivers who burn Shell fuel -- by 2050.

Much of the pressure to address climate change has come from shareholders. Last year, a group of investors with roughly $30 trillion under management launched a five-year effort to push the world's biggest corporate polluters to reduce emissions and improve transparency and governance around climate.

At Shell's annual meeting Tuesday, investors with nearly $8 trillion under management called on the company to go beyond its already ambitious plans to curb emissions and set firm targets. Exxon and Chevron Corp. are also expected to face questions on the subject at their annual meetings next week.

"Investors are not going to let go," said Mindy Lubber, CEO and president of Ceres, a Boston-based nonprofit group that works with investors to promote sustainable business practices. "The level of effort going in is exponentially more substantial than last year or the year before."

Companies have invested heavily in natural gas in recent years, touting the fuel as a greener alternative to coal, which emits far more carbon dioxide when converted to electricity. However, that does not account for methane, which is the primary component of natural gas and often leaks into the atmosphere as the resource is extracted and transported.

The Environmental Defense Fund, a nonprofit environmental advocacy group that has been working to highlight methane and flaring issues, said it supported Exxon's plan to cut emissions, but called for "greater ambition."

"In a carbon-constrained world, oil and gas industry leaders should seek to virtually eliminate emissions of this highly-potent greenhouse gas," said Matt Watson, EDF's associate vice president for climate and energy, in a statement.

Write to Rebecca Elliott at rebecca.elliott@wsj.com and Sarah Kent at sarah.kent@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 23, 2018 13:47 ET (17:47 GMT)

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