GS Caltex said Thursday it has purchased 2 million barrels of crude oil certified as “carbon neutral” at the point of production, becoming the first South Korean firm to buy carbon neutral crude oil.

According to the total energy company, the carbon neutral oil is extracted from Sweden-based Lundin Energy’s Johan Sverdrup oil field in Norway. The offshore field, certified as carbon neutral under product testing company Intertek’s CarbonZero standard, emits 0.45 kilograms of carbon dioxide per barrel, approximately 40 times lower than the world average. Lundin has neutralized the residual emissions with natural carbon capture projects certified by the Verified Carbon Standard, making the field fully carbon neutral.

“To expand our eco-friendly business management efforts, GS Caltex has purchased carbon neutral crude from Lundin, which received the world’s first carbon neutral certification on crude oil,” GS Caltex President and CEO Hur Sae-hong said.

The cargo of 2 million barrels will be loaded in July to be delivered to Korea in September. GS Caltex can process up to 800,000 barrels of crude oil per day, meaning the amount could be processed in less than three days.

“As the energy transition continues to accelerate, providing certified, zero emission produced barrels to our customers ensures that they can continue the decarbonization pathway, delivering a differentiated product to their end users. From 2025, every barrel delivered by Lundin Energy will be carbon neutrally produced,” President and CEO of Lundin Energy Nick Walker said.

By Kim Byung-wook (kbw@heraldcorp.com)