Wentworth Resources inks carbon offset deal with Vitol

Tanzania-focussed natural gas company Wentworth Resources has entered into a memorandum of understanding with Vitol, it announced on Friday, over the supply of carbon credits to partially offset the impacts of its emissions footprint at Mnazi Bay.

The AIM-traded firm said that with Viton, it would jointly develop new “community-focussed” carbon credit programmes in Tanzania, with Wentworth committing to offtake a material portion of the carbon offsets between 2022 and 2030.

It said the two companies would co-design the projects, with stakeholders, local implementation partners and government, thus ensuring the “co-benefits” of the projects were aligned to the UN Sustainable Development Goals and creating “immediate, positive outcomes” for the partnering communities associated with Wentworth's working interests and operations.

The immediate objective was for Wentworth to offset all Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions, and to partially offset Scope 3 emissions from 2022.

Vitol and Wentworth would be co-financing the programmes, demonstrating a united commitment to deliver tangible impacts to the communities and country in which Wentworth supplies natural gas, the board said.

All credits would be registered with international accreditation bodies, such as VERRA or Gold Standard.

The firm said the carbon offsetting programmes and emissions reporting would be independently audited from 2022.

“Emerging economies, particularly in Africa, are disproportionately impacted by climate change, despite having contributed the least in terms of global warming - yet the threat of energy poverty to a country like Tanzania is very real and a just transition is critical,” said chief executive officer Katherine Roe.

“Whilst COP26 has elevated climate to the very top of the corporate and global agenda, we hope it also paves the way for a more inclusive conversation with emerging economies to ensure the energy transition places them at the centre too.

“Our gas plays a critical role in addressing the energy access gap in Tanzania, but we must endeavour to do more to mitigate the impacts from fossil fuels.”

Roe said that, while investments were made to achieve a global net zero ambition, the company needed to be responsible in playing its part to offset the negative impacts from its production immediately.

“Whilst being a non-operating partner at Mnazi Bay, we are working actively with Maurel et Prom to reduce our operational emissions but in the interim we do not want to be complacent.

“We are proud to be working with Vitol, an expert in the carbon offsetting industry, to identify credible, high-quality, and impactful programmes with UN SDG-aligned benefits in Tanzania.”

The company’s communities were described by Katherine Roe as “critical” to maintaining its licence to operate, with the company “committed” to removing, avoiding and offsetting emissions as much as it could.

“We recognise that carbon offsets are not the single solution to climate change and will continue to prioritise abatement where possible.

“We look forward to updating our stakeholders on our ongoing progress as we strive to be a responsible partner for Tanzania.”

At 1030 GMT, shares in Wentworth Resources were down 5.09% at 20.88p.