ONGC aims over dozen CDM projects by 2013

Top oil producer Oil and Natural Gas Corp has identified more than a dozen projects to generate carbon offsets by 2013 as part of a drive to green its operations, a senior official said on Friday. The state-run firm already has six projects formally registered under the U.N.'s Clean Development Mechanism, one of which recently received its first batch of internationally tradeable offsets called certified emissions reductions, or CERs. The credits stem from a waste heat recovery project at ONGC's Mumbai High field. ONGC received 10,722 CERs valued at 7.6 million rupees ($170,410). Each CER represents a tonne of carbon dioxide-equivalent and are credited annually. CERs were trading around 12 euros each on Friday on the European Climate Exchange. "We are committed to cutting carbon emissions and meet future challenges," A.K. Hazarika, director of ONGC's onshore assets and CDM business, told Reuters in an interview. The other five registered CDM projects were undergoing final verification checks before receiving their CERs, he said, adding the five were expected to generate 198,738 CERs annually. These projects include cutting emissions via a wind power plant, offshore grid interconnection, vapour and flue gas recovery as well as greener buildings and fuel substitution.