Domestic oil and natural gas companies invested $58.4 billion between 2000 and 2008 in technologies to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, more than was invested by either the federal government or by all other U.S.-based private industries combined, according a study commissioned by the American Petroleum Institute (API).

Other U.S.-based industries set aside an estimated $55.3 billion for GHG emission mitigation during the eight-year period, while the federal government invested approximately $19.2 billion, reported T2 and Associates and the Center for Energy Economics at the University of Texas, which conducted the study released last Monday. The study estimated that the government and all U.S.-based industries, including oil and gas companies, invested about $132.9 billion in GHG mitigation technologies during the period.

The oil and gas industry’s share of total revenues invested in GHG mitigation technologies during the eight years was 44%, the study said. The results were culled from annual reports of more than 420 companies, federal budget documents and other public sources, the authors said.

Oil and gas company investments in GHG mitigation fell into three categories. An estimated $30.6 billion went into advanced end-use technologies, such as combined heat and power (cogeneration), carbon capture and storage and advanced vehicles. Fuel substitution — where a higher GHG emitting fuel was replaced by a lower one, such as natural gas — accounted for $21.1 billion. And more than $6.7 billion supported the development of nonhydrocarbon energy sources, such as wind, biofuels and solar power, the study said.

Investments by oil and gas companies in nonhydrocarbon technologies amounted to 22% of the total for all U.S.-based private industry and the federal government, according to the study. The top nonhydrocarbon investments by oil and gas companies were in wind and biofuels, it said.

The study updated an earlier one that surveyed GHG mitigation investments during the 2000-2006 period.

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