Palantir, Trafigura to Track Carbon Emissions for Oil, Metals industry

Jeffrey Dastin and Dmitry Zhdannikov
Tuesday, May 24, 2022

Palantir Technologies Inc and global commodities trader Trafigura have set sights on a new market, their chief executives told Reuters on Monday: tracking carbon emissions for the oil, gas, refined metals, and concentrates sector.

The companies are building a platform for oil majors and other commodities firms to vet the environmental impact of their supply chains, applying Trafigura's data to Palantir's operating system, known as Foundry.

The effort represents a potentially lucrative long-term opportunity at a time when Palantir's revenue outlook has fallen short of expectations, with shares trading down 57% this year.

The firm co-founded by billionaire entrepreneur Peter Thiel in 2003 to aid in U.S. counter-terrorism operations now derives almost half its sales from the private sector. BP is among its fossil-fuel extracting customers, which have pledged a green makeover in the coming decades.

In a joint interview at the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in Davos, Palantir's Chief Executive Alex Karp said, "This is going to be one of the biggest things we've ever done." Jeremy Weir, Trafigura's CEO, said the market is "massive. In terms of size, I think it touches everybody."

The idea grew out of a pilot last year. Trafigura's global head of carbon trading approached Palantir with a desire to better assess indirect carbon footprints, known as "Scope Three" emissions.

Making the trial into a joint marketing partnership represents a familiar playbook for Palantir. The company, which recently relocated from Palo Alto, Calif. to Denver, earlier partnered with planemaker Airbus SE AIR.PA to sell a "central operating system of the airline industry," according to Palantir's latest annual report.

Customers can subscribe to the new platform and take part in what Palantir and Trafigura are calling a consortium. They did not disclose financial terms.

Concerns about energy security fueled by Russia's invasion of Ukraine have not dampened interest in sustainability, said Weir. "We've got a severe bump in the road, but we still have to decarbonize," he said.

For Palantir, the war, which Moscow has called a "special operation," has meanwhile created potential for other products it developed, such as secure data transfer across allies.

"You'll have to use your imagination to figure out how those things may be in use, but we play a crucial role in the security of the West," Karp said.

(Reuters - Reporting by Jeffrey Dastin and Dmitry Zhdannikov; Editing by Christopher Cushing and Alexander Smith)

Categories: Technology Emissions Software Decarbonization

Related Stories

BW Opal FPSO Vessel set for Work off Australia

Indonesia's Medco Starts Production at Natuna Sea Fields

Indonesia Grants Approval to Kuwaiti Firm for Anambas Block in Natuna Sea

Shell-Reliance-ONGC JV Complete India’s First Offshore Decom Project

The Future of Long-Idle Drillships: Cold-Stacked or Dead-Stacked?

MODEC, Sumitomo Partner Up for Delivery of Gato do Mato FPSO

EnQuest Bags Two Production Sharing Contracts off Indonesia

Hanwha Drilling’s Tidal Action Drillship En Route to Petrobras’ Roncador Field

MODEC Wins ExxonMobil Guyana’s Hammerhead FPSO Contract

India Stretches Bids Deadline for 13 Offshore Deep-Sea Mineral Blocks

Current News

China's Sinopec Laucnhes $690M Hydrogen Venture Capital Funds

CIP, ACEN Partner Up for First Large-Scale Offshore Wind Farm in Philippines

Valeura Concludes Eight-Well Drilling Campaign in Gulf of Thailand

Three Dead in Chevron's Angolan Oil Patform Fire

BW Opal FPSO Vessel set for Work off Australia

Keyfield Ventures into Indonesia’s Oil and Gas Market with New Partner

Fire Contained at Vietnamese Oil Platform Undergoing Decommissioning (Video)

Velesto’s Jack-Up Rig Set for Drilling Job off Indonesia

Petronas, Inpex Secure Oil and Gas Exploration Rights off Indonesia

Mubadala Energy Open to Sell Andaman Gas for Domestic Use

Subscribe for AOG Digital E‑News

AOG Digital E-News is the subsea industry's largest circulation and most authoritative ENews Service, delivered to your Email three times per week

https://accounts.newwavemedia.com