Mensaje de Andrés
Dear Friends:
Welcome to the GeoPark 2022 SPEED/ESG Report, a reflection of our commitment and the genuine and dedicated work of all our employees to continue building the best independent oil and gas exploration and production company in Latin America. 2022 was an extraordinary year for GeoPark in which we celebrated our 20th anniversary and posted record results. With an experienced and renewed executive team, we continued to work on producing the most efficient, reliable and environmentally and socially responsible energy.
Andrés Ocampo Chief Executive Officer
From our beginnings in the far south of the continent, promoting sustainable development has been an integral part of our DNA, guiding every decision and action we take both in strategic planning and in day- to-day operations. This commitment led to SPEED, our Integrated Value System that governs everything we do across five closely connected areas — Safety, Prosperity, Employees, Environment and Community Development. Guiding and measuring GeoPark’s individual and collective performance in terms of its impact on people, society and the planet, beyond just financial results, is an essential part of our culture and our corporate identity. The knowledge and experience that we have accumulated from integrating sustainability into our plans and processes over the past 20 years explains the success of our Company and gives context to the progress we made last year.
In 2022 we established the Strategy, Sustainability and Legal Department to integrate the design, execution and monitoring of our strategy, environmental and social performance, and the effective communication of sustainable management into a single area. In turn, the Board of Directors created the SPEED Committee to evaluate our performance and ensure alignment between the area’s policies and objectives and the corporate strategy. These measures reinforce the importance and central position that sustainability holds for GeoPark and its growing relevance in our decision-making and value creation processes.
In addition, and in line with our decarbonization goals, GeoPark’s technical teams intensified their focus on developing innovative solutions to continue reducing the environmental footprint of our operations. As a result of these efforts, we achieved exceptional results in one of the most critical objectives for humanity — preventing and managing climate change — while also positioning us competitively in the global transition towards low-carbon energy sources.
Climate action, respect for human rights and good governance are prerequisites for sustainable performance. At GeoPark they are transversal pillars of our team’s management approach, and we are constantly working to improve our standards and achieve better results in these aspects, as detailed in this report.
Climate Action
In 2021 our decarbonization strategy set a target of reducing Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions intensity by 35-40 % by 2025. In 2022, just one year after this goal was set, our operations’ emissions intensity decreased almost 35 % to 12.1 KgCO2 eq/boe, showing our strong progress towards decarbonization.
These results are mainly due to the interconnection of our Llanos 34 asset to Colombia’s electricity grid, which primarily relies on hydroelectric capacity, and the installation of a new solar plant with a capacity of nearly 10MW in the same block. Simultaneously with these large-scale projects, interdisciplinary groups work within GeoPark on pilot innovation projects in drilling and production processes, as well as on initiatives to optimize energy efficiency in our fields. In 2023, improving the monitoring, mitigation and control of methane emissions will be a priority to achieve a 40-60 % reduction in Scope 1 and 2 emissions intensity in the medium term, and reach zero Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2050.
Aware of the importance of maintaining healthy ecosystems that are resilient to climate change, in 2022 we also addressed key components of our sustainability strategy including biodiversity, water protection and the circular economy.
Human Rights
At GeoPark we are committed to operating in the most responsible and sustainable manner, and the promotion and respect for human rights are an integral part of this commitment. For this reason, I am pleased to share some of the progress made over the last year.
We recently concluded a comprehensive risk and impact analysis in our Putumayo blocks in Colombia, with oversight from renowned think tank Fundación Ideas para la Paz (FIP). The resulting action plans are the foundation of our ongoing efforts to improve in the areas that matter most to our stakeholders including physical security, promoting dialogue and participation in project decision-making, and implementing effective environmental impact mitigation and remediation measures. One of the main focuses of our human rights management in 2023 is the analysis of specific risks and impacts for our blocks in Casanare and Meta in Colombia, and for the Espejo block in Ecuador.
Also, being aware that addressing stakeholder concerns has been a key factor in our success, in 2022 we reviewed our Cuéntame grievance mechanism to further adjust it to the most relevant global standards and ensure that our procedures are always accessible, transparent and effective. Likewise, we expanded human rights training to more employees, contractors and suppliers, with special emphasis on those responsible for the physical security of operations in Casanare and Putumayo.
Transparency And Good Governance
We firmly believe that transparency and good governance are fundamental to building a successful and enduring organization. Throughout our 20-year history we have worked hard to build a healthy and transparent culture that is based on trust, integrity and solidarity among our teams. In 2022, we again improved our rating on the MSCI ESG Index, securing a “A” rating, and started sharing information on our climate change actions with the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP). In 2023, for the first time, we will begin reporting our water management and protection results to the CDP.
Our work on integrity moved forward last year with our participation in a diagnosis of anti-corruption mechanisms led by Transparencia por Colombia. Furthermore, we joined the Business Ethics Leadership Alliance (BELA), a multi-sector community of 375 companies that share best practices in business performance.
Ensuring the accuracy and timeliness of our environmental, social and governance indicators has involved virtually all areas of our Company. Today I want to acknowledge and thank the GeoPark team for its professionalism and focus during this process.
The report you are reading was prepared in reference to the standards of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and includes some metrics from the sustainability reporting guide of IPIECA, the global association of hydrocarbon sector social and environmental issues, as well as the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB). The information was verified by the independent firm Ernst & Young (EY) Spain.
In addition to the above, I want to review other equally relevant milestones that describe our performance in 2022:
- We joined the Carbon Neutral program of Colombia’s Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development that guides private sector companies in measuring and managing their GHG emissions.
- For the third time, we were acknowledged by the Colombian Government for contributing to overcoming poverty through the ‘Viviendas Sostenibles’ housing program, which has improved the living conditions of 2,000 families in Casanare and Putumayo.
- We were the company that contributed the sixth-largest amount of biodiversity data to Colombia’s national information network.
- We provided teaching materials, furnishings and other supplies to Child Development Centers and Educational Institutions in Putumayo, benefiting 8,000 children and their families.
- We took first place in all eight categories of Institutional Investor’s annual rankings, including the Best CEO, Best CFO, Best Investor Relations Program, and Best Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) categories.
- We were included for the second year in a row and improved our score in the Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index, which measures transparency and management in gender equality globally.
- We partnered with Best Buddies Colombia to create job opportunities for people with intellectual disabilities.
As a company committed to sustainability since its inception and governed by SPEED, our Integrated Value System that prioritizes responsibility towards stakeholders, we know that the energy transition challenges us to use our best science and refine our capabilities and processes to produce the safe and reliable energy that the planet needs. Moreover, the energy transition, together with the social, environmental, technological and regulatory demands that accompany it, represents a unique opportunity for GeoPark in its constant search for innovation, renewal and leadership.
To fulfill our mission and achieve this vision, we work every day to protect the environment, strengthen ties with our neighbors, create more quality jobs and bring shared prosperity to the areas where we work. Thank you for your trust in us. We invite you to carefully read this report and to continue engaging with us on productive conversations about the essential issues in building a more sustainable energy future for generations to come.
Andrés Ocampo Chief Executive Officer