(Reuters) - Exxon Mobil Corp said on Wednesday it was targeting a 15 percent cut in methane emissions by 2020, the latest effort by an oil major to reduce its carbon footprint and address climate change concerns.
Exxon, like oil and gas majors across the world, is working to placate environmentalists and governments who are concerned about pollution from fossil fuels.
BP said last month it would keep carbon emissions flat over the decade to 2025 to help tackle climate change.
Exxon, the world's largest publicly traded oil producer, had said in September it would replace oil equipment and update technology to curb methane emissions from its U.S. shale facilities.
Exxon said leak-detection-and-repair efforts at XTO Energy, its shale-focused subsidiary, had reduced emissions of the gas by 2 percent in the past year.
The company also expects these efforts to cut natural gas flaring by about 25 percent by 2020, with most reductions expected in West Africa.
Flaring, used to eliminate gas at mineral exploration sites, is released via pressure relief valves to ease the strain on equipment.
(This story corrects paragraph 4 to say Exxon is world's largest publicly traded 'oil' producer.)
(Reporting by Yashaswini Swamynathan in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)
