Methane emissions monitoring and reporting is complex. And the risks are becoming more serious as industry regulations timelines are narrowing.
Oil and Gas Methane Regulations
The oil and gas industry is eager to understand what steps to take to abide by evolving methane regulations and voluntary frameworks, including OGMP2.0, COP28 UAE's Oil & Gas Decarbonization Charter, SubPart W 0000b and 0000c, and other key frameworks:
- Subpart W 000B and 0000C: Sections of the U.S. EPA’s GHGRP regulations, focusing on reporting and monitoring greenhouse gases, specifically methane, from the oil and gas industry to improve data accuracy and regulatory compliance.
- Oil and Gas Methane Partnership 2.0 (OGMP 2.0): A UNEP initiative offering a comprehensive reporting framework that helps companies accurately report and significantly reduce methane emissions across the oil and gas value chain.
- Oil and Gas Decarbonization Charter: A commitment by oil and gas companies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, including methane, promoting best practices and technology investments to align with global climate goals.
- Global Methane Initiative (GMI): This is an international partnership aimed at reducing global methane emissions to enhance economic growth, promote energy security, improve air quality and health, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
- The Methane Guiding Principles: These are a set of principles that companies in the oil and gas sector can adopt to reduce methane emissions. The principles focus on continually reducing methane emissions, advancing strong performance across gas value chains, and improving the accuracy of methane emissions data.
- Energy Methane Partnership (EMP): This U.N.-backed initiative is designed to help companies from the energy sector reduce methane emissions. It offers a framework for systematically managing methane emissions and provides resources and best practices.
- Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP): While not exclusively focused on methane, this framework requires companies to disclose their greenhouse gas emissions and environmental impacts, including specific details on methane where applicable.
- Country-Specific Regulations: Many countries have developed their regulations concerning methane emissions. For example, in the United States, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has regulations under the Clean Air Act that specifically target methane emissions from the oil and gas sector.
- Industry Initiatives: Several industry-led initiatives, like the American Petroleum Institute’s Environmental Partnership, focus on specific operational practices to reduce methane and other pollutant emissions.
These frameworks combine regulatory and voluntary measures, each playing a crucial role in guiding and enforcing the reduction of methane emissions within the oil and gas industry.
The 2024 Methane Mitigation Technology Landscape Report
Oil and gas operators are facing a sea of complexity regarding hardware options. According to research conducted at the Amsterdam Methane Mitigation Summit, published in the Industrial Decarbonization Network's Special Report: The 2024 Methane Mitigation Technology Landscape, the biggest challenges when it comes to monitoring methane emissions include:
- Detection Accuracy
- Data Integration
- Regulatory Compliance
- Operational Constraints
LDAR and Methane Reporting
Operators surveyed currently are not prioritizing the need for "data analytics" (9%) as highly as other challenges such as leak detection" (41%), "reporting accuracy" (29%), and real-time monitoring" (22%). Yet it's critical to ensure the information captured by your company's stakeholders is auditable and transparent, starting today. Make sense of the data to make informed decisions, forecast intelligently, and maximize operational efficiencies with the right software platform.
Your Methane Roadmap
Envana enables your organization to operationalize your data and make smart and efficient decisions that will impact your sustainability outcomes and help streamline your operations. While Envana leverages your company's in-house spreadsheets and calculations, our team will help you establish a methane roadmap, empowering your organization to meet regulatory and voluntary reporting with governable, centralized data.
Excitement is building up around this year's MethaneMitigationSummit and you won't want to miss out! Meet with industry leaders charting the industry's future at the 2024 Methane Mitigation Technology & Innovation Summit at the Hyatt Regency Lost Pines Resort and Spa in Austin, Texas, this June 11-13th. Secure your pass here on the Industrial Decarbonization Network's site.
Contact Envana's team today to discuss where you're at in your methane roadmap and how we can help you accomplish your organization's goals with cost-effective solutions.