New Study Claims Oil Companies Underreporting Methane Emissions

America’s Committee on Science, Space, and Technology is taking aim at methane emissions, and it has the country’s large oil and gas companies firmly in its sights.

In a new report, the committee says that major oil companies “are failing to design, equip, and inform their Methane Leak Detection and Repair (LDAR)” and that they need to significantly improve their efforts in order for America to meet its methane reduction targets.

The report says that a small number of “super leaks” are likely responsible for most methane emissions in the Permian Basin, a major oil producing region in the southwestern United States. Oil companies are not taking advantage of readily available technologies to monitor, quantify and address methane leaks at scale, argues the report.

Under current rules, the EPA requires oil and gas firms to inspect their facilities only twice a year for leaks.

READ: The Methane Moment: Tackling the Low Hanging Fruit in Oil and Gas

“The findings of this report make clear that thus far the oil and gas sector is not taking the steps necessary to significantly reduce methane emissions, particularly ‘super-emitting’ leaks that make up much of the sector’s emissions,” said Chairwoman Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) in a news release.

“The sector’s approach does not reflect the latest scientific evidence on methane leaks. I am disappointed that the sector is underutilizing innovative Methane Leak Detection and Repair (LDAR) technologies such as aerial flyover and satellite sensors, drones, and ground-based continuous monitoring sensors, which can help achieve swift, large-scale emission reductions.”

The report also notes that the industry has internal data that suggests “methane emission rates from the sector are likely significantly higher than official data reported to EPA would indicate.”

That matters because methane is a potent greenhouse gas. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) estimates methane to be more than 80 times more potent than C02 in the short term. It also breaks down faster in the atmosphere, which means that efforts to reduce methane emissions will have a greater near-term impact on climate change.

Oil and gas production is a major source of methane emissions globally as the gas is released during the extraction of oil. According to the IEA, methane emissions from fossil fuel operations need to fall by about 75% in the next decade to stay on track for Net Zero by 2050.

READ: Electrification, Flaring and Methane Leak Detection at bpx Energy

Last November, US President Joe Biden and the EU jointly announced the Global Methane Pledge, a global partnership that aims to reduce methane emissions by 30% by 2030.

In this latest report, the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology recommends that additional measures are needed to mitigate methane emissions in the oil and gas industry. It recommends such measures as establishing technical standards and creating industry best practice for measurement and mitigation of methane emissions.

The Committee’s report was based on data from some of the major oil and gas producer in the Permian basin, including ConocoPhillips, Occidental Petroleum, Pioneer Natural Resources and Exxon Mobil.

Interested in learning more about this topic?

If you’re tasked with reducing methane emissions in your operations, join us at the National Summit on Methane Mitigation, taking place at the Norris Conference Centre, Houston on December 6-8, 2022. Join over 200 of your industry peers at the country’s largest summit on measuring, monitoring and mitigating methane emissions. Find out more here.