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

US President Joe Biden and the EU announced the Global Methane Pledge last November, the first global political commitment that tackles methane emissions.

The pledge is a global partnership with over 100 signatories who agree to cut emissions of methane by 30% by 2030 compared to 2020 levels.

“This isn’t just something we have to do to protect our environment and our future, it’s an enormous opportunity — enormous opportunity for all of us, all of our nations to create jobs and make meeting climate goals a core part of our global economic recovery as well,” said President Biden at the launch of the global initiative.

Methane is estimated by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to be more than 80 times more potent than C02 over a period of 20 years. It also breaks down more quickly than C02 and therefore curbs to methane emissions will have a faster impact on the effects of climate change.    

The Environmental Protection Agency’s 2019 report Inventory of Greenhouse Gas and Sinks found that oil production accounted for 96 percent of the industry’s total methane emissions. These include leaks, vents and flares.

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, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).

The IEA says that fossil fuel companies could achieve that 75% reduction in methane emissions with technologies that exist today, with almost half of those improvements coming in a zero net cost (because the value of the gas saved balances out the cost of new equipment or implementing new procedures).

The Biden administration has proposed a controversial set of fees on methane emissions that would see companies paying $900/mt of methane produced in 2023, ratcheting up to $1500/mt by 2025. The proposal has yet to be approved.

In advance of legislated requirements, many oil and gas companies are making methane emission reduction a priority. 

Many have signed up for industry coalitions and initiatives such as the World Bank World Bank’s Zero Routine Flaring by 2030 to commit to adopting practices that reduce methane emissions and intensity. Meanwhile, members of the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative (OGCI), another industry coalition, have a specific target to reduce average upstream methane intensity to 0.20%.

Here are a few of the measures that oil and gas companies can take to reduce methane emissions:

#1: Phasing Out or Upgrading Pneumatic Equipment

Millions of pneumatic devices powered by natural gas are used in oil and gas operations, according to Methane Guiding Principles, an industry coalition, and are a significant source of methane emissions. Emissions are released when natural gas is vented during the operation of the equipment.   

According to EPA data, pneumatic devices accounted for 699,488 metric tons of methane (CH4) during oil production in 2019, a larger share than even venting, flaring and leaks.

Methane Guiding Principles calls on operators to replace pneumatic devices, where practical, with electrical or mechanical devices. If pneumatic devices must be used, the group suggests powering them with compressed air rather than natural gas or replace “high bleed controllers” with ones with lower emissions.

Some companies, such as BP, have already started to upgrade their pneumatic equipment to lower emission ones.

#2: Improved LDAR (Leak Detection and Repair)

Fugitive methane emissions (leaks) can escape from various mechanical equipment and components such as pipes, valves and hatches. They can be due to human error, old equipment or mechanical stresses, according to the Clean Air Task Force in their EU Methane report.  

Clearly, identifying these leaks and fixing them quickly would help to reduce unnecessary methane emissions.

To help with that, many oil and gas companies are turning to emerging technology that can continuously monitor for methane leaks at their operations. Satellite imaging, special cameras, sensors, drones are some of the example technologies that can be used to track emissions.

BP’s Khazzan gas project in Oman, for instance, uses gas cloud imaging to allow for constant site monitoring while TotalEnergies, on the other hand, has invested in drones with sophisticated spectrometers to monitor fugitive gas emissions as its assets.

Once a leak has been identified, oil and gas companies must have operating procedures in place to prioritize and quickly fix the source of the emission.

#3: Elimination of Routine Flaring and Venting

Oil and gas operators routinely vent or flare greenhouse gases as part of normal operating or emergency procedures. The gas is flared (burned off) or vented to remove excess gas or petroleum and maintain equipment at safe operating levels.

Norway banned ‘non-emergency’ flaring in the 1970s and polluters must obtain a permit to flare and report all flared gas publicly. Excess emissions are taxed.  

In 2020, the IEA estimates that over half of the natural gas flared in 2020 came from just five countries: Russia, Iraq, Iran, the United States and Algeria.

The World Bank estimates that if half of the gas (some of it methane) that is currently flared annually was instead captured and used for power generation, it could provide about 400 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity.

But it will take time and investment to realize this goal. Oil and gas companies must build expensive systems to use the gas, store or distribute the gas in this wasted resource.

The IEA says that any programs to tackle routine flaring must also look at methane at the same time to ensure that a decrease in routine flaring does not result in an increase in methane venting.

#4: Cleaning Up Orphaned Oil & Gas Wells

Abandoned gas wells, even when nominally plugged, can be a significant source of methane emissions, according to a report by the Clean Air Task Force (CATF). The CAFT inspected over 250 oil and gas sites in Europe last year for methane leaks last year. The detail of their research is available in their EU Methane Report.

They singled out abandoned gas wells as deserving specific EU attention. Their investigation found, for instance, 26 poorly maintained wells in Romania. The report said that gas was leaking from open valves and casing heads, and, in some instances, these leaks could be rectified simply by tightening nuts and bolts.

The problem is not limited to Europe. The US is also paying attention to abandoned oil and gas wells. It has announced a $4.7 billion orphan wells clean up program that is expected to clean up thousands of sites.

#5: Design Changes to New Operations  

Improved design in new operations can help to “design out” many of the potential sources of methane leaks and “design in” ways to make productive use of excess gas.

BP’s Khazzan giant field in Oman feeds gas by pipe to a central processing facility rather than having multiple well heads. “This dramatically cuts down the number of locations and pieces of equipment where leaks could occur,” says the company on its website.

BP also says that it is piloting solar powered pumps.

New oil developments could also include technology to capture, store and distribute excess gas to reduce waste.

These changes are perhaps the most costly and slowest to realize as the time scales for new operations to be approved and developed are long.

Interested in learning more?

If you’re tasked with reducing emissions in your operations – or for future greenfield projects, join us at Decarbonizing Oil & Gas, taking place at the Norris Conference Centre, Houston on April 5-6, 2022. Join over 200 of your industry peers as they forge their pathway to Net Zero. Find out more details here: Decarbonizing Oil & Gas (oilandgasiq.com)

Interested in learning more? 

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 to get insight into best practices to identify, measure, monitor and eliminate methane emissions, factor emissions reduction into operational planning and build a culture focused on methane mitigation.

Find out more here.