Industry Launches Initiative to Monitor Methane Leaks

Methane leaks have risen up the agenda of the gas industry as they threaten the fuel's broadest possible acceptance in some major markets, but how to measure them is not straightforward.

To address that, three industry associations – the Oil & Gas Climate Initiative (OGCI), the International Oil & Gas Producers Association (IOGP) and International Petroleum Industry Environmental Conservation Association (Ipieca) –have launched a joint project to develop a common set of recommended practices for methane emissions detection and quantification technologies, applicable to the upstream oil and gas industry.

“Our organisations and academic partners bring a wealth of knowledge to this timely project,” said IOGP's environment director Wendy Brown in a joint statement October 12. “It will help our members implement more robust monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) schemes, such as the OGMP 2.0 Reporting Framework, due to be launched this month; and MRV is one of the pillars of the EU Methane Strategy, whose publication is imminent.” It was due to be announced in September.

Led by an IOGP task force of industry experts, the project will be conducted by an experienced team from SLR International, in association with Colorado State University, Harrisburg University of Science and Technology and The University of Texas at Austin. A range of independent experts will be involved during the project.

Funded by OGCI and IOGP, the first phase of the project – with a target publication date in June 2021 – will focus on how to apply different combinations of detection technologies to; enable more effective mitigation of methane emissions, improve identification of large methane emissions and understanding of their frequency and persistence and explore the use of detection observations to improve emission inventories.

A second phase now under consideration will focus on recommended practices for improving the quantification of methane emissions. The project will build on the best practices guides published by Methane Guiding Principles, and add practical details to facilitate deployment.