A group of eight major international fossils is receiving kudos from the International Energy Agency and the UN Environment Programme for committing to reduce methane emissions from natural gas operations.
“A concerted industry response is needed to increase focus on the reduction of methane emissions,” states a guiding principles document signed by representatives of BP, Statoil, Eni, Shell, ExxonMobil, Total, Repsol, and Wintershall. “Therefore, signatories will encourage other companies to apply the principles.”
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“The opportunity is considerable,” said Tim Gould, a principle author of the IEA’s annual World Energy Outlook. “Implementing all of the cost-effective methane abatement measures worldwide would have the same effect on long-term climate change as closing all existing coal-fired power plants in China.”
Specific commitments “include incorporating management of methane emissions in maintenance plans and the design and construction of new projects, financial and operational support for development and deployment of new technologies and approaches for monitoring and reduction, improving the accuracy of methane emissions data, advocating on policy and regulations, and increasing transparency on methane emissions ‘progress and challenges,’” industry publication JWN Energy reports.
Gas/oil producers can manage the fugitive emissions of methane from their operations (i.e. the loss of gas from their producing streams) but they have no control over the gas that is released underground by fracking and that escapes capture. That underground loss takes time to reach the surface but it is massive in comparison to the fugitive emissions and it occupies a huge volume that cannot be sealed off. The fundamental premise that this methane can somehow be “managed” is incorrect.