Released December 05, 2023 | SUGAR LAND
en
Written by John Egan for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Reducing methane emissions from oil and gas operations took center stage over the weekend at the U.N. Climate Conference in the United Arab Emirates.
At that annual U.N. event, known as Congress of the Parties 28, on Saturday 50 oil companies pledged to reduce methane emissions 30% from their operations by 2030 compared to a 2020 baseline. This pledge, first made during COP26 in 2021, also drew the support of an estimated 150 nations over the weekend.
The oil companies making the pledge included Saudi Aramco (Dharan, Saudi Arabia), BP (NYSE:BP) (London, England), Shell plc (NYSE:SHEL) (London, England), TotalEnergies SE (NYSE:TTE) (Courbevoie, France) and Brazil's Petrobras (NYSE:PBR) (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil). Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) (San Ramon, California) and Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) (Spring, Texas) did not immediately agree to sign on to the methane-reduction fund.
Methane (CH4) is a primary component of natural gas and, according to the U.N., is responsible for about a third of the planetary warming seen today. It is short-lived but is much more powerful than carbon dioxide (CO2) in the short run. CO2, by contrast, can remain in the atmosphere for hundreds of years. Without serious concerted action, global anthropogenic methane emissions are projected to rise by up to 13% by 2030.
Over the weekend, at the COP28, countries and regions committed more than $1 billion in grant funding to a Global Methane Pledge (GMP) geared to mobilizing methane reduction activities, more than triple current funding levels. That funding is expected to draw billions of additional dollars in the fight to limit methane emissions. Many top national methane emitters supported the new initiative. The pledge was supported by Canada, Germany, Japan, Nigeria, the U.S., the European Union, Australia, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan. In total, 155 national governments have joined the Pledge. Neither China nor Russia, major emitters of methane, joined the pledge to reduce methane emissions.
Fifty large oil companies representing nearly half of worldwide annual oil and gas production, and about 50% of annual methane emissions, also joined the pledge to cut methane emissions 30% by 2030 compared to a 2020 baseline.
Achieving the GMP goal of cutting anthropogenic methane emissions at least 30% by 2030 from 2020 levels is the fastest way to reduce near-term warming and is essential to keep a 1.5°C temperature limit within reach, sources at the conference told media outlets.
The methane pledge came one month after European climate scientists said that 2023 was almost certainly the hottest year in history. "We can say with near certainty that 2023 will be the warmest year on record, and is currently 1.43 degrees Celsius above the preindustrial average," Samantha Burgess, deputy director of the Copernicus Climate Change Service, said in a November 7 statement, issued in the run-up to the COP28.
If all the pledges are fulfilled, it would shave 0.1 degree Celsius off future warming, about five years' worth of methane emissions, according to an estimate from the Associated Press.
Perhaps not surprisingly, a coalition of environmental and civic organizations blasted the methane reduction pledge as "a smokescreen to hide the reality that we need to phase out oil, gas and coal."
COP28, which runs from November 28 to December 12, touches on other aspects of global climate change, including setting up a fund to compensate nations that have experiences loss or damage to their countries from global warming.
On Saturday at the climate conference, Michael S. Regan, administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) (Washington, D.C.), and Biden administration National Climate Adviser Ali Zaidi announced that the U.S. finalized a rule to reduce methane emissions and other harmful pollutants from the oil and gas industry.
In a statement, the agency said the final rule "leverages the latest cost-effective, innovative technologies and proven solutions to prevent an estimated 58 million tons of methane emissions from 2024 to 2038, the equivalent of 1.5 billion metric tons of CO2 -- nearly as much as all the carbon dioxide emitted by the power sector in 2021."
"In 2030 alone, the expected reductions are equivalent to 130 million metric tons of carbon dioxide -- more than the annual emissions from 28 million gasoline cars. The rule would achieve a nearly 80% reduction below the future methane emissions expected without the rule. These reductions are greater than what was projected for the 2022 and 2021 proposals, thanks to changes that strengthen provisions to limit wasteful, polluting flaring of natural gas and analytical updates that better capture the impacts of this rulemaking."
The final rule, over two years in the making, also will prevent the release of up to 16 million tons of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) over the 2024-2038 period, along with 590,000 tons of toxic air pollutants like benzene and toluene.
Over the 2024-2038 timeframe, the rule will prevent the release of about 400 billion cubic feet (Bcf) of methane and natural gas each year, fuel that could be used to heat nearly 8 million homes for the winter.
The final rule includes a comprehensive suite of pollution reduction standards that address the largest sources of methane and other harmful pollutants at oil and gas facilities, including methane that leaks or is vented from equipment and processes.
Among other things, EPA said, the final rule will:
The EPA estimated that the final rule will yield total net benefits of $97 billion to $98 billion from 2024-2038 (measured in 2019 dollars), or between $7.3 billion to $7.6 billion a year, after taking into account the costs of compliance and savings from recovered natural gas. These estimates account for climate benefits and some health benefits from reduced ozone exposure, but do not account for the rule's full health benefits of reducing other forms of harmful air pollution. The rule will result in increased recovery of natural gas, valued at between $7.4 billion to $13 billion from 2024-2038 (in 2019 dollars), or between $820 million to $980 million a year.
These climate benefits are estimated using the EPA's updated analysis of the social cost of greenhouse gases (SC-GHG), a metric that represents the monetary value of avoided climate damages associated with a decrease in emissions of a greenhouse gas. The Obama administration set the SCC at $42 per ton of CO2 emitted, but the Trump administration cut that to less than $5 per ton. The Biden administration has been using an inflation-adjusted fee of $51 per ton. The new cost is about $190 a ton, according to a report in The New York Times. For more on that, see October 9, 2023, article - Little-Noticed Biden Directive Aims to Use Sharply Higher Social Cost of Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Agency Purchasing Decisions.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 Trillion (USD).
At that annual U.N. event, known as Congress of the Parties 28, on Saturday 50 oil companies pledged to reduce methane emissions 30% from their operations by 2030 compared to a 2020 baseline. This pledge, first made during COP26 in 2021, also drew the support of an estimated 150 nations over the weekend.
The oil companies making the pledge included Saudi Aramco (Dharan, Saudi Arabia), BP (NYSE:BP) (London, England), Shell plc (NYSE:SHEL) (London, England), TotalEnergies SE (NYSE:TTE) (Courbevoie, France) and Brazil's Petrobras (NYSE:PBR) (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil). Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) (San Ramon, California) and Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) (Spring, Texas) did not immediately agree to sign on to the methane-reduction fund.
Methane (CH4) is a primary component of natural gas and, according to the U.N., is responsible for about a third of the planetary warming seen today. It is short-lived but is much more powerful than carbon dioxide (CO2) in the short run. CO2, by contrast, can remain in the atmosphere for hundreds of years. Without serious concerted action, global anthropogenic methane emissions are projected to rise by up to 13% by 2030.
Over the weekend, at the COP28, countries and regions committed more than $1 billion in grant funding to a Global Methane Pledge (GMP) geared to mobilizing methane reduction activities, more than triple current funding levels. That funding is expected to draw billions of additional dollars in the fight to limit methane emissions. Many top national methane emitters supported the new initiative. The pledge was supported by Canada, Germany, Japan, Nigeria, the U.S., the European Union, Australia, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan. In total, 155 national governments have joined the Pledge. Neither China nor Russia, major emitters of methane, joined the pledge to reduce methane emissions.
Fifty large oil companies representing nearly half of worldwide annual oil and gas production, and about 50% of annual methane emissions, also joined the pledge to cut methane emissions 30% by 2030 compared to a 2020 baseline.
Achieving the GMP goal of cutting anthropogenic methane emissions at least 30% by 2030 from 2020 levels is the fastest way to reduce near-term warming and is essential to keep a 1.5°C temperature limit within reach, sources at the conference told media outlets.
The methane pledge came one month after European climate scientists said that 2023 was almost certainly the hottest year in history. "We can say with near certainty that 2023 will be the warmest year on record, and is currently 1.43 degrees Celsius above the preindustrial average," Samantha Burgess, deputy director of the Copernicus Climate Change Service, said in a November 7 statement, issued in the run-up to the COP28.
If all the pledges are fulfilled, it would shave 0.1 degree Celsius off future warming, about five years' worth of methane emissions, according to an estimate from the Associated Press.
Perhaps not surprisingly, a coalition of environmental and civic organizations blasted the methane reduction pledge as "a smokescreen to hide the reality that we need to phase out oil, gas and coal."
COP28, which runs from November 28 to December 12, touches on other aspects of global climate change, including setting up a fund to compensate nations that have experiences loss or damage to their countries from global warming.
On Saturday at the climate conference, Michael S. Regan, administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) (Washington, D.C.), and Biden administration National Climate Adviser Ali Zaidi announced that the U.S. finalized a rule to reduce methane emissions and other harmful pollutants from the oil and gas industry.
In a statement, the agency said the final rule "leverages the latest cost-effective, innovative technologies and proven solutions to prevent an estimated 58 million tons of methane emissions from 2024 to 2038, the equivalent of 1.5 billion metric tons of CO2 -- nearly as much as all the carbon dioxide emitted by the power sector in 2021."
"In 2030 alone, the expected reductions are equivalent to 130 million metric tons of carbon dioxide -- more than the annual emissions from 28 million gasoline cars. The rule would achieve a nearly 80% reduction below the future methane emissions expected without the rule. These reductions are greater than what was projected for the 2022 and 2021 proposals, thanks to changes that strengthen provisions to limit wasteful, polluting flaring of natural gas and analytical updates that better capture the impacts of this rulemaking."
The final rule, over two years in the making, also will prevent the release of up to 16 million tons of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) over the 2024-2038 period, along with 590,000 tons of toxic air pollutants like benzene and toluene.
Over the 2024-2038 timeframe, the rule will prevent the release of about 400 billion cubic feet (Bcf) of methane and natural gas each year, fuel that could be used to heat nearly 8 million homes for the winter.
The final rule includes a comprehensive suite of pollution reduction standards that address the largest sources of methane and other harmful pollutants at oil and gas facilities, including methane that leaks or is vented from equipment and processes.
Among other things, EPA said, the final rule will:
- Phase in a requirement to eliminate routine flaring of natural gas that is produced by new oil wells
- Require comprehensive monitoring for leaks of methane from well sites and compressor stations, while giving oil and gas companies flexibility to use low-cost and innovative methane monitoring technologies
- Establish standards that require reductions in emissions from high-emitting equipment like controllers, pumps and storage tanks.
The EPA estimated that the final rule will yield total net benefits of $97 billion to $98 billion from 2024-2038 (measured in 2019 dollars), or between $7.3 billion to $7.6 billion a year, after taking into account the costs of compliance and savings from recovered natural gas. These estimates account for climate benefits and some health benefits from reduced ozone exposure, but do not account for the rule's full health benefits of reducing other forms of harmful air pollution. The rule will result in increased recovery of natural gas, valued at between $7.4 billion to $13 billion from 2024-2038 (in 2019 dollars), or between $820 million to $980 million a year.
These climate benefits are estimated using the EPA's updated analysis of the social cost of greenhouse gases (SC-GHG), a metric that represents the monetary value of avoided climate damages associated with a decrease in emissions of a greenhouse gas. The Obama administration set the SCC at $42 per ton of CO2 emitted, but the Trump administration cut that to less than $5 per ton. The Biden administration has been using an inflation-adjusted fee of $51 per ton. The new cost is about $190 a ton, according to a report in The New York Times. For more on that, see October 9, 2023, article - Little-Noticed Biden Directive Aims to Use Sharply Higher Social Cost of Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Agency Purchasing Decisions.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 Trillion (USD).
