The gold standard for Australian oil and gas corporations to report credible methane emissions

Abstract

Reducing oil and gas (O&G) methane emissions is the most immediate and impactful thing humanity can do to slow the rate of global warming. Initiatives such as the Global Methane Pledge (GMP) have been introduced, which aim to reduce methane emissions by 30% by 2030 from 2020 levels. The International Methane Emissions Observatory (IMEO) of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) also launched the Methane Alert and Response System (MARS), which combines information from multiple sources to alert governments, companies, and operators of large emissions sources. The IMEO is intending to use MARS to educate governments and companies on emissions management. In response to global action for O&G emission reductions, Australia has reformed their Safeguard Mechanism for O&G facilities. The reform details a credit trading scheme that will incentivise facilities to progressively reduce emissions by 2030. Socially responsible Australian O&G corporations need to embrace best practices for measuring, reporting, and verifying (MRV) methane emissions, introducing a top-down, bottom-up approach of both satellite and on-site measurements. IMEO’s Oil and Gas Methane Partnership, OGMP 2.0, provides a method for corporations to MRV their methane emissions from both operated and non-operated assets. The OGMP 2.0 is considered the gold standard of methane emissions MRV and should be embraced alongside the Safeguard Mechanisms reform to generate a roadmap of emissions reduction by 2030. This paper describes the global pressures and advancements in satellite technology for transparent methane emissions MRV, including the gold standard, OGMP 2.0, required of Australian O&G corporations to comply with this.