EU, UN-led oil and gas firms collaborate to tackle methane emissions

Dozens of US and EU-based oil and gas companies have committed to join hands in order to ultimately reduce the emissions of the potent greenhouse gas methane, which is liable to leak from oilfields and pipelines. Oil majors such as BP, Royal Dutch Shell, Eni, Equinor, and Total have signed up for the Oil and Gas Methane Partnership (OGMP) under the umbrella of United Nations.

Recent analysis shows that methane has over 80 times the heat trapping potential of carbon dioxide. One of the main reasons is due to the leaks from oil and gas sector. The new standard aims to deliver a 45 per cent reduction in the industry's methane emissions by 2025, and a 60-75 per cent reduction by 2030.While OGMP says its 62 members represent 30% of the world's oil and gas production, U.S. oil and gas majors such as Chevron and Exxon are not involved.

The OGMP says it differs from other initiatives in that it requires members to report methane emissions at an asset level, rather than across the whole company, and in that it covers facilities in jointventures, even if the operator of such sites has not subscribed to OGMP.The OGMP will publish a annual public report on companies' performance against targets.