{"id":30606,"date":"2023-10-18T12:38:18","date_gmt":"2023-10-18T10:38:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/reclaimfinance.org\/site\/?p=30606"},"modified":"2023-10-18T15:04:23","modified_gmt":"2023-10-18T13:04:23","slug":"afinance-can-push-fossil-fuel-firms-to-cut-a-third-of-methane-emissions-at-no-cost","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/reclaimfinance.org\/site\/en\/2023\/10\/18\/afinance-can-push-fossil-fuel-firms-to-cut-a-third-of-methane-emissions-at-no-cost\/","title":{"rendered":"Finance can push fossil fuel firms to cut their methane emissions at no net cost"},"content":{"rendered":"

The International Energy Agency (IEA) has pinpointed existing technologies capable of reducing methane emissions from fossil fuels <\/u><\/a>by a substantial 70% : 75% in the oil and gas sector, and 50% in the coal sector. Half of these measures even offer a net financial benefit, while the majority of the remaining strategies for mitigating emissions can be adopted with low net cost. Financial institutions need to require companies to adopt ambitious methane emissions reduction plans including fossil fuels production reduction, and mitigation of the remaining emissions.<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>

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Cost-effective mitigation opportunities for oil and gas methane<\/h2><\/span>
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Methane is the main component of natural gas, but is also present in trace amounts in oil. In the gas sector, methane emissions come mainly from venting operations and fugitive sources, and occur in all stages of the value chain. (1) Around half of the gas sector methane emissions happen in upstream activities, and the rest in midstream and downstream activities. In the oil sector, all methane emissions take place in upstream activities, where gas present in the oil reservoirs is vented or incompletely flared.<\/p>\n

The upstream oil sector alone is the largest source of methane emission across the oil and gas industry and offers the largest mitigation potential. Of the total 62.5 Mt of methane emissions mitigable in the oil and gas sector, 55% are in the upstream oil sector. (2)<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

Methane reduction potential across the oil and gas industry<\/h5><\/div><\/div><\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div>

<\/i><\/i><\/span>55% - Upstream oil<\/span><\/a><\/h4><\/div>
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Upstream Oil methane abatment measures potential (kt)<\/h4><\/div><\/div>
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Methane savings potential (kt) per cost category in Upstream Oil<\/h4><\/div><\/div>
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<\/i><\/i><\/span>26% - Upstream gas<\/span><\/a><\/h4><\/div>
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Upstream Gas methane abatment measures potential (kt)<\/h4><\/div><\/div>
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Methane savings potential (kt) per cost category in Upstream Gas<\/h4><\/div><\/div>
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<\/i><\/i><\/span>15% - Midstream & Downstream gas<\/span><\/a><\/h4><\/div>
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Midstream & Downstream Gas methane abatment measures potential (kt)<\/h4><\/div><\/div>
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Methane savings potential (kt) per cost category in Midstream & Downstream Gas<\/h4><\/div><\/div>
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<\/i><\/i><\/span>4% - Satellite-detected Large Oil & Gas Emissions<\/span><\/a><\/h4><\/div>
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Satellite-detected large oil and gas emissions methane abatment measures potential (kt)<\/h4><\/div><\/div>
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Methane savings potential (kt) per cost category in Satellite-detected large oil and gas emissions<\/h4><\/div><\/div>
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Datavisualisation based on the IEA Methane Tracker Database 2023<\/a><\/span>, February 2023. As per the activities covered in each category, \u201cMidstream & Downstream\u201d refers to the \u201cDownstream\u201d datapoint in the IEA database, whose methodology explicits \u201cDownstream\u201d covers both downstream and midstream activities. \u201cSatellite-detected large oil and gas emissions\u201d refers to large and non-recurrent methane leakage events, based on <\/i>Kayrros<\/i><\/a><\/span> data, which are not covered in other categories.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

Among abatement measures described by the IEA, (3) half of the potential savings can be implemented at a negative net cost and would result in a nearly 40% cut in oil and gas methane emissions. (4) Most of the remaining abatement measures identified by the IEA can be implemented at low net cost (with a mitigation net cost under US$15.5 per mBTU (5)) and would lead to a further 35% reduction in oil and gas sector methane emissions.<\/p>\n