ExxonMobil which is currently conducting one of its biggest oil exploration and recovery operations offshore Guyana, has reportedly released a model framework for industry-wide methane regulations.
A story appearing on Wednesday’s news feed from the World Oil news source says the giant US oil & gas company wants stakeholders, policymakers and governments to develop “comprehensive, enhanced rules to reduce emissions in all phases of production.”
The company’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Darren Woods has been quoted as saying that “ExxonMobil has been applying the principles of this framework to our oil and natural gas operations for several years, resulting in improvements that demonstrate what’s practicable and achievable.” Woods says that ExxonMobil is offering its blueprint for reducing gas emissions “to companies across our industry as they consider how to make improvements to reduce the sector’s methane emissions.” He says that the industry has developed “high-tech advances to curb emissions” and that it hopes that this framework will be helpful for governments as they develop new regulations.
Methane is the primary component of natural gas that is believed to be a more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. The gas leaks from wells, pipelines and other processing equipment and can make a significant contribution to greenhouse gas emissions in the natural gas sector. Cutting methane emissions is one of the key challenges facing the global oil & gas industry.
The ExxonMobil model framework is based on “its voluntary methane reduction programme, which involves prioritised replacement of components with a high-leak potential at production sites, technology enhancements to infrastructure and substantial data gathering and research,” World Oil says.
The programme, which boasts of being “more comprehensive than current federal rules” would apply to new and existing sources, World Oil says. Exxon, the news source adds, “has reduced methane emissions from its U.S. unconventional operations by 20 percent since 2016 and remains on track to reach its target of 15 percent reductions across the company.”
The Exxon proposal for methane reductions identifies four key requirements, these being leak detection and repair programmes across oil & gas infrastructure, minimising of venting, operational equipment controls and record-keeping.
World Oil says that ExxonMobil has been an advocate in the US for a cost-effective, federal regulatory standard to manage methane emissions from both new and existing oil and natural gas facilities.
Success in securing industry-wide traction for its industry-wide methane reduction programme could help burnish the image of ExxonMobil which, among the ‘heavy hitters’ in the oil & gas industry, has, over the years, been cited for some of the biggest environmental transgressions in the sector.
