Shell targets lower methane emissions from oil and gas operations
Ron Bousso: Sept 17, 2018 LONDON (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell announced on Monday plans to limit leaks of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, across its oil and gas operations as it tries to sharply curb carbon emissions. Shell aims to maintain methane emissions below 0.2 percent of its total oil and gas production by 2025, it said in a statement, joining British rival BP, which last year set a similar goal. Larger rival Exxon Mobil announced in May plans to reduce methane emissions by 15 percent by 2020.Methane is released into the atmosphere mostly from the burning of excess gas, known as flaring, as well as through leaks in gas infrastructure such as wells, pumps and pipelines.
The gas has a bigger greenhouse impact than carbon dioxide, even though the oil and gas industry produces less methane and the gas also has a shorter lifetime.
The methane target will be measured against a baseline leak rate, which is currently estimated at range from 0.01 percent to 0.8 percent across the company’s oil and gas assets, it said.