Methane Emissions Monitoring: Not Set It & Forget It

From Enviliance

O&G producers around the world signed on to the Global Methane Pledge to reduce methane emissions by 30%. Big producers are using emerging technology like drones, satellites, and advanced on-site sensors to detect methane leaks and track emissions. 

So everything should be hunky-dory, right? 

Well, it turns out that just installing methane monitoring technology isn’t enough. Companies have to maintain it, use the data outputs, and commit to fixing the sources of emissions when discovered. 

Unfortunately, so far, a lot of the results have been mixed at best and hot air at worst. 

Independent methane tracking companies have found ultra emitters and a massive percentage of methane emissions missed in company reporting. 

The latest technology—sensors, AI data analysis platforms, etc.—has been installed by big O&G producers, and yet independent analysis has found that the impact on emissions reductions is quite small. The monitoring groundwork might be in place, but it doesn’t matter if no one is watching outputs, tracking effectiveness, and making sure the technology is working as expected.

“Flares often go out," said David Lyon, senior scientist with the Environmental Defense Fund. “And often I think the operators are not aware that the flare’s out.”

Technology is just the first step in emissions management—these efforts are all for naught if companies don’t invest in using the information to upgrade equipment and fix known issues.

“There’s lots of technologies, but the reality in the field is it just doesn’t work,” said Tim Doty, an environmental scientist and former air quality inspector for the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, to the AP.

Right now, there’s not a lot of incentive for companies to track methane emissions accurately—especially with continuous monitoring. The costs are high, both in terms of equipment and staffing. And since producers can base their reported methane emissions on estimates, not actual measurements, the incentives remain blurry.

The EPA is working on fixing these issues via regulations under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA)—including financial penalties for the worst polluters and funding for equipment upgrades. But scientists aren’t optimistic that these changes can or will solve the underreporting issues.  

Voluntary emissions programs, which are growing in popularity and rigor, have started to set standards for tracking and mitigating methane and other emissions, but a small percentage of companies are using these programs and frameworks. 

Fixes are in the pipeline (sometimes literally), but we don’t know if they’ll come in time to slow down climate change.