Abu Dhabi: ADNOC has set a new Upstream Methane Intensity target of 0.15 per cent by 2025, the lowest in the Middle East, it said on Monday.
With the new target, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company will be ranked in the Gold Standard category by the Oil and Gas Methane Partnership 2.0 (OGMP 2.0), a multi-stakeholder initiative launched by the UN Environment Program (UNEP) and the Climate and Clean Air Coalition.
Abdulmunim Saif Al Kindy, Executive Director, People, Technology & Corporate Support Directorate at ADNOC, said: “At ADNOC our aim is to reduce the methane intensity from our operated oil and gas assets at the same time as we meet the forecast growth in energy demand for decades to come. We will do this by making significant investments in new technologies to improve our environmental performance, strengthening our commitment to responsible production and demonstrating our support for the UAE’s Global Methane Pledge.”
The new target of 0.15 per cent methane intensity reflects industry best practices that report total volume of upstream methane emissions from all operated upstream oil and gas assets and where emissions intensity is calculated as a percentage of the volume of total gas marketed for the same upstream sector.
Mark Radka, Chief, Energy and Climate Branch at UNEP, said: “ADNOC has achieved OGMP 2.0 Gold Standard status for having submitted high quality data and a clear and robust plan to achieve its methane emissions target. Reducing emissions of this powerful greenhouse gas is an essential short-term action if we are to meet the climate goals of the Paris Agreement.”
As part of its sustainability strategy, ADNOC plans to test and deploy the latest in emissions detection and quantification technologies by 2023, enabling it to move towards improved and continuous measurements at source-level. ADNOC will also continue to reduce methane emissions through the use of flare gas recovery systems and regular leak detection and repair programs. Hand-held infrared cameras are used to detect small leaks of fugitive emissions and to prioritise the company’s repair program. ADNOC is also exploring pilot technologies such as satellite monitoring and deployment of drone-mounted sensors to enhance the monitoring of methane emissions.
Methane abatement is critical to the energy transition, given its higher warming potential compared to carbon dioxide. Methane emissions from the oil and gas sector come from a variety of operational activities across the value chain, making it important to identify, quantify and reduce these emissions and improve on limitations in the required technologies.
