Chevron’s latest methane report, released on 25 October, says the company has lowered its methane intensity by 50% since 2016. The company says its report is an effort to promote transparency on climate-related matters and details information on Chevron’s approach to detecting, measuring, and reducing methane intensity. In addition to reporting a general reduction in methane intensity, the company said its US upstream methane intensity is 85% lower than the US upstream production sector average as of 2020.
“Our strategy is clear—leverage our strengths to safely deliver lower-carbon energy to a growing world,” said Balaji Krishnamurthy, Chevron’s corporate vice president of strategy and sustainability. “Effective methane management is important for lower-carbon-intensity oil and gas production. Chevron’s ambition is to be a global leader in methane emissions performance. Our goal is simple—keep methane in the pipe.”
Chevron said it is taking action to meet that goal through reducing methane intensity, improving methane detection, and advancing measurement. In particular, the company said it is working to design and operate facilities to help prevent methane emissions and deploy technologies to validate performance, inform repairs, and improve inventories.
The company reported that, in the Permian Basin, it is including vapor-recovery units for tank batteries and compressor stations as part of its standard design. And the company said that, since 2011, it has included compressed air for pneumatic controllers to eliminate methane emissions from that source. In addition, the company says it is committed to designing, where possible, new upstream facilities to operate without routine methane emissions.