US-based producers Pioneer Natural Resources, Devon Energy, and ConocoPhillips said in a joint announcement that they are now the newest members of the Oil and Gas Methane Partnership (OGMP) 2.0.
The initiative was created in 2014 by the United Nations Environment Programme and the Climate and Clean Air Coalition to provide oil and gas companies with a more transparent reporting framework for methane emissions.
OGMP 2.0 says its “measurement-based” approach offers member companies “the means to credibly demonstrate that they are contributing to climate mitigation and delivering against their methane improvement objectives and targets.” As a result, the coalition claims it has become considered “the gold standard” for methane reporting within the global upstream industry.
In recent years, methane emissions have become one of the more heavily scrutinized aspects of oil and gas production because the gas is considered to be 25 times as capable of trapping heat in the atmosphere as carbon dioxide. Methane leaks at gathering and production facilities historically have been hard to detect or quantify, but that task has become easier in recent years thanks to the introduction of advanced monitoring technologies, including the use of microsatellites.
In addition to promoting transparency around emissions, the OGMP 2.0 encourages best-practice sharing among its members. Other members of the public/private initiative include the European Commission and the US-based Environmental Defense Fund.
More than 80 oil and gas companies are also participating, including a mix of supermajors and large independents that account for more than 30% of global oil and gas production.
The list includes familiar industry names such as BP, Shell, Equinor, TotalEnergies, EQT, and Occidental Petroleum. National oil company participants include the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company and Colombia’s Ecopetrol.
CEOs from the trio of new member companies offered the following statements in their joint announcement:
Ryan Lance, CEO for ConocoPhillips: “We believe that applying the rigorous OGMP 2.0 reporting standard across our global assets will be a vital step on our path to net-zero operational emissions by mid-century.”
Rick Muncrief, CEO for Devon Energy: "Deployment of advanced methane detection technology and enhanced transparency are key components to Devon's broader emission reduction strategy, including our aim to achieve net zero GHG emissions for Scopes 1 and 2 by 2050.”
Scott Sheffield, CEO for Pioneer: “Given that we operate in one of the largest oil producing basins in the world, enabling the reduction of methane emissions by utilizing accurate and transparent reporting is imperative for Pioneer as well as other large producers in the Permian Basin.”
