BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 2. The volume of methane emissions in 2023 reached 120 million tons, an anti-record for the world struggling with the negative effects of climate change, with the oil and gas sector accounting for nearly 90 million tons of emissions, one of the International Energy Agency's (IEA) oil and gas advisors Chris Michaels said, Trend reports.
The IEA representative addressed a seminar organized by the IEA and the COP29 chairmanship in Baku on “Turning methane commitments into action” as part of the events leading up to the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.
Meanwhile, last week in New York, the IEA and the COP29 chairmanship held a high-level event on methane on the margins of the UN General Assembly, and consultations on the topic will continue in Baku on October 3.
Methane is lighter than carbon dioxide but can linger in the atmosphere for centuries, and it is almost 30 times more corrosive than carbon dioxide, making it a challenge for oil, agricultural companies, and the construction sector (the industries with the highest methane emissions) to capture methane on the ground.
“Since the oil and gas industry has the largest methane emissions, the IEA is exploring ways to reduce them and gradually bring them to zero. In particular, more than 20 percent of emissions can be reduced by increasing the number of sensors on production platforms, pipelines, and refineries. Drones can be used to monitor the situation with methane leaks. Also, more than 15 percent of methane emissions can be curbed by installing newer equipment and other technological solutions. About 20 percent of methane emissions can be reduced by reducing gas flaring during hydrocarbon recovery,” Michaels said.
He noted that SOCAR's active steps on various methods of monitoring methane emissions and curbing emissions are welcomed by the IEA.
Michaels considers the implementation of the international agreement OGMP 2.0 - “Oil & Gas Methane Partnership 2.0”, to which SOCAR has joined, especially in terms of supplying oil and gas to the world market.
He refrained from forecasting the volume of methane emissions for 2024, as the relevant IEA reports will take into account the situation in the fuel and energy sector, coal industry, and agricultural sector at the end of this year.
To note, Azerbaijan has initiated the signing of a Declaration on Methane during the upcoming COP29 and has also launched an initiative to reduce methane emissions from food production.
