Methane emission reduction potential in the Chinese oil and gas industry

Methane is the second largest greenhouse gas after carbon dioxide, and the oil and gas industry is a significant anthropogenic methane emission source. In this study, methane emission was estimated in two scenarios from 2000 to 2060. Combined with the emission sources and the cost-effectiveness of current emission reduction technologies, the marginal abatement costs of those technologies in 2030 and 2060 were estimated. The results showed that: methane emissions from petroleum system decreases slightly, while methane emissions from natural gas system will grow slowly in 2020 to 2060. The reduction potential from technology application with negative benefits in 2030 and 2060 was 22.0% and 44.4%, respectively. From 2021 to 2023, the Chinese oil and gas industry have applied remote sensing, vehicle-based or drone-based site level measurements, and leak detection and repair during the national carbon monitoring trial project. The applicability of various measurement methods were tested in diverse oil and gas basins, a measurement-based methodology for the generation of emission factors were raised. In the mid- and long-term, the oil and gas industry of China needs to accelerate the construction of a robust measurement, reporting and verification system (MRV) , moving towards a measurement-based inventory, while providing guidance on methane abatement for local oil and gas operators. The next generation of leak detection and repair technology, and the co-treatment of methane/volatile organic carbon are the future directions for technology development. The incorporation of green economy, China certified emission reduction (CCER) would further foster the application of methane emission measurement and reduction in the industry.