Colombia’s First National Measurement-Based Oil and Gas Inventory

As part of the United Nations Environment Programme International Methane Emissions Observatory (UNEP IMEO)’s Science Studies, during 2024 and 2025 the Energy and Emissions Research Lab (EERL) at Carleton University conducted a comprehensive, multi-scale field measurement campaign to quantify methane emissions from upstream oil and gas facilities across Colombia’s major production basins.  This pioneering campaign, one of the first of its kind in the Global South, employed a hybrid measurement framework combining top-down and bottom-up measurement techniques.  The top-down measurements included aerial gas mapping LiDAR (GML) surveys of approximately 3800 facilities, and site-level scans using uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs).  Bottom-up measurements involved fugitive emissions screening via optical gas imaging (OGI) and direct on-site measurements of major emission sources, including compressors, flares, and storage tanks.  Finally, operator-level bottom-up emissions data emissions were also considered.  From analysis of these data, this presentation will share a first measurement-based methane inventory for Colombia’s upstream oil and gas sector.  Results provide source-level insights into future mitigation opportunities and demonstrate the role of international collaboration in enabling transparent, science-driven quantification of climate-critical emissions.