Assessing OGMP 2.0-reported asset-level methane emissions using independent atmospheric measurements: a pilot study in the Greater Green River Basin

The Oil and Gas Methane Partnership 2.0 (OGMP 2.0) is the United Nations Environment Programme’s (UNEP) comprehensive, measurement-based international framework for reporting and reducing methane emissions from the oil and gas sector under the International Methane Emissions Observatory (IMEO). To date, more than 150 companies with assets in over 90 countries have joined OGMP 2.0, aiming to increase their understanding of methane emissions and improve both measurement and reporting practices, with the ultimate goal of reducing emissions.

The objective of the OGMP 2.0 Independent Data Assessment (IDA) project is to provide an additional measurement-based layer of verification that strengthens the credibility and confidence in the asset-level methane emissions reported by OGMP 2.0 member companies. By integrating the best available empirical data, such as satellite observations and aerial surveys, this project enables the validation of reported emissions and helps identify potential inconsistencies between supplementary regional measurements and OGMP 2.0 reported values based on source- and site-level measurements aggregated to the scale of an oil and gas asset (OGMP 2.0 Level 5 – the highest reporting level). 

Here we present the results of the first OGMP 2.0 IDA pilot, which incorporates regional emission quantifications based on aerial remote sensing data collected during a MethaneAIR campaign to reconcile with OGMP 2.0 Level 5 reported emissions at a spatially isolated asset in the Greater Green River Basin (Wyoming, United States) operated by Jonah Energy. The analysis is further supported by independent regional emission estimates from in-situ aircraft mass balance measurements conducted by ChampionX and commissioned by Jonah Energy as part of an internal effort to verify their OGMP 2.0 Level 5 facility-level measurements. The analysis presented here aims to reconcile these two regional quantification approaches with the operator-reported Level 5 emission estimates. It further assesses the potential of the OGMP 2.0 IDA approach to reconcile empirically-based asset-level emissions reporting data with state-of-the-art regional-level measurements for other oil and gas assets and regions in the world.