Potential Way Gas Industry Can Contribute to the Reduction of Methane Emissions Report for the Madrid Forum (5 - 6 June 2019)
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Potential ways the gas industry can contribute to the reduction of methane emissions Report for the Madrid Forum (5 - 6 June 2019) Potential ways the gas industry can contribute to the reduction of methane emissions Report for the Madrid Forum (5 - 6 June 2019) CONTRIBUTORS This report combines information and data on methane emissions provided by representatives of the entire natural gas value chain, from production to utilisation, including biomethane plants. Methane Guiding Principles ACKNOWLEDGMENTS: Throughout the coordination of this report, GIE and MARCOGAZ would like to thank all representatives of organisations and companies for their support, engagement and commitment with the development of this report, in particular to the small team that coordinated the elaboration of the chapters. We appreciate the involvement and participation during the workshops, including the representatives of non-EU companies and organisations. GIE and MARCOGAZ are also grateful to the members of the peer review panel and to the European Commission representatives, for their guidance and support to improve the content of the report. DISCLAIMER: This report has been developed by GIE and MARCOGAZ with contributions from the industry. 2 / 146 Potential ways the gas industry can contribute to the reduction of methane emissions Report for the Madrid Forum (5 - 6 June 2019) CONTENTS 1 Summary ............................................................................................................................... 4 Conclusions ...................................................................................................................... 4 Recommendations ........................................................................................................... 6 2 Introduction and scope of the report ................................................................................... 8 3 Overview and main findings ................................................................................................ 10 Current status of CH4 emissions in the gas sector in the EU (Q1) .................................. 11 Existing activities by the gas industry (Q2) .................................................................... 12 Ongoing initiatives and commitments. Identified challenges and future actions (Q3 & Q4) 18 4 Technical background ......................................................................................................... 22 Current understanding and initiatives ........................................................................... 23 Gas industry potential for further reducing methane emissions ................................... 26 Increase transparency. Improve accuracy of collecting methane emissions data ........ 41 Advance strong performance across the gas value chain .............................................. 64 Ensure continued methane emissions reduction .......................................................... 70 Advocate sound policy and regulations on methane emissions .................................... 82 Annexes .......................................................................................................................... 88 5 Critical review statements ................................................................................................. 132 6 Glossary ............................................................................................................................. 137 7 List of acronyms ................................................................................................................ 139 8 References ......................................................................................................................... 141 3 / 146 Potential ways the gas industry can contribute to the reduction of methane emissions Report for the Madrid Forum (5 - 6 June 2019) 1 SUMMARY The effort of the European Union (EU) to reduce the greenhouse gas (GHG) impact of its energy system is focused on mitigating carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. However, regulation (EU) 2018/1999 on the Governance of the EU requires the European Commission (EC) to propose an EU strategic plan for methane, which will become an integral part of an EU long-term climate strategy aiming to achieve the 1.5°C target until 2050. To this end, the Directorate General for Energy of the EC, at the 31st European Gas Regulatory Forum (Madrid Forum) held in October 2018, invited GIE and MARCOGAZ to investigate the potential ways that the gas industry can contribute to the reduction of methane emissions and to report their findings at the 32nd Madrid Forum in June 2019. Responding to the request, GIE and MARCOGAZ conducted an industry-wide study, with contributions from representatives of the entire gas value chain, from production to utilisation, including biomethane production, and all types of methane emissions. This report provides an overview of the current status of CH4 emissions in the EU gas sector and the actions undertaken by the gas industry until now. The report contains also information on ongoing initiatives and a number of proposed commitments for future actions for the industry. The gas sector is committed to remain the backbone of the low carbon energy system through environmental leadership. Increased knowledge, technology developments and a drive for continuous improvement will lead to further emission reductions in the gas sector as well as other economic segments such as agriculture, waste and industrial processes. Over two million kilometres of existing gas infrastructure will continue to provide competitive energy to EU industries and households. Conclusions Methane emissions management and reduction is a top priority for the European gas industry. Preventing and mitigating methane emissions makes good commercial sense and is a safety requirement. Moreover, the industry considers minimisation of methane emissions as an opportunity to actively contribute to short-term mitigation of climate change, to accelerate environmental commitments and further enhance the environmental value of natural gas. The main conclusions from this report are: Methane emissions occasioned by the EU gas sector operations1 account for a 0.6 % [1] of the total EU GHG emissions. Nonetheless, the gas industry is well aware of the importance of addressing methane emissions in order to ensure that gas and the gas infrastructure remains a significant component of the EU energy mix in the long-term. The gas industry has made good progress related to the identification of all significant sources2 of methane emissions in the different segments of the gas value chain, from production to utilisation. Quantification of methane emission is a complex task. Complementary approaches to quantify methane emissions through a combination of measurement, calculations and modelling to fit each situation have been developed. Two quantification approaches “bottom-up” and “top-down” are available and currently in use, showing significant gaps in macro figures. The EU gas industry mainly uses the so-called “bottom-up” 1 Data on utilisation is not available. 2 Detailed information in Table 1 (p.13). 4 / 146 Potential ways the gas industry can contribute to the reduction of methane emissions Report for the Madrid Forum (5 - 6 June 2019) approach, based upon an inventory of emission sources to quantify methane emissions. Considering the available publications and the experience of the EU gas industry, super-emitters3 in the gas sector have not been identified in the EU. The gas industry has developed reporting methods to increase transparency and comparability associated to the reported data. In addition to the national inventory reports, a number of players report their own company emission inventories, including methane, through the associations’ report and/or via other reporting initiatives (i.e. CDP4). It is necessary to improve the accuracy of the national inventory reports. Collaboration between national authorities and the gas industry should be enhanced to improve the quality of the data. Verification and validation of the methane emissions contributes to increase transparency and reduce data uncertainty. A range of reference standards, methodologies and frameworks related to emission control currently exist (e.g. GHG Protocol, EN 15446, ISO 14064, ISO 14001). Harmonisation of quantification and reporting methodologies (specific for the gas sector, covering all the different types of methane emissions and the entire gas value chain) is very important. The best performers deploy a systematic approach to identify, detect, quantify, report and verify emissions. It is essential to close the current knowledge gap and it enables prioritisation and efficient allocation of capital and human resources to target and mitigate methane emissions at the lowest abatement cost. There is a large number of best available techniques (BAT) to reduce methane emissions that the gas industry is already implementing on a voluntary basis. Although the gas industry is making good progress in quantifying and reducing methane emissions, it is necessary to ensure that this is extended over all parts of the gas chain. Innovation on technologies and methodologies (such as drones, satellites, etc.) is key to further detect and reduce methane emissions. Many gas companies have set emission reduction targets for the next years. These targets are an example of the commitments and future efforts of the gas industry to achieve additional