Watching Government - Air to fuel

Aug. 23, 2004
At a ministerial conference this fall, US policymakers will urge oil and natural gas companies to expand methane recovery projects as a way to improve the environment and to promote energy security.

At a ministerial conference this fall, US policymakers will urge oil and natural gas companies to expand methane recovery projects as a way to improve the environment and to promote energy security. Along with industry, government organizers want other stakeholders such as financial institutions and environmentalists to attend the first meeting of the White House's new "Methane to Markets" partnership Nov. 15-17 in Washington, DC. Other members include Australia, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the UK, and Ukraine. Environmentalists are skeptical of the plan, saying that without mandatory emissions reduction targets, companies will have little incentive to reduce methane emissions any more than they do now.

Money pledged

The White House said July 28 it would commit as much as $53 million over the next 5 years to encourage new projects in developing countries and in countries with "transitional" economies. Organizers will focus on landfill gas-to-energy projects, methane recovery projects at coal mines, and improvements in gas systems. Looking at the gas industry, US officials suggested several methane reduction opportunities exist today. According to a US Environmental Protection Agency fact sheet, industry could further reduce methane emissions and produce additional marketable gas if more companies upgrade equipment, improve technology, and streamline operational procedures.

EPA will be the lead agency moving the partnership forward; the departments of Energy and State and the US Agency for International Development will provide guidance.

"The [George W.] Bush administration welcomes this global partnership, a partnership that has the double benefit of capturing the second most abundant greenhouse gas and turning it to productive use as a clean-burning fuel," said EPA Administrator Mike Leavitt. Partnership promoters say their initiative could reduce net methane emissions by as much as 50 million tonnes of carbon equivalent/year by 2015 and continue at that level or higher in future years. China, India, the US, Brazil, Russia, and other European and Asian countries are responsible for nearly half of manmade methane emissions, EPA said. But methane emission sources can vary significantly between countries. In China, for instance, coal mining and rice production create most of the methane emissions, while in Russia, oil and gas production generate most of the methane.

International efforts

The methane partnership is meant to complement an ongoing World Bank program to reduce gas flaring. Earlier this spring, 11 countries and 8 major oil companies signed a voluntary global gas venting and flaring reduction standard (OGJ, May 24, 2004, p. 30). The bank hopes that in 10 years the venting standard will mean most gas is captured and sold instead of released into the atmosphere. Parties that signed the agreement now account for 40% of global flaring.

Included in the World Bank effort are Algeria, Angola, Cameroon, Chad, Ecuador, Equatorial Guinea, Indonesia, and Nigeria and international oil companies BP PLC, ChevronTexaco Corp., ENI SPA, ExxonMobil Corp. NorskHydro ASA, Statoil ASA, Royal Dutch/Shell Group, and Total SA. Donor countries include Canada, Norway, and the US.