Neptune to pilot methane emissions measurement scheme at UK gas field

London — Independent gas-focused producer Neptune Energy said March 5 it would launch in July a new pilot scheme together with the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) aimed at measuring methane emissions from offshore oil and gas facilities.

Methane is significantly more polluting than carbon dioxide, with estimates suggesting it is 84 times more potent than CO2 over a 20-year timeframe.

Along with the need to tackle CO2 emissions, methane leakage is now rising to the top of the agenda of the energy sector.

In the pilot project, drone, aircraft and methane sensing technologies will be deployed on the Neptune-operated Cygnus platform in the UK Southern North Sea, the company said in a statement.

These will provide a "close-up view" of operations typical of a North Sea offshore facility, such as gas separation, drying and compression technology, and flaring and venting, it said.

The scheme will be a "first-of-its-kind" approach for measuring methane emissions from offshore facilities, Neptune said.

Cygnus -- which was brought online in late 2016 by then operator Engie -- is one of the UK's biggest gas fields, typically producing around 7 million cu m/d of gas.

Neptune acquired operatorship of Cygnus when it completed its $3.9 billion purchase of Engie's E&P assets in 2018.

Pete Jones, Neptune's VP Operations Europe, said the company already had one of the lowest methane intensities in the sector, at 0.01%, compared with the industry average of 0.23%.

"But we want to go further and have set a target of net zero methane emissions by 2030," Jones said.

"This study will help us identify where we need to take further action and how we can apply new measurement techniques across our global operated portfolio."

Initial results from the pilot scheme are expected in October and the outcomes will be published in a scientific peer-reviewed paper in 2022.

Voluntary schemes

According to the International Energy Agency, oil and gas operations worldwide emitted some 72 million mt of methane into the atmosphere in 2020, broadly equivalent to the total energy-related CO2 emissions from the entire EU.

Upstream companies have pledged to tackle the issue through voluntary initiatives such as the Oil and Gas Methane Partnership (OGMP).

The OGMP -- first launched at the UN Climate Summit in 2014 -- was created by the Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC) as a voluntary initiative to help companies reduce methane emissions in the oil and gas sector.

It has 62 member companies including Neptune and a number of European majors including BP, Shell, Eni, Equinor, Repsol and Total, as well as numerous gas grid operators, mostly from Europe.

EDF's senior vice president for energy, Mark Brownstein, said March 5 that data transparency was "paramount" in the fight against methane emissions.

"Oil and gas companies have made commitments to tackle emissions, but you can't just assert strong environmental performance. You must show it," Brownstein said.

"Having credible data is the first step and we recognize Neptune for valuing emissions reporting that is based on rigorous science."

Legislative approach

The European Commission last October published its first ever strategy aimed at curbing methane emissions and plans to bring forward legislative proposals on the issue over the course of 2021.

It plans to focus its initial legislative proposals on "low-cost" initiatives for the energy sector such as methane emissions detection and repair, and the elimination of gas flaring.

But the strategy also includes plans for the EC to engage with producer countries on best practices for cutting methane emissions.

The EC said that if producing countries did not make significant commitments to cutting methane emissions, it would consider proposing legislation on targets, standards or other incentives to ensure lower emissions for fossil gas used in the EU.

Netpune said a key research objective was to establish a "reliable" benchmark for assessing total oil and gas methane emissions in an offshore environment.