Methane: Monitor + Mitigate

Reducing methane emissions assumes two solid data sets: first, monitoring to identify and quantify emission sources and levels; and second, choosing effective solutions to eliminate fugitive emissions. While methane monitoring arms us with data to identify and prioritize mitigation efforts, at some point the focus must shift from understanding the problem to dealing with it.

Federal programs

With the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA) and its proposed methane thresholds and fees, balancing costs and benefits means that accurate measurement is more important than ever. The Methane Emissions Reduction Program (MERP), a component of the IRA, provides $1.5 billion in federal funding to support methane monitoring and innovative technologies. The program goal is to improve methane emissions reporting accuracy and reduce methane and GHG emissions across the nation, levying fees on oil and gas facility methane emissions across operations.

In 2024, methane fees are planned to be $900/ton, rising to $1500/ton by 2026. Fee assessments are based on exceeding emissions thresholds, with some exemptions for compliance with stiff EPA methane regulations.

Acquiring and coordinating timely, reliable methane emissions data, and then analyzing the data to take corrective actions can be complicated, time-consuming, and expensive, but technology is advancing to change that.

Monitoring

Monitoring technologies now track and measure methane with a variety of tools and methods:

• On-site and on-ground sensors for continuous monitoring of individual assets and locations
• Drone and aircraft air quality measurements and emissions identification checks
• Satellite measurements to identify significant sources, nationally and globally

Mitigating

Once data is in hand, addressing the identified leaks and problem wells is the primary step to reducing methane emissions. Benefits of these reductions: slowing global warming and avoiding federal fees. Reductions can be achieved through equipment upgrades or replacements with zero-emission equipment, responding rapidly to reports of large unplanned emissions events, and promptly sealing leaks when they are identified.

Quick fix - Marginal wells

MERP allocates $700 million for identifying and plugging marginal conventional wells, which emit disproportionate levels of methane compared to production volumes.

Impact

Choosing the correct well sealing material and technology preserves both company resources – time, money, and regulatory compliance burden – and the environment by shutting off fugitive methane emissions and GHG releases.

BioSqueeze provides the most effective solution for addressing methane leaks in oil and gas wells. Using natural low-viscosity fluids to form a permanent, gas-tight limestone barrier. BioSqueeze increases efficiency and reduces risk to save time and money, maximizing the impact of methane mitigation efforts.