On April 17-18, 2024, the Petroleum Technology Alliance Canada (PTAC) hosted another successful Methane Leadership Summit in Banff. Despite the spring snow squall, it was a sold-out event with a full house for the presentations and energetic networking sessions sprinkled in between. Collaboration was again a common theme in reaching our targets for methane reduction, and the operators, suppliers, service providers, academics, associations and government officials are all working together to share information and propel ourselves forward in that regard.
On the measurement side, there continue to be emerging technologies to identify and quantify methane emissions with varying precision from satellites, airplanes, trucks or land-based solutions. Operators agreed that a mesh of technologies can be used to both quantify their emissions and better understand the sources. Attendees also agreed that the most macro-level satellite solutions help keep the world honest – and maybe we all need a little pressure to keep up with the GHG “Joneses”. These technology providers summarized their data-based observations, and amongst the most compelling was that 50% of our emissions come from small (<10kg/hr) sources – this tells us that going after the big emitters is wise in the initial implementations, but to reach the 75% reduction that is proposed for 2030, we will also need economic solutions to address the massive number of other sources including tank, surface casing vent flow, catalytic heater and other low-volume emitters.
In the solutions track, a number of Alberta-based technologies and suppliers were highlighted to share advances in methane elimination, including Global Power Technologies’ EZ Air instrument air systems. Here too, we all agreed that a breadth of technologies are needed to address the various sources of flares, leaks and vents that contribute to methane emissions. Instrument air was consistently listed as one of the highest return investments towards methane elimination, and some new progress toward engine slip venting was shared.
In closing, we all concurred that Alberta has made great progress by already meeting the prior 45% reduction target and that there are good solutions on the market to continue to decrease the methane intensity of our operations, but to reach the 75% target by 2030 is still a challenge. While technically possible (options do exist or are making good progress), the economic return may be more difficult to justify for some of these outstanding areas. With just over five years remaining, we agreed we had achieved a lot in the last five years, and our collaborative attendees are motivated to repeat the same.
About PTAC’s Leadership Summit
The Methane Leadership Summit serves as a platform to bring together a wide range of stakeholders from the oil and gas industry. Participants include government organizations, regulatory bodies, oil and gas producing companies, service and supply companies, research centers, and academic institutions. The summit focuses on addressing the significant challenges faced by the Canadian oil and gas industry in achieving methane emissions reduction targets. In an era where methane reductions are paramount, PTAC recognizes the need for urgent action within the oil and gas industry. Learn more: https://ptac.org/evenets/methane-leadership-summit-2024/