Country
Assessment
Article 15 of the 2021 proposal bans venting except for a select few situations, such as emergencies, malfunctions, technical requirements, or safety reasons (as amended by the EP; see footnote 3). Technical requirements cover “pneumatic devices and pumps, dry gas seals, compressors, atmospheric pressure storage tanks, or other components designed to vent”; liquids unloading; and other activities necessary for safe operations. The EP amendments to Article 15 include new paragraphs on equipment standards. The amendments also require replacing equipment with zero-emission alternatives (if they exist) by the end of 2026, and the use of only zero-emission pneumatic controllers and pumps at newly built, replaced, or refurbished sites. In any event, operators can vent only if flaring is not technically feasible or entails safety risks. Besides these circumstances, Article 15 allows flaring only in situations where re-injection, own use, gas processing, or dispatch of gas to market are not feasible for reasons other than economic profitability.
Article 8 of the 2021 proposal states that independent auditors—referred to as verifiers—shall verify that the emission reports produced by operators and importers comply with the requirements. The audits will have emission factors, calculation and sampling methods, risk assessments, and quality control as key review items, and also include site inspections. The results are to be packaged into a verification statement asserting that the emissions report complies with the requirements and specifying the verification work that was done. Where the assessment concludes that an emissions report does not comply with the requirements, the verifiers shall inform the operator, which shall submit a revised report. According to Article 9, the verifiers shall be independent from operators and shall conduct their mandated activities in the public interest. They shall also be accredited according to Regulation (EC) 765/2008. According to Article 10, for methane emissions data, verifiers, the competent authorities, and the Commission shall consider the information made available by the International Methane Emissions Observatory (IMEO). The EP amendments also require the IMEO to report “super-emitters identified by way of an early detection and warning system.”
Article 5 of the 2021 proposal defines the tasks of the competent authorities. While performing the tasks, they shall cooperate with each other, with operators, and with their counterparts from other EU countries and the EC. Article 6 requires the competent authorities to conduct regular routine inspections such as site checks and field audits and document and record examinations. A note of remedial action shall be issued if a serious breach is detected. Routine inspections should be scheduled no less than every 16 months (as amended by the EP; see footnote 3); where inspection results revealed a serious breach, a follow-up inspection shall be conducted within nine months (as amended by the EP; see footnote 3). Nonroutine inspections shall be conducted following written complaints as per Article 7, or to detect leaks and the repairs thereof. The results of all inspections must be documented and made public within two months (see section 17 of this case study).
Methane emissions during oil and gas exploration and production; gas gathering and processing, transmission, distribution, and underground storage; and LNG operations (along with coal mines) were not specifically regulated at the EU level until the EC began working on specific regulations in 2021. Regulation (EU) 2021/1119 includes the target of economywide climate neutrality by 2050 and establishes a commitment of at least 55 percent reduction of net greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions below 1990 levels by 2030. According to Part 2 of Annex V to Regulation (EU) 2018/1999 (“Governance Regulation”), the emissions to be reduced include those of carbon dioxide and methane. The relevant institutions and the EU member states shall take the necessary measures at the EU and national levels. Regulation (EU) 2018/1999, requires EU member states to establish national inventory systems to estimate GHG emissions and report national projections. The EP amendments include a new Article 1a, which explicitly refers to the above two regulations. The 2021 proposal builds on the provisions of the European Climate Law and the Governance Regulation and establishes applicable principles pertaining to the flaring and venting of natural gas and the treatment of fugitive methane emissions. Article 1, Paragraph 1, defines the scope—as amended by the EP —as measurement, quantification, monitoring, reporting, and verification of methane emissions in the energy sector in the Union, as well as emissions abatement through leak detection and repair (LDAR), and restrictions on venting and flaring. Tools for transparency regarding methane emissions from fossil energy imports are also introduced. According to Article 1, Paragraph 2, the regulation covers oil and gas (including processing, storage, and transmission), and LNG terminals.
Article 1 of the 2021 proposal defines the regulation’s scope by including all key elements of upstream and midstream operations, most notably oil and fossil gas upstream exploration and production, gas gathering and processing, transmission, distribution, underground storage, and LNG terminals. Downstream operations are subject to Directive 2010/75/EU, 2010, which is under revision.
The European Commission (EC) published its Methane Strategy in October 2020. The strategy covers emissions from all sectors, but one of its key objectives is to impose obligations on companies to mitigate overall methane emissions. The strategy also states that the EC supports the targets formulated by the World Bank’s Zero Routine Flaring by 2030 initiative. At the 26th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP26), held in 2021, the EC along with the United States announced the Global Methane Pledge, a commitment to reduce all human-made methane emissions. The participants (150 countries as of June 14, 2023) have also committed to advancing in that direction using good practice inventory methodologies, continuously improving the quality of their data, and ensuring greater transparency in key sectors. Following the Global Methane Pledge, in 2021, the EC prepared the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament (EP) and the European Council on methane emissions reduction in the energy sector, as well as an amendment of Regulation (EU) 2019/942. The proposed regulation requires the oil, gas, and coal sectors to measure, report, and verify methane emissions and proposes strict rules to detect and repair methane leaks and limit venting and flaring. The regulation would build on the Oil and Gas Methane Partnership (OGMP) 2.0 framework, provided the framework aligns with the regulation’s objectives of improving measurement and data quality. The proposed regulation also puts forward global monitoring tools to ensure transparency regarding methane emissions from oil, gas, and coal imports into the European Union (EU). The EC would also consider further actions in the future. The EP passed the proposed regulation with amendments on May 9, 2023. The amendments enhanced the language on the oversight of fossil fuel importers. On November 15, 2023, EP and European Council announced a provisional agreement on methane regulations. These steps align with the EU target—stated in Regulation (EU) 2021/1119, also known as the European Climate Law—to reach climate neutrality by 2050.
The key target of the Global Methane Pledge is global, not national or regional, and aims for a 30 percent reduction of all human-made methane emissions by 2030 compared with 2020 levels. This has the potential to prevent global warming over 0.2°Celsius by 2050. In line with its Methane Strategy , the EC will also examine available options for eliminating routine venting and flaring in the energy sector, in an attempt to complement the 2030 objectives of the World Bank’s Zero Routine Flaring by 2030 initiative. Regulation (EU) 2021/1119 introduces a requirement to reach net-zero emissions across the EU by 2050 and defines an interim step for 2040 (see section 3 of this case study).
Article 4, Paragraph 1, and Article 30, Paragraph 1, of the 2021 proposal stipulate that national governments are responsible for key implementation provisions such as the appointment of a regulator, or multiple regulators (referred to as “competent authorities”). Article 9 allows independent verifiers to carry out the activities required under this regulation.
Article 30, Paragraph 1, of the 2021 proposal stipulates that key implementation provisions such as the appointment of a regulator, or multiple regulators (“competent authorities”), or fines and penalties remain with the EU member state on grounds of subsidiarity.
Resource ownership is subject to national jurisdiction.