The 2Celsius Association in cooperation with the European Commission Representation in Romania organized the conference Romania’s contribution to reducing methane emissions from the energy sector, which brought together in Bucharest experts in the field of methane monitoring and reporting, representatives from across the energy industry chain, local and European authorities and non-governmental associations, to understand Romania’s obligations at European level and what the economic and environmental implications are.
Reducing methane emissions will bring major challenges at the national level, with Romania having all segments of the oil and gas industry: production, transport, storage, distribution and supply. Mitigating these emissions requires cooperation between market players, local authorities, and international organizations.
Methane emissions have a strong greenhouse effect, affecting air quality and public health. In this context, the European Commission has proposed an EU Methane Regulation in 2021, which is now under negotiation between the European Parliament and the EU Council and could be finalized by the end of the year.
“The EU is the largest importer of oil and gas and our main priority is to ensure that the regulation also covers imports, estimated at over 90% of European consumption. We need to make sure that the same rules apply outside the EU,” said Jutta Paulus MEP, co-rapporteur of the European Parliament’s ITRE committee for the negotiations on the EU Methane Regulation, at the event.
At the national level, Alexandra Bocșe, State Counsellor in the Climate and Sustainability Department of the Presidential Administration, says that Romania needs to take responsibility for reducing methane emissions and that several cheap and quick measures can be implemented in the energy industry.
“We have three major sources of methane in Romania: the agricultural sector, waste and the energy industry. We had a meeting at the Government last week on methane and we discussed different options for involving economic actors in reducing methane emissions at the lowest possible cost. At the moment we don’t know the extent of the phenomenon and we need clear measurements,” said Alexandra Bocșe, State Counsellor.
Romania has not signed the Global Methane Pledge, an international effort convened by the U.S. Government and the European Commission that gathers about 150 countries committed to reducing global methane emissions by 30% by 2030.
Romania is the second largest producer of natural gas in the EU and needs to be actively involved in limiting fugitive methane emissions throughout the chain (production, storage, distribution). It also has one of the oldest infrastructures in Europe.
“Romania is one of the largest methane emitters in the EU and has an opportunity to show its leadership by joining the Global Methane Pledge and engaging in UNEP efforts to reduce methane emissions from the energy sector,” said Andreea Calcan, from the United Nations Environment Programme’s International Methane Emissions Observatory (IMEO). She explained that close monitoring of methane emissions is needed because if you can’t measure it, you can’t fix it. She invited Romanian companies to join the Oil and Gas Methane Partnership 2.0 (OGMP 2.0), UNEP’s flagship oil and gas reporting and mitigation programme.
OGMP 2.0 allows companies to target mitigation actions and allocate capital efficiently. It is the only comprehensive, measurement-based international reporting framework for the oil and gas sector.
Another tool developed by UNEP’s IMEO is the Methane Alert and Response System (MARS), a pilot program launched at COP 27 to detect and attribute large methane emissions by satellite, then notify the responsible entity (company or government) to incentivise them to respond.
UNEP’s IMEO provides free training to government officials and representatives of oil and gas companies to enhance their understanding of methane emissions. It advocates cooperation in the methane ecosystemand encourages companies’ voluntary involvement to make the most accurate measurements possible.
Prof Thomas Roeckman (University of Utrecht), the coordinator of the ROMEO (ROmanian Methane Emissions from Oil & gas) program, has carried out a study at oil and gas infrastructure in southern Romania and has shown that more than half of the sites monitored are emitting methane, and the amount is up to five times higher than Romania reports.
“The mindset has to change from the one who creates the problem to the one who can solve it. Gas lost through leaks, venting or flaring is good quality, it’s worth money and the company can recover and use it,” says Roeckman.
Tomas Bredariol of the International Energy Agency presented another tool for tracking fugitive methane emissions: the Methane Tracker – an interactive database of methane emission estimates by country and their abatement options.
“Oil and gas operations are responsible for methane emissions daily. We urgently need to take action because there are many technologies available. We can cut three-quarters of these emissions with more efficient technology and capture or sealing equipment. 80% of the investment can be made at a reasonable cost. The total cost of implementation is about $100 billion, for an industry with over $4 trillion in revenue,” says Bredariol.
Ambitious regulations to reduce methane emissions from the energy sector must include measurements to eliminate leaks, bans on venting and flaring, high standards for active wells, and verification of abandoned wells.
“The commission has included proposals for abandoned wells, but so far we don’t have a concrete timetable for implementation,” says Kim O’Dowd of the Environmental Investigation Agency.
The conference was organized by 2Celsius with the support of the Environmental Investigation Agency as part of its efforts to promote the rapid reduction of global methane emissions in line with scientific advice on climate change and the Paris Agreement targets.
