Canada announces new methane emission standards for oil and gas sector

"The regulations, announced on Tuesday, lay out a path for Canada the world's fourth-largest oil producer to cut by 2035 its overall emissions of the potent greenhouse gas by 75 percent over 2014 levels. They fulfil a promise by Prime Minister Mark Carney to strengthen Canada's existing methane rules, but allow for a slightly longer target timeframe than the previous draft rules announced under Carney's predecessor, Justin Trudeau."

"While methane does not last as long in the atmosphere as carbon dioxide, it can have 80 times the climate-warming impact of CO2 over a 20-year period. Oil and gas facilities are responsible for about half of Canada's total methane emissions, according to the government. Methane, the main component of natural gas, is released directly into the atmosphere during oil and gas production, through practices such as venting and flaring, and can also escape through leaks in wells and other infrastructure."

"The new rules, which will take effect in 2028, prohibit venting with several exceptions and establish an inspection schedule for companies to find equipment leaks and repair them. Operators will have the option to design their own approaches to controlling methane as long as they meet the required methane intensity thresholds. Total greenhouse gas emissions from Canada's oil and gas sector continue to grow as production increases."

Canada established regulations to reduce methane emissions from the oil and gas sector by 75% from 2014 levels by 2035, with the rules taking effect in 2028. The regulations ban venting with specified exceptions, set a schedule for inspections to detect and repair equipment leaks, and allow operators to design their own control methods if they meet methane intensity thresholds. Methane has a much higher near-term warming impact than CO2 and is emitted via venting, flaring and infrastructure leaks; oil and gas facilities account for about half of national methane emissions. Sector production-driven growth complicates broader 2030 greenhouse gas targets.

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