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Survey on Methane Management

Available information regarding methane emissions from extractive industries is relatively sporadic and often based on estimates/guesstimates. There is neither a common technological approach to monitoring and recording methane emissions, nor a standard method to reporting them. The extent of the challenge and opportunity to manage such emissions remains largely undefined. The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) Committee on Sustainable Energy recommended that work be done to agree on common philosophies, standards, and technologies for monitoring, recording, and reporting methane emissions at each stage of production, processing, storage, transmission, distribution, and use of fossil fuels, whether coal, oil, or natural gas, while recognizing that there will be adaptation to specific situations. Additionally, it was agreed there is a need to mitigate methane emissions, including identifying appropriate mechanisms for mobilizing needed resources, and to fund a detailed study on a common basis across the entire UNECE region. In response, the Committee requested that work be undertaken to assess baseline, benchmarking and scale of current methane emissions in the extractive industries, with the aim of giving clear guidance.
In this context, the UNECE secretariat in consultation with the secretariats of the International Gas Union, the World Coal Association and the World Petroleum Council and other industry experts, has prepared a survey of how methane monitoring is done currently.
If you have any questions or comments about the survey or about this process, please do not hesitate to contact Scott Foster at [email protected] or Michal Drabik at [email protected].

Survey Results and Analysis
Documents
Documents ENG FRA RUS
Analysis of the Survey on Methane Management in Extractive Industries
by Mr. Richard Mattus
PDF    
Current practices in monitoring methane emissions in extractive activities - survey results and analysis
(ECE/ENERGY/2017/8)
Note by the secretariat
PDF PDF PDF
Presentations
Presentations
Survey on Methane Management in Extractive Industries
Mr. Scott Foster, Director, UNECE Sustainable Energy Division
4th Session of the Group of Experts on Gas, 27 - 28 March 2017, Geneva, Switzerland
Evaluation the Survey on Methane Management in Extractive Industries
Mr. Richard Mattus, UNECE Expert
26th Session of the Committee on Sustainable Energy, 26-28 September 2017, Geneva, Switzerland