Emissions cap puts methane in spotlight; industry says low-hanging fruit already gone

CALGARY — Oil and gas producers who have already made progress on lowering their methane emissions over the last decade say further large-scale reductions will be tougher to deliver.

But even though the oilsands are the primary driver of the industry's emissions, it is the conventional or non-oilsands part of the oil and gas sector that will be expected to do a significant amount of the heavy lifting if the industry's overall emissions are to fall by the target amount. Much of the public conversation around the federal emissions cap has centred on the oilsands, as well as a proposal by the Pathways Alliance group of oilsands companies to bring down their CO2 emissions by investing $16.5 billion to build a massive carbon capture and storage network in northern Alberta.

That's because some of the measures required to address methane are simple and cost-effective, especially when compared to proposed decarbonization projects like the Pathways proposal. Additional federal regulations, likely to be finalized this fall, aim to ensure the sector achieves methane emission reductions of at least 75 per cent below 2012 levels by 2030.

"The very lowest-cost actions have already been taken, and now what we are asking for is that next tranche of efforts," McKenzie said.The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers declined to comment specifically on the role methane could play in meeting the terms of the emissions cap. In an email, CAPP president Lisa Baiton said the industry group needs more time to review the new federal regulations and the modelling behind them.

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