Chevron and Egyptian govt join forces to curb methane from oil & gas sector

U.S.-headquartered energy giant Chevron has inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Egyptian Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources (MOPMR) to share best practices and expertise related to the reduction of methane emissions from the country’s oil and gas sector.

Chevron New Ventures announced the MoU on methane management, which was witnessed by the president of Chevron International Exploration and Production and the Egyptian Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, earlier this week.

Tarek El Molla, Egypt’s Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, remarked: “Decarbonisation is a core element of the Egyptian Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources’ strategy. Due to its significant global warming potential, reducing methane emissions is key to supporting positive climate action.”

The MoU builds on the Sharm El Sheikh Oil & Gas Methane Reduction Roadmap that was announced by Egypt’s Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources during Decarbonisation Day at COP27 in November 2022. This is aligned with Egypt’s membership in the oil and gas track of the Global Methane Pledge.

“Therefore, we are prioritising the reduction of methane emissions from Egypt’s oil and gas sector, in line with Egypt’s membership in the Global Methane Pledge. Building on the success of COP27 Decarbonisation Day, we will collaborate with our strategic partners like Chevron to further drive emissions reduction and reduce the carbon footprint of our hydrocarbon resources,” added El Molla.

Furthermore, the MoU includes methane and decarbonisation study tours and workshops for MOPMR employees at Chevron facilities in the U.S. and other locations, to build awareness of methane control technologies, measurement practices and projects to effectively reduce carbon emissions.

Clay Neff, president of Chevron International Exploration and Production, commented: “Chevron believes that reducing the carbon intensity of our industry is an important step to address climate change and collaboration is imperative. Since last year we have been working with the Egyptian Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources on an agreement related to developing and strengthening best practices on methane abatement.

“Together we recognise the importance of programmes which will support Ministry employees to expand the necessary skills and knowledge to advance a methane management and ultimately a carbon reduction strategy in Egypt’s energy sector.”

Chevron’s ambition is to be a global leader in methane emissions performance, and the U.S. player is taking action to meet that aim, as its upstream methane intensity has been reduced by 50 per cent since 2016.

Regarding Chevron’s recent activities in Eqypt, it is worth noting that the oil major made a significant new gas discovery in January 2023 in the Nargis Offshore Area concession located in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea, offshore Egypt.

When it comes to methane emissions, the International Energy Agency (IEA) outlined in a recent report that these emissions remained stubbornly high in 2022, even as soaring energy prices made actions to reduce them cheaper than ever.

Based on IEA’s findings, less than 3 per cent of the income accrued by oil and gas companies worldwide last year would be required to make the $100 billion investment in technologies needed to achieve this reduction.