Britain’s offshore oil and gas industry has more than halved methane emissions since 2018, according to Offshore Energies UK’s 2024 Emissions Reduction Report.
Over the same period, overall emissions associated with the production of oil and gas fell by 28%.
This suggests the sector will achieve targets agreed with the government for methane reduction seven years ahead of the 2030 deadline, the report added. And the industry is set to surpass the 25% reduction target for production emissions four years ahead of schedule (the target date was 2027).
The North Sea Transition Deal had committed the oil and gas industry to emissions reductions of 10% by 2025, 25% by 2027, and 50% by 2030.
OEUK’s analysis found that almost 70% of the reductions were a result of operator improvements such as modifying power systems used to produce oil and gas from deep-lying reservoirs, or introducing new systems to capture unused gas under pressure that had previously been burned off for safety reasons.
Emissions from these flaring and venting processes have also fallen by more than 50% over the past five years.
