US$32M for R&D projects to cut methane emissions from oil and gas

The funding backs the Biden Administration’s goal of slashing global methane emissions by 30% by 2030 as compared with 2020 levels. Methane is a potent greenhouse gas (GHG), with a global warming potential of about 27-30 GWP on a 100-year timescale.

The DOE reported The United States has more than 2M active, abandoned, or repurposed wells, as well as its oil and natural gas pipeline network, compressor stations, and other oil and gas infrastructure that emit approximately 8M tonnes of methane annually.

Projects selected under the department’s funding of opportunity announcement (FOA) will help to advance networks of sensors, called surface-based methane sensor technologies, for more timely monitoring of methane emissions across large oil- and natural gas-producing basins.

Other projects under the FOA will design an integrated methane monitoring platform that will enable early detection and improved quantification of methane emissions along the entire natural gas supply chain to improve the accuracy of methane emissions estimates.

Those interested, must submit applications by 4 October 2022. More details are available here.

“Methane is more destructive than carbon dioxide to our health and environment, so it’s crucial we develop solutions to identify and mitigate leaks at their source,” said US Energy Secretary Jennifer M. Granholm. “Today’s funding bolsters DOE’s efforts to advance next-generation technologies and systems to help make the natural gas infrastructure leak-tight, which will dramatically reduce methane emissions across the country and deliver cleaner air for all”.

Mitigating leaks of methane from oil and gas infrastructure would enhance the environmental standing of natural gas and LNG. Fuel switching from coal over to natural gas can roughly cut carbon dioxide emissions in half, but to a much lesser extent, if the natural gas supply chain is not leak-tight, said DOE.