Tackling Methane Emissions in Non-Operated Joint Ventures

Many oil and gas majors are responding to the call to reduce methane emissions by setting aggressive targets and investing in operational changes. These changes can involve the implementation of technology to better detect and respond to methane leaks, for instance, or swapping out gas powered pneumatic drills powered for electric ones.  

However, in many instances, these changes and targets only apply to assets that a company operates directly. This is a challenge in an industry where it is common to have joint ventures in jurisdictions where emissions are less regulated and measured. How can companies fully quantify and mitigate the methane emissions in Non-Operated Joint Ventures?

Julia Schmitt, Program Lead Methane Guiding Principles at Wintershall DEA spoke to us ahead of the Methane Mitigation Summit - Europe, taking place 27-29 March 2023, to discuss the challenge of engaging with partners in Non-Operated Joint Ventures.

Diana Davis, IX Network: Do you think that Non-Operated Joint Ventures (NOJVs) fall through an important loophole that needs to be addressed when European oil and gas companies look to reduce their methane emissions?

Julia Schmitt, Wintershall Dea: I think it is a very important question and it needs to be addressed. In our case, about 80% of our production is non-operated and, to a large degree, is outside Europe. Hence, we need to engage strongly with our partners to drive methane emissions down.

Our corporate methane intensity target is on operated assets but we also aim to considerably reduce emissions in all assets irrespective if operated or non-operated. This is also reflected in our equity based net zero target 2030.

That’s a powerful commitment because we are not talking about an intensity target, which always has the production in the denominator. It is truly net zero and it is equity based. We must, therefore, work with our partners to bring down scope 1 and scope 2 emissions of both methane and CO2 in all our assets.

To reach this goal, the first thing we need to do is engage with the partners and operators especially those who are not OGMP signatories. We need to be able to talk about methane emissions in the same language and report on them in the same way with an increased level of accuracy so that we can bring them down efficiently and focus on material sources.

That’s why we consider initiatives such as OGMP 2.0 and Methane Guiding Principles highly beneficial because they bring companies together at all levels. You cannot see climate protection as an individual endeavour of single companies - it really needs to be a joint effort of all parties to cope with the challenge to considerably reduce green house gas emissions to reach our climate goals.

An important side effect of reducing methane emissions is that it often brings C02 emission reductions at the same time. The material emissions sources are often the same. We need to talk about what's going on with flaring or energy efficiency. We need to work with partners on how to get rid of the emissions and need to also allocate required resources from budgeting to engineering and technology deployment.

Diana Davis, IX Network: It sounds like you can't be tackling this as an individual company. It really needs to be an industry-wide discussion.

Julia Schmitt, Wintershall Dea: Yes. We are a Methane Guiding Principles Member and an OGMP member. I see our work as non-competitive with our partners. It is a very open and constructive way of working together. We are sharing experience on technology and are exchanging lessons learned as well as best practices.

There is no single company that knows exactly what to do and technologies – especially in the area of methane detection and quantification – are evolving at a high speed. We need to understand where the emissions are occurring and how which technology should be deployed to obtain the best results; we are all working on this challenge together.

That’s what I really like about this job. We have been very cooperative with our partners.

Diana Davis, IX Network:  It sounds like you have set aggressive targets and you're actively discussing with your partners on how you can bring them down. How are you approaching this as a company and with your partners?