How is OGMP 2.0 empowering companies to cut methane emissions?

We know that methane is the second biggest driver of global warming after carbon dioxide. And reducing emissions from the oil and gas industry is the most cost-effective and immediate lever available to slow climate change now, as we decarbonize.

Doing that at speed and scale requires credible data and a path to translate it into concrete action. This is what the UN Environment Programme 's Oil and Gas Methane Partnership 2.0 (OGMP 2.0) provides.

Companies who join OGMP 2.0 benefit from the only comprehensive, measurement-based global framework for the sector. Meeting companies where they are and helping to accelerate their journey to targeting and tracking emissions with empirical data is a critical part of our success.

And while data is critical, so is learning from each other. Members connect to a powerful community of practice to share proven approaches, lessons learned, and collectively grow their ability to improve emissions performance. Ultimately, our collective goal is to reduce methane emissions.

Earlier this year, OGMP 2.0 held its Annual Implementation Conference in Madrid. What was special about this year's event?  

This marks 3 years since re-igniting the Partnership. For early joiners it marks a critical year where they will be reporting at the highest level – level 5 of the OGMP 2.0 reporting framework – so getting together in person was invaluable. I’m excited about the progress being made, and yet there is much more to do.

This year’s conference gathered over 150 individuals across OGMP 2.0’s non-company members, academia, governments and NGOs with great representation across its 140 member companies.

I’ll let OGMP 2.0 members share their views on the Partnership and their experiences this year’s annual conference.

The in-person gathering in Madrid allowed us to have collaborative discussions on the latest developments in methane policy and science – members heard from government partners such as the European Commission and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) on the latest regulatory landscape and consulted with world-leading researchers on the latest scientific developments on methane detection and quantification to inform companies’ efforts.

With the backdrop of the voluntary industry commitments made at COP28, conversations centered around turning commitments into concrete action, which is crucial to meet the climate moment. Indeed, the key message during the gathering was that “Failure is not an option.”

Members detailed their experiences with site level measurement approaches and reconciliation methods across the value chain – critical to meeting OGMP 2.0’s reporting requirements.

A big focus for the Partnership remains how to engage joint venture partners to understand and measure their methane emissions. Participants discussed ways to engage joint venture partners, to overcome barriers in data and technology sharing, and how UNEP and others could help with these efforts.

OGMP 2.0 also launched a new workstream to directly engage asset managers who have the agency to take immediate action to reduce methane emissions on the ground, and held a dedicated session for our newer member companies to welcome them into the Partnership and support them in their reporting journeys.

What significant OGMP 2.0 developments were shared at the Conference?

Many! OGMP 2.0 membership has doubled since its launch in 2020 to over 140 companies today in more than 70 countries around the world.

Some of the newest members we welcomed at the conference include leading industry players ExxonMobil and Chevron Corporation from the U.S., Inpex Corporation from Japan, Woodside Energy and Kiwetinokh as our first Australian and Canadian members respectively, as well as a growing number of national oil companies including Bapco Energies from Bahrain and KazMunayGas from Kazakhstan.

The Partnership now covers nearly 40% of global oil and gas production and over 70% of global LNG flows. Together with our current member companies and partners we continue efforts to broaden this powerful global coverage and invite others to join.

To sum it all up, what is the main value of OGMP 2.0’s annual gathering?

The Conference really showcases the power of the OGMP 2.0 community in building trust, in collaborative problem solving, and in finding solutions to our collective climate challenge.

OGMP 2.0 creates a unique and trusted platform where our members can share experiences, best practices and learn from each to find common solutions to accelerate the industry’s journey to increased methane transparency and accuracy to ultimately drive down emissions.

We look forward to welcoming new joiners to the Partnership and to meeting in person at next year’s Conference as the momentum for methane action continues to build!

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Learn more about OGMP 2.0 and the International Methane Emissions Observatory (IMEO).