China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) aims to deepen its cut on methane emissions and set a more challenging plan than the previous commitment to the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative (OGCI), by further slashing it to 50% by 2025 and reach world’s first-class management of methane emission level. CNPC lowered methane emission by 12.3% in 2019, compared to 2017 level.
Methane is discharged during productions and transport of oil, coal and natural gas, and more than the 40% of the country’s methane is diffused during coal production and upstream oil and gas operations. As OGCI member, CNPC had pledged two years ago to reduce the average methane concentration to below 0.25% from 0.32% in 2017 by 2025, and strive to further achievement of 0.2%.
The company has installed 48 methane emission recycling station at their Tarium oilfield, northwestern Xinjiang, with recycling capacity of 4.2 million cubic metres per day. The recycling capacity for gas mainly methane and some ethane, at Changqing oilfield in Shaanxi province reached 1 billion cubic metres a year. The plans also to strengthen the emission monitoring, blocks methane leaks, upgrading or replacing equipment, as well as minimise flaring.
A senior Chinese climate change official said in January that China will consider launching a methane-control emissions campaign when condition permits, as part of a pledge to the Paris Accord. China’s annual methane emission was approximately 1.125 billion tons in total, about 9.1% of total greenhouse gas emissions.
