{"id":8069,"date":"2017-11-22T15:33:04","date_gmt":"2017-11-22T20:33:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsroom.carleton.ca\/?post_type=cu_story&p=8069"},"modified":"2025-10-17T17:49:06","modified_gmt":"2025-10-17T21:49:06","slug":"mastering-methane","status":"publish","type":"cu_story","link":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/story\/mastering-methane\/","title":{"rendered":"Reducing Methane Emissions"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n Reducing Methane Emissions\n <\/h1>\n \n <\/header>\n <\/div>\n\n \n <\/path>\n <\/path>\n <\/svg>\n <\/div>\n\n \n\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n

 <\/strong>Methane emissions from oil and gas production in Alberta are significantly higher than industry reported data and government estimates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To help meet our climate change targets, Canada is committed to reducing energy sector emissions of this potent greenhouse gas by 40 to 45 per cent below 2012 levels by 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s a significant challenge. But there\u2019s also a tremendous opportunity for accurate emission measurements to shape new regulations \u2014 currently being developed by both the federal and Alberta governments \u2014 that can help the country turn the tide in this critical front in the fight against global warming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Methane measurements in Canada\u2019s oil and gas sector, and the technical and economic challenges of methane mitigation, were the focus of a full-day symposium<\/a> on Nov. 21 organized by Prof. Matthew Johnson at Carleton University\u2019s Energy and Emissions Research Lab<\/a> (EERL).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Prof.
Prof. Matthew Johnson of Carleton University\u2019s Energy and Emissions Research Lab speaks during the symposium.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The methane symposium brought together around 130 scientists from academia, government and industry, as well as energy policy experts and elected officials, with participants eager to discuss the latest research and how the data can be translated into impactful regulations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Among the audience were senior representatives from the Department of Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change Canada and the National Research Council and CEOs and executive directors from across Canada and the United States, with another five dozen people \u2014 including regulatory advisers and lawyers \u2014 watching the proceedings via livestream.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\u201cEspecially in Canada, there is momentum to take the necessary steps to achieve emission reductions overall,\u201d said Daniel Zavala-Araiza, a scientist in the Texas office of the U.S. Environmental Defense Fund.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

He collaborated with Johnson on a recent paper which determined that total methane emissions in Alberta were at least 25 to 50 per cent higher<\/a> than current federal government estimates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The science is consistent, said Zavala-Araiza: actual emissions are higher than we thought. And while it will take time to implement and reap the benefits of new regulations, he argues that the first steps can be taken now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat do regulations need to say to address emissions?\u201d asked Zavala-Araiza. \u201cWith accurate measurements, we have the information we need to get this right. And in the end, captured methane is a saleable product. Gas in a pipeline is better for industry than releasing gas into the atmosphere.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

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Conducting Airbore Measurements of Methane in Alberta<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u201cComparisons of Airborne Measurements and Inventory Estimates of Methane Emissions in the Alberta Upstream Oil and Gas Sector<\/em>\u201d \u2014 the paper by Johnson and Zavala-Araiza, published this fall in the prestigious journal Environmental Science & Technology<\/em> \u2014 set the stage for the symposium.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Co-authored with EERL research associate David Tyner, Stephen Conley of Scientific Aviation<\/a> and Stefan Schwietzke of the University of Colorado\u2019s NOAA ESRL Global Monitoring Division, the study was based on airborne measurements of two oil and gas production regions in Alberta in November 2016.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The research project was \u201creally about using evidence-based science to help inform policy and help us make informed decisions,\u201d said Johnson, a professor in Carleton\u2019s Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department, \u201cand to help industry operators identify the most efficient and effective actions for mitigation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Prof.
Prof. Matthew Johnson speaks to symposium attendees.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Despite finding that actual emissions are much higher than reported data and estimates, the \u201cgood news,\u201d according to Johnson, is that greater volumes of methane being produced improve the economics of capturing the gas into a pipeline instead of venting or flaring it into the atmosphere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additionally, industry will be incentivized to deploy existing and emerging technologies to detect and control leaks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Compared to the global warming impact of carbon dioxide, methane is understood to be approximately 34 times more potent over a period of 100 years and 96 times more potent over 20 years. But very little effort has been made until now to measure actual methane emissions from oil and gas production in Canada.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\u201cWe\u2019ve brought together the best range of speakers with direct knowledge of data from the Canadian oil and gas sector,\u201d Johnson said in his opening remarks at the symposium.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\u201cOur goal today is to get to: What does this all mean?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAt Carleton, we understand the fundamental importance of energy and the environment, and how teaching, research and innovation can help us work toward a sustainable future,\u201d said Vice-President (Research and International) Rafik Goubran.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The EERL has a long history of national and international multi-stakeholder collaborations with both government and industry, he added. \u201cThe breadth of these collaborations and diversity of partners strengthens the impact of Carleton research.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

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Addressing the Need for Environmental Protection<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Speaking at the symposium on behalf of both Canada\u2019s Minister of Environment and Climate Change Catherine McKenna and Minister of Natural Resources James Carr, MP Jonathan Wilkinson \u2014 parliamentary secretary to McKenna \u2014 noted the continued development of fossil fuels requires us to address the need for environmental protection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEvents like this one today are critical in terms of how we can turn climate action into competitive advantage,\u201d said Wilkinson. \u201cElections come and go, and so do governments, but the science of climate change is an enduring fact. People can debate the Paris Agreement all they want, but the laws of physics can\u2019t be wished away.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\u201cAchieving emission reduction targets will require thoughtfulness and significant innovation,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\u201cThe shift to a clean growth future will present significant challenges, but innovation is not new to the Canadian oil and gas sector.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Symposium
Symposium participants listen to a speaker.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In his morning presentation, Zavala-Araiza focused on so-called \u201csuper emitters,\u201d noting that five per cent of oil and gas production sites in one American region are responsible for 50 per cent of the area\u2019s methane emissions \u2014 a statistic that\u2019s likely similar in Canada.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no reason to think this is only happening in the U.S.,\u201d said Zavala-Araiza, showing graphs that detailed comparable emission results around Red Deer, one of the two Alberta zones studied in the project with Johnson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Better monitoring of super emitters could lead to effective mitigation, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe should try to apply some sort of triage system,\u201d suggested Prof. David Risk from the Flux Lab at Nova Scotia\u2019s St. Francis Xavier University.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\u201cWhen you go to the emergency room at a hospital, not everybody is sent to surgery.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Other speakers in the morning session \u2014 which focused on measurements \u2014 included scientists Shao-Meng Li and Doug Worthy from Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC). Li concentrated on emissions from the Alberta oil sands and the shale gas (i.e., fracking) production region in southern Saskatchewan, while Worthy \u2014 the scientific lead for ECCC\u2019s atmospheric greenhouse gas program since 1988 \u2014 compared provincial-level emissions in Alberta and Saskatchewan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOne of the things I was told as a young scientist,\u201d said Worthy, \u201cis that you can always go back and analyze data, but you can never go back and collect data.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

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Mitigtating Methane Emissions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The afternoon session, on the technical and economic challenges of methane mitigation, was moderated by Frank Des Rosiers, assistant deputy minister for Innovation and Energy Technology at the federal Department of Natural Resources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speakers included Carleton\u2019s David Tyner, industry representatives Julie Oxtoby (from Progress Energy, a Calgary-based natural gas company) and Joshua Anhalt (president of methane detection, measurement and management company GreenPath Energy) and, via video conference from Norway, Stephanie Saunier of Carbon Limits, an international energy industry consultancy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Frank
Frank Des Rosiers, assistant deputy minister for Innovation and Energy Technology at the federal Department of Natural Resources<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Globally, a large percentage of the needed methane emission reductions can be achieved using today\u2019s technologies with no net cost, said Drew Nelson, director of international affairs for the U.S. Environmental Defense Fund\u2019s American climate and energy program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Considering that 25 per cent of the warming we feel today is from methane, he said: \u201cThis is about as close to a get-out-of-jail-free card as you can get.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jurisdictions that impose methane emissions reduction regulations don\u2019t necessarily lose energy production or jobs, said Nelson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Rafik
Rafik Goubran, Vice-President (Research and International), speaks during the symposium.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFailure to address methane will cost more jobs in the long run than in not addressing methane.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s telling, Des Rosier noted, that Canada\u2019s government is talking openly about these challenges with academia and industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re working together to assess the scope of the problem,\u201d he said, \u201cand we will work together to come up with innovative solutions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Methane measurements in Canada\u2019s oil and gas sector were the focus of a full-day symposium at Carleton University on Nov. 20, 2017.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":410,"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"cu_story_type":[13,19],"cu_story_tag":[1918,1925],"class_list":["post-8069","cu_story","type-cu_story","status-publish","hentry","cu_story_type-research-discovery","cu_story_type-technology-innovation","cu_story_tag-faculty-of-engineering-and-design","cu_story_tag-research"],"acf":{"cu_post_thumbnail":"blueprint"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story\/8069","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/cu_story"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/410"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story\/8069\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":98356,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story\/8069\/revisions\/98356"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8069"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"cu_story_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story_type?post=8069"},{"taxonomy":"cu_story_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story_tag?post=8069"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}