A set of resources offering practical tools for governments looking to adopt greenhouse gas management plans for new petroleum field development projects, and to assess emissions risks from decommissioned or stranded oil and gas assets.
The world has to slash emissions by 42 per cent within the next seven years to keep the 1.5°C goal alive. Achieving this will require rapid decarbonisation in the oil and gas sector. Voluntary initiatives to this end can only go so far: it is essential that effective regulatory frameworks – national policies, laws, regulations and guidelines – are in place to minimise emissions.
The Commonwealth Secretariat stands ready to assist member countries to effectively govern emissions to accelerate oil and gas decarbonisation and achieve net-zero sector strategies, and is supporting countries to develop policies and greenhouse gas regulations.
The need for urgency and credibility requires regulatory oversight of emissions over a project’s life cycle. Near-term actions include:
- the adoption of greenhouse gas (GHG) management plans at the project level
- the assessment of emissions risks from decommissioning/stranded assets.
To this end, the Secretariat has developed a set of practical tools to help governments deliver these actions – respectively:
- Field Development Plans: A Handbook for Government Officials
- Oil and Gas Decommissioning Toolkit: Practical Guidance for Governments
These two publications set out life-cycle mechanisms to support governments to deliver two objectives.
1. A GHG management plan for each oil and gas project
Field Development Plans includes legal provisions for countries that wish to introduce these as a requirement for project approvals. It also provides model national submission guidelines as a more expedient route to adopting project-level GHG plans and supplementing regulations. The GHG management plan includes the following.
- Estimated life-cycle GHG emissions for the project, including details on methodology and benchmarking of emissions intensity.
- Demonstration of how the project has been designed to avoid and minimise emissions in accordance with industry standards (for example, achieving zero flaring and venting, near-zero methane emissions, leak detection and repairs programmes).
- Details of how GHG emissions will be monitored, managed and reported.
- A credible plan for the project to be net zero.
2. Assessing emissions risks from decommissioning
The Oil and Gas Decommissioning Toolkit provides guidance to governments on the key issues associated with oil and gas decommissioning and recommendations for effective management.
The energy transition and growing bankruptcy rates in the oil and gas sector are increasing risks to countries. Decommissioning activities will have a large emissions footprint, and this should be considered when evaluating decommissioning options. Furthermore, wells can be sources of fugitive methane emissions if they are not effectively plugged and abandoned. There is growing consensus that methane leaks are consistently underestimated, and consideration must be given to what ongoing environmental monitoring is required post-decommissioning. This toolkit aims to aid understanding and facilitate the assessment of decommissioning risks, strengthen regulatory regimes, and encourage collaboration between national and international stakeholders.
Additional resources
Methane Abatement for Oil & Gas: Handbook for Policymakers
This handbook – authored by a group of international experts on methane abatement including Naadira Ogeer of the Commonwealth Secretariat – guides policy-makers and regulators through the process of drafting, adopting and enforcing new legislation to rapidly and effectively reduce methane emissions from oil and gas processes. It builds on lessons learned from regulatory schemes in various countries, providing useful examples and case studies, and explains the latest methane abatement opportunities and technologies.
Published by the Commercial Law Development Program (CLDP), United States Department of Commerce, with contributions from the International Energy Agency, the Clean Air Task Force, the Center for Law, Energy, & the Environment at Berkley Law, and the Commonwealth Secretariat.