This week’s Highwood Bulletin contains regulatory updates (EPA, SEC), OGMP-aligned Veritas protocols, MethaneSAT and Google, IEA Methane Tracker, Highwood’s AER technology report, new OGMP 2.0 members, US DOE funding for methane, big leaks in the news, a novel Highwood analysis on super-emitters, a bank gets serious on methane, career opportunities, and the conferences you’ll find us at this spring. Get all your methane updates in the Highwood Bulletin!
United States SEC disclosures rule passed but faces lawsuits
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s long-awaited climate disclosure rules were approved on March 6 but were met with a lawsuit on the same day and are now facing a total of 9 lawsuits by at least 25 states. The legal challenges will be considered by the St. Louis-based 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. If the rule holds, initial disclosures will be required in March 2026. Read more here.
Final EPA Methane Rule published in Federal Register, but faces legal challenges
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Final Rule for methane controls has entered the federal register, triggering an effective date of May 7 2024. However, 24 Republican states are suing the EPA, while 20 Democratic states have filed a motion in defense of the rule. Find the rule in the Federal Register here and read about the legal challenges here.
New Veritas Protocols released that align with OGMP 2.0
Veritas Pathway 3 (OGMP 2.0 aligned) has been published. Company-specific emissions inventories based on measurements are critical, yet multiple philosophies exist on how to combine and compare datasets. By agreeing on approaches to reconciliation, we can strengthen the case for it and enable industry to prove their emissions – or lack thereof. Alignment will lead to faster and more widespread adoption of measurement data, empowering companies to share their methane reduction story. The Protocols can be downloaded here.
MethaneSAT is now in orbit and partnered with Google
Excitement around MethaneSAT peaked on March 4 when it was launched aboard the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. The Environmental Defense Fund satellite promises global coverage of both point and area sources and is expected to bring a new level of transparency and accountability to methane emissions. MethaneSAT also announced a partnership with Google to analyze the data and make it available to the public. Read more about the announcement here and how it works here.
IEA publishes 2024 Global Methane Tracker
The International Energy Agency has published their annual Methane Tracker Report, which contains a thorough analysis and update of global methane emissions from a variety of sources. The key finding is that despite significant effort and commitments, energy sector methane emissions remain near a record high. Access Methane Tracker 2024 here.
AER publishes Highwood report on methane technology
The Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) is a leader in progressive methane policy. In recent years, it has been the first to approve and pilot numerous alternative methane monitoring technologies. However, the AER has historically approved technologies on a case-by-case basis. A new report prepared by Highwood uses LDAR-Sim to chart a potential path forward for the AER, including technology scenarios for streamlined deployment. Read the report here.
Chevron, Kiwetinohk join OGMP 2.0
While the list of signatories, to the Oil and Gas Methane Partnership (OGMP) 2.0 grows ever longer, two new members are worth noting. Chevron recently joined, a leader in methane emissions management and the last of the US-based super-majors. Kiwetinohk, meanwhile, became the first Canadian company to join the initiative. See a full list of OGMP 2.0 member companies here.
US DOE announces $1 billion to fund methane mitigation
Achieving significant methane emission is possible, but is going to cost a lot of money. The US EPA and Department of Energy (DOE) are here to help, with a recent announcement of $1 billion in funding towards mitigating methane emissions from existing infrastructure, accelerating deployment of innovative solutions, and better characterizing methane emissions across large geographical regions. Read more about the announcement here.
Barclays gets serious about methane
Barclays, a British bank, published a revised Climate Change Statement on February 9 alongside a Transition Finance Framework to meet their commitment to finance $1 trillion of Sustainable and Transition Finance by 2030. Of note is a requirement for energy companies to have 2030 methane reduction targets and end all routine venting and flaring by 2030. Get all the details here.
Kazakhstan “mega-leak” in the news
If you get excited when you see a “mega-leak” or “ultra-emitter’ in the news, then you’ll love this recent story in the BBC on an extreme event – perhaps the worst-ever leak ever recorded. The well blowout released an estimated 127,000 tonnes of methane, equivalent to the annual emissions of 717,000 cars. Read about it and see the great images, figures, and maps here.
Analysis: Operators can expect significant exposure to public satellite methane data
Highwood’s Director of R&D Jeff Rutherford and CIO Thomas Fox published a novel analysis in the Highwood Bulletin on Feb 29 to answer the question “How much public satellite data will exist for my facilities?” The answer – quite a lot. Read about the analysis and get the results here.
Want to write for the Bulletin?
We’re always looking for guest writers who would like to contribute a Feature Article to the Highwood Bulletin. Please reach out if you’d like to write an unbiased, apolitical, solution-agnostic article for our ~2500 subscribers and ~7500 LinkedIn followers on an emissions management topic. Please reach out to [email protected] with your idea. Authors are fully credited and have a profile page on our website (we are happy to backlink).
Join our team! Highwood is hiring!
We currently have multiple exciting career postings on our website. If you have experience in methane emissions management and you’re looking for a career change, please reach out! Check out our active opportunities on our website by clicking here.
