This month in the Highwood Bulletin I cover our launch of EIP, EPA’s super-emitter program, EPA new technology approvals, PHMSA final rule, DOE’s MERP announcement, CDPHE’s top-down factor, Kazakhstan’s big leak, EPA under a new administration, NOJVs, and a new course on reconciliation by Jeff Rutherford. Thank you as always for reading and your support of Highwood.
Highwood launches EIP software
The O&G sector is transitioning from traditional bottom-up inventories to measurement-informed inventories (MIIs) for more credible methane emissions reporting, a shift driven by evolving regulations and voluntary initiatives. To formalize the MII process into a consistent workflow, we have worked with an industry steering committee since 2023 to build EIP, a novel methane accounting software. Lean more about EIP here and read my blog on the story here.
EPA’s super-emitter program is LIVE
The first super-emitter program data is now live on the EPA’s website. Carbon Mapper reported 7 plumes ranging from 149 to 812 kg/h. One event appears to be from a refinery in Bakersfield. Check it out here.
EPA approves new methane technologies
The EPA has begun to approve Alternative Test Methods (ATMs) for methane leak detection. Currently, there are 57 active requests. Of these, 10 have been approved, including 6 for Bridger Photonics, 2 for Insight M, 1 for Xplorobot, and 1 for Carbon Mapper (for super-emitter detection). See the full list with details here.
PHMSA pipeline rule finalized
On January 17, 2025, the U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) announced a final rule to enhance natural gas pipeline safety by updating leak detection and repair requirements. Notably, PHMSA decided upon a 10 kg/h threshold for advanced leak detection technology, moving away from a ppm-based performance metric. Read more here.
DOE announces $850mn for US methane projects
On December 20, 2024, the U.S. DOE and EPA announced approximately $850 million in funding for 43 projects aimed at reducing methane emissions in the O&G sector. The recipients include 11 universities and 20 private companies across the US, with several grants exceeding $100mn. Read more here.
Colorado regulator announces top-down factor
The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) has published its first annual state default intensity verification factor to account for discrepancies among reported and calculated methane emissions. The factor of 1.164 must be applied by Colorado operators unless they elect to implement an operator-specific program. CDPHE’s rules are the first to incorporate reconciliation in regulatory methane reporting. Learn more here.
Kazakhstan issues fine for giant methane leak
In 2023, Kazakhstan’s private oil company Buzachi Neft experienced a prolonged fire at its Karaturun field, resulting in one of the largest methane leaks ever recorded, with emissions exceeding permissible levels by 480X. The company was fined $780,000 by the government for this incident. Read more here.
Report: Will Trump end or mend EPA’s methane rules?
Authors of a new white paper examine the potential actions of the Trump administration regarding federal methane regulations, including the Waste Emissions Charge (WEC), updated EPA reporting requirements, and the OOOOb and OOOOc regulations. The paper discusses the complexities of repealing these regulations, the implications of modifying versus rescinding them, and the impact that external pressures could have. Read it here.
Report: Methane reductions for O&G joint ventures
A report by EDF highlights that opportunities exist to improve management and reporting of methane emissions from non-operated joint ventures (NOJVs). Given that NOJVs constitute about 50% of IOCs’ equity production, the report urges these companies to extend their emission reduction commitments to encompass all assets. Read the report here.
Highwood grows online methane courses
Five methane courses are now available online and on-demand (another coming soon). These include courses on reconciliation and measurement-informed inventories (New! By Jeff Rutherford), OGMP 2.0, methane technology, methane basics, voluntary initiatives, and more. Explore our courses here.
Want to write for the Bulletin?
We’re 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, constructive post for our ~2500 subscribers and ~10,000 LinkedIn followers on an emissions management topic. Authors are fully credited and have a profile page on our website (we are happy to backlink).