Reducing methane emissions from B.C.’s oil and gas sector

The document argues that British Columbia's proposed methane regulations lag behind international best practices, particularly regarding timelines for existing facilities and the lack of a policy for compressor engine exhaust. The coalition recommends accelerating the target for near-zero methane emissions to 2030, implementing stricter standards for pneumatic devices, tanks, and compressor seals by 2025, and adopting a monthly instrument-based leak detection and repair (LDAR) regime.

• The coalition asserts that British Columbia's current climate policies are insufficient to meet its 2025 and 2030 targets, with gaps of 1.6 Mt CO2e and 0.8 Mt, respectively.
• Compressor engine exhaust is identified as the largest source of methane emissions in British Columbia, accounting for 54% of measured emissions, yet the BCER has not proposed a specific policy approach to address it.
• The coalition recommends accelerating the timeline for existing facilities to reach near-zero methane emissions from 2035 to 2030 to align with the goals of the industry-led Oil and Gas Climate Initiative.
• For pneumatic pumps and devices, the coalition argues that zero-emitting alternatives are cost-effective and readily available, urging a requirement for all existing devices to be zero-emitting by 2025 rather than the proposed 2030 or 2035 timelines.
• Storage tanks represent 18% of measured methane emissions in B.C., with 31% of production tanks found to be uncontrolled; the coalition recommends a 95% emissions control limit for existing uncontrolled tanks emitting 2 TPY of VOC or more by 2025.
• The coalition advocates for a shift to monthly instrument-based leak detection and repair (LDAR) at all facilities by 2025, arguing that current proposed quarterly or annual frequencies and non-instrument methods like AVO are insufficient.
• To improve enforcement, the coalition suggests implementing a super-emitter response program similar to the U.S. EPA's proposal, allowing third parties to remotely monitor and report large leaks (threshold of 100 kg/hr).

APA

Clean Air Task Force (2023). Reducing methane emissions from B.C.’s oil and gas sector. https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/21144436/follow-up-comments-reducing-methane-emissions-bc-oil-gas-sector.pdf

Chicago

Clean Air Task Force. Reducing methane emissions from B.C.’s oil and gas sector. 2023. https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/21144436/follow-up-comments-reducing-methane-emissions-bc-oil-gas-sector.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Clean Air Task Force |title=Reducing methane emissions from B.C.’s oil and gas sector |date=26 July 2023 |url=https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/21144436/follow-up-comments-reducing-methane-emissions-bc-oil-gas-sector.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{cleanairtaskforce2023reducing, author = {{Clean Air Task Force}}, title = {{Reducing methane emissions from B.C.’s oil and gas sector}}, publisher = {Clean Air Task Force}, year = {2023}, month = jul, url = {https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/21144436/follow-up-comments-reducing-methane-emissions-bc-oil-gas-sector.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }