Methane Abatement in Mexico’s Oil and Gas Sector

The document analyzes methane abatement in Mexico's oil and gas sector, finding that 34% of estimated emissions can be reduced using low-cost technologies. While Mexico has a robust regulatory framework, implementation is hindered by enforcement capacity and infrastructure gaps. The most significant abatement potential lies in improving offshore flaring practices, while midstream leak detection and repair (LDAR) can offer negative abatement costs due to the monetization of recovered gas.

• Technical abatement measures analyzed in the study could reduce estimated methane emissions in Mexico by 34%, which equates to 34.8 Mt CO2e.
• All assessed mitigation measures fall below the low-cost threshold of 596 USD/t CH4 (20 USD/t CO2e), with some measures in the midstream segment and pneumatic equipment replacement showing negative abatement costs because recovered gas generates net savings.
• Improving flaring systems in the offshore upstream segment represents the largest single abatement opportunity, potentially reducing emissions by approximately 124 kt of methane per year at a marginal cost of about 51 USD/t CH4.
• Deploying the full portfolio of analyzed abatement measures could reduce annual methane emissions by 392 kt at a net cost of approximately USD 24 million per year, which could drop to USD 14 million if all recovered upstream gas were saleable at 3 USD/MMBtu.
• Mexico's existing legal and regulatory framework for methane control is described as robust, but its effectiveness is limited by challenges in enforcement capacity and implementation.
• Methane mitigation is further constrained by technical and economic barriers, including limited financial resources, a lack of technical expertise among operators, and insufficient gas gathering and processing infrastructure.

APA

Clean Air Task Force (2026). Methane Abatement in Mexico’s Oil and Gas Sector. https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/22155144/Methane-Abatement-in-Mexicos-Oil-and-Gas-Sector.pdf

Chicago

Clean Air Task Force. Methane Abatement in Mexico’s Oil and Gas Sector. 2026. https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/22155144/Methane-Abatement-in-Mexicos-Oil-and-Gas-Sector.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Clean Air Task Force |title=Methane Abatement in Mexico’s Oil and Gas Sector |date=June 2026 |url=https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/22155144/Methane-Abatement-in-Mexicos-Oil-and-Gas-Sector.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{cleanairtaskforce2026methane, author = {{Clean Air Task Force}}, title = {{Methane Abatement in Mexico’s Oil and Gas Sector}}, institution = {Clean Air Task Force}, year = {2026}, month = jun, url = {https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/22155144/Methane-Abatement-in-Mexicos-Oil-and-Gas-Sector.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }