Methane Abatement in the Oil and Gas Sector: Install Vapor Recovery Units

The document evaluates the installation of Vapor Recovery Units (VRUs) to capture hydrocarbon vapors from storage tanks, finding that while they typically reduce emissions by 95%, high upfront capital costs and infrastructure gaps limit adoption. Across the studied countries in Africa and Latin America, VRUs remain below a low-cost threshold of 596 USD/tCH4, though cost-effectiveness varies based on the volume of methane emitted per site.

• Vapor Recovery Units (VRUs) are estimated to reduce emissions by approximately 95%, with the remaining 5% attributed to annual downtime; when active, emissions are considered negligible.
• Across all analyzed countries, the cost of VRU installation remains below the low-cost threshold of 596 USD/tCH4 (equivalent to 20 USD/tCO2e), although costs are generally positive even when accounting for gas revenues due to high upfront CAPEX.
• Cost-effectiveness is primarily driven by the volume of methane emitted per site; countries with lower emissions per site, such as Angola and Brazil, face higher average abatement costs because fixed equipment costs are harder to amortize compared to countries like Algeria and Argentina.
• Widespread adoption of VRUs is hindered by high upfront costs, the operational complexity of retrofitting aging or offshore infrastructure, and a lack of gathering, processing, and export infrastructure in countries such as Egypt and Mexico.

APA

Clean Air Task Force (n.d.). Methane Abatement in the Oil and Gas Sector: Install Vapor Recovery Units. https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/22155111/Methane-Abatement-in-the-Oil-and-Gas-Sector-VRUs.pdf

Chicago

Clean Air Task Force. Methane Abatement in the Oil and Gas Sector: Install Vapor Recovery Units. n.d. https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/22155111/Methane-Abatement-in-the-Oil-and-Gas-Sector-VRUs.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Clean Air Task Force |title=Methane Abatement in the Oil and Gas Sector: Install Vapor Recovery Units |url=https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/22155111/Methane-Abatement-in-the-Oil-and-Gas-Sector-VRUs.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{cleanairtaskforcendmethane, author = {{Clean Air Task Force}}, title = {{Methane Abatement in the Oil and Gas Sector: Install Vapor Recovery Units}}, institution = {Clean Air Task Force}, url = {https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/22155111/Methane-Abatement-in-the-Oil-and-Gas-Sector-VRUs.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }