The Road to Consistency in Greenhouse Gas Emissions Estimation and Reporting for the Oil Gas Industry Sector

摘要

Oil & Gas industry operations span the globe, encountering unique operational and business climates in different regions. This reality presents many challenges for companies that are characterizing their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and developing GHG management strategies for diverse multinational facilities. For these companies, the consistency, reliability, and credibility of the methodology to derive GHG emission estimates, as well as understanding the boundaries of the emissions reported, are especially vital. In response to continued interest by its member companies about consistency in greenhouse gas emissions estimation, the American Petroleum Institute (API) developed a Compendium of Greenhouse Gas Emissions Estimation Methodologies for the Oil and Gas Industry (newly revised version, February 2004). This paper discusses API's activities during 'road-testing' of the compendium in support of the harmonization of estimation methodologies in the Oil & Gas industry sector. A variety of protocols were analyzed and intercompared and the paper summarizes the highlights and major findings of the key factors that affect the comparability of reported GHG emissions. The paper will conclude by describing the global industry collaboration to complement the methodology compendium by producing an industry-endorsed approach for establishing organizational boundaries, accounting framework, and a reporting approach that is based both on an operational and/or an equity-share basis.