Australian LNG player Woodside is teaming up with Japan Organization for Metals and Energy Security (JOGMEC) on methane emissions management.
In that regard, the two firms signed a memorandum of understanding during the LNG Producer-Consumer Conference held in Hiroshima on October 6.
This MoU aims to support future decarbonization of the LNG value chain from Australia to Japan.
“Titled Methane Emissions Technology Reduction and Innovation Collaboration (METRIC), the MoU will see JOGMEC introduce Woodside to Japanese organizations looking to collaborate on technology development related to the detection and quantification of methane emissions,” Woodside said in a statement.
As a greenhouse gas, methane has made the second-largest contribution to human-induced climate change after carbon dioxide and is believed to have contributed to around 30 percent of the global temperature rise to date, according to Woodside.
Woodside CEO Meg O’Neill said the MOU builds on the company’s focus on minimizing methane emissions.
“In 2023, our methane emissions were calculated to be around 0.1 percent of our production by volume, a figure well below the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative (OGCI) methane intensity target of less than 0.2 percent,” O’Neill said.
“METRIC reinforces our resolve to achieve our targets, while also supporting other organizations to utilize the technology developed to detect and act on their own methane emissions,” she said.
Woodside said this cooperation complements several existing industry and government initiatives.
This includes the aims of the Coalition for LNG Emission Abatement towards Net-zero (CLEAN), a public-private partnership supported by JOGMEC which aims to work with LNG buyers and LNG producers to reduce methane emissions in the LNG value chain.
Over the three-year term of the MoU, Woodside will seek to deliver on METRIC’s aims, furthering knowledge on methane emissions management and also developing possible options for future digital or technology commercialization collaborations.
