DOE provides nearly $47M for 22 projects researching ways to reduce methane emissions in oil, gas sector

Published on March 15, 2023 by Chris Galford

A new investment of nearly $47 million from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) will benefit 22 research projects seeking the development of technologies capable of advancing the detection, measurement, and reduction of methane emissions from the oil and natural gas sector.

Spread across five concept areas, these projects collectively work to develop new measurement, monitoring, and mitigation technologies for the second largest contributor to climate change. In this way, the government hopes to make domestic oil and natural gas production, transmission, and storage more environmentally sound and overcome some of the technical challenges traditionally associated with such an endeavor. 

“Methane is a much more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide, making methane reduction a critical part of our nation’s long-term climate solution,” U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm said. “The projects announced today will help DOE accelerate the deployment of technology that detects and reduces methane emissions across the oil and gas sector—our largest source of industrial methane—leading to long-lasting health and environmental benefits for communities across the country.”

Broken down, the five categories into which the projects can be shuffled are:

1. The mitigation of methane emissions from engines and machinery used in extraction and production of natural gas and oil – six projects
2. Surface-based methane monitoring and measurement networks utilizing emissions data, wind speed, and direction measurements – two projects
3. Basin-specific requirements for measuring and quantifying methane emissions – five projects
4. Integrated methane monitoring platform design for chronic and super-emitters – seven projects
5. Investigating primary sources of methane emissions from storage tanks and evaluation of monitoring technologies – two projects

These projects and their awards will be managed by DOE’s Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management (FECM).