GHG Reduction

All greenhouse gases (GHGs) are not the same.

Greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide (CO₂), nitrous oxide (N₂O), sulphur hexafluoride (SF₆), nitrogen trifluoride (NF₃) and methane (CH₄) each have a different ability to trap heat and are assigned a Global Warming Potential (GWP) per the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

In Paris, at the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference, commitments were made to work towards limiting global warming to less than 2⁰C – this is a global goal. There are differing viewpoints on how to get there – one of which includes switching the transportation sector to be electric, which has its own challenges and consequences.
The United States committed to reducing carbon emissions by 28 percent by 2025. Canada committed to lowering greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 30 percent of 2005 levels by 2030. The challenge will be to remain competitive, on a global scale, with the reduced ability to emit emissions.

Today, environmental regulations pertaining to methane have become increasingly more stringent, especially for upstream oil and gas. Compliance is key to understanding which direction industry will need to work towards relating to improvements in reliability and performance around process control, emission reductions and energy efficiency.

GHG Reduction Actions

While enforced compliance is the ultimate driver, incentives such as carbon offset credits are helpful to encourage the adoption of best practices. In each jurisdiction, committed reduction targets are achievable with implementation ready solutions available today.

From venting reduction and elimination to capture and process optimization, there are many ways to address fugitive and vented GHG emissions. We are a key stakeholder in delivering those solutions to industry – many of which provide compliance with return on investment. In this way, industry is able to continue improving the reliability and performance of operations while meeting these ever tightening compliance requirements in a more cost effective, economically sustainable manner.