Methane and flaring are half the
operational emissions answer.
Oil and gas operations account for around 14% of global energy-related emissions, with methane emissions making up roughly half of operational emissions. The technical levers — methane abatement, zero routine flaring, electrification, CCUS — are well-defined. The work is in MRV, validation, and pathway design that holds up under buyer, financier, and regulator scrutiny.
Six operational ESG priorities for upstream and midstream
Methane MRV under OGMP 2.0
The Oil & Gas Methane Partnership 2.0 reporting framework — measurement-based, source-level, with a five-level reporting maturity ladder. Buyers, financiers, and regulators increasingly require Level 4-5 reporting. The transition from emission factor estimates to direct measurement (LDAR campaigns, satellite data, continuous monitoring) requires methodology design, calibration, and a defensible MRV operating model.
Zero routine flaring by 2030
The World Bank Zero Routine Flaring by 2030 initiative is endorsed by 35 countries and 54 oil & gas companies. Achieving compliance requires gas-recovery infrastructure (compression, reinjection, on-site use, gas-to-power, LNG), often in remote upstream contexts where the economics aren't immediately obvious without the right project structuring.
OGCI & Decarbonization Charter alignment
Oil & Gas Climate Initiative target: well below 0.2% upstream methane intensity by 2025. Oil & Gas Decarbonization Charter (COP28): net zero Scope 1&2 by 2050, near-zero methane by 2030. Setting credible interim targets — and demonstrating progress against them — is now a financing prerequisite, not a marketing exercise.
Decommissioning ESG
End-of-asset-life ESG considerations — well plugging integrity, social licence, environmental remediation, contract structuring — are increasingly material as mature assets reach decommissioning. The ESG considerations sit at the intersection of regulatory liability, capital provision, and reputational risk.
UAE Climate Law & MOCCAE MRV
UAE Federal Decree-Law on Climate Change requires entity-level GHG reporting through MOCCAE's MRV platform. For oil & gas operators in the UAE, the methodology requirements interact with international protocols (OGMP, GHG Protocol, ISO 14064) — and the data submitted to MOCCAE must reconcile with what's reported to investors and at group level.
Transition pathway & capital allocation
The board-level question: how much capital to allocate to low-carbon (CCUS, hydrogen, geothermal, offshore wind) vs. continuing core operations more efficiently. The framing of this question — and the analytical rigour behind the answer — is increasingly a focus of investor engagement and board scrutiny.
Oil & gas-specific work
- OGMP 2.0 Reporting ImplementationSource-level methodology, LDAR programme design, satellite data integration, reporting maturity uplift.
- Zero Routine Flaring RoadmapSite-by-site recovery economics, gas valorisation routes, capital sequencing.
- GHG Inventory & AssuranceScopes 1, 2, 3 with operator-specific allocation rules, ISO 14064 verification readiness.
- Net-Zero Pathway DesignAsset-by-asset abatement curves, residual offset strategy, capital plan alignment.
- Sustainable Finance StructuringGreen bond & transition finance instruments aligned to credible decarbonisation pathways.
- Carbon Project DevelopmentCCS, CCUS, fugitive emissions reduction projects under Verra/CDM/Article 6 frameworks.
- Decommissioning ESGEnd-of-life ESG framework, regulatory reconciliation, capital provision support.
- Capability ProgrammesSector-tailored ESG, GHG, climate-risk training for technical and commercial teams.
Standards relevant to oil & gas ESG
- OGMP 2.0Oil & Gas Methane Partnership 2.0 — UNEP-led measurement-based methane reporting framework with five reporting levels.
- OGCIOil & Gas Climate Initiative — methane intensity target well below 0.2%, alignment principles for upstream operations.
- OGDC (Decarbonization Charter)50 oil & gas producers committed at COP28 to net zero by 2050, near-zero methane by 2030.
- Zero Routine Flaring by 2030World Bank-led initiative; 35 countries and 54 companies endorsed.
- Global Methane Pledge150 countries pledged to reduce methane emissions by at least 30% below 2020 levels by 2030.
- MARS — Methane Alert and Response SystemUNEP satellite-based methane leak notification system; basis for emerging regulatory response.
- IPIECAOil & gas sustainability reporting guidance, specific sector adaptations of GRI.
- API CompendiumAmerican Petroleum Institute Compendium of Greenhouse Gas Emissions Methodologies.
- UAE Climate Law & MOCCAE MRVFederal-level UAE GHG reporting infrastructure; reporting year 2026 onwards with verified data from 2027.
- EU Methane Regulation2024 EU Methane Regulation extending scrutiny to imports; relevant for GCC operators with European market exposure.
Tell us where you're stuck.
Sector-specific situations call for sector-specific reasoning. We don't apply a generic ESG playbook here.
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