Methane emissions from the oil and gas sector are significantly underreported, yet this sector holds the greatest potential for near-term climate mitigation. Our latest publication investigates the real-world effectiveness of regulated leak detection and repair (LDAR) surveys in British Columbia, Canada. Periodic LDAR surveys are a key part of most modern oil and gas sector methane regulations, so these findings raise important questions about their effectiveness and broader implications.

Analyzing three years of industry-reported LDAR data, we found that sites undergoing regular optical gas imaging (OGI) surveys鈥攁round 3 times per year鈥攕howed a 50% reduction in detected emissions. However, when we compared these results to independent aerial surveys at the same sites, the picture changed dramatically: aerial surveys detected 12 times more methane emissions overall, and 4 times more even after excluding sources not targeted by LDAR programs.

The discrepancy highlights a critical issue鈥攔egulated LDAR programs may only capture a small fraction of total emissions. Our analysis shows that OGI surveys tend to detect numerous small leaks, while aerial methods identify fewer but significantly larger sources, including combustion and venting emissions.

This study underscores the need for integrated measurement approaches and independent verification frameworks like OGMP 2.0 to ensure methane mitigation efforts are both effective and transparent. As regulations evolve and alternative technologies emerge, understanding the limits of current LDAR practices is essential for designing better policies and achieving real climate impact.

Read full publication below:

Cornelius Liburd joins EERL as a Research Associate, focusing on the development of sensor payloads for UAV-based methane detection and measurement. He holds a M.A.Sc. in Aerospace Engineering and brings extensive experience in the design, development, and testing of autonomous UAV systems.

Oluwadamilola (Dami) Omotuyi holds a B.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering from Nigeria and is currently pursuing a M.A.Sc. in Sustainable Energy Engineering at 杏吧原创 University. Dami brings valuable research experience in emission analysis, air quality assessment, and UAV applications, along with industry experience at Nigeria鈥檚 national gas and petroleum companies and an oil and gas consulting firm.

We鈥檙e thrilled to have Cornelius and Dami on board and look forward to sharing the exciting research ahead!

Our EERL Team is proud and honoured to host the second consecutive (and third since 2017) in what has now become an annual series of national, cross-sectoral, technical meetings in the field of methane measurement and mitigation. Hosted on May 7 – 8, 2025 at 杏吧原创 University, this seminal event brought together 300 attendees across the oil and gas, waste management, and agricultural sectors with the shared commitment to advancing science, policy, and action to reduce methane emissions.

With foundational support from Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) and Environment & Climate Change Canada (ECCC), the 2025 event cemented CanCH4 as the preeminent Canadian platform for methane science and knowledge exchange, highlighted by cross-sectoral collaboration among the leading experts, policy makers, analysts, technology providers, industry and non-governmental stakeholders, and academic researchers.

The CanCH4 series reflects a coordinated national effort to connect methane research activities in Canada, amplify ongoing work across jurisdictions and sectors, and encourage collaborations on measurement studies, analytics, and technology innovation. The event also facilitates open discussions on current data, technical challenges, and implications, with a focus on strategies to accelerate emissions reduction.

The 2025 Symposium extended the reputation of CanCH4 as a highly valued forum for engaged scholarship, technical discussions, active collaboration, and cross-sectoral dialogue on methane emissions and mitigation. Most importantly, CanCH4 once again filled a critical need for annual meetings to foster knowledge exchange and track progress towards achieving national and global methane emission reduction goals.

View event gallery here: HERE

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Read the full report below!

Congratulations to on successfully defending her master鈥檚 thesis titled 鈥�A Techno-Economic Analysis of Abatement Opportunities for Measured Sources of Methane Emissions in Saskatchewan鈥檚 Upstream Oil and Gas Sector” .

Ellen’s thesis project is an important piece in EERL’s techno-economic work exploring cost-effective mitigation technologies to reduce methane emissions. The Government of Canada has been developing new oil and gas sector methane regulations which are necessarily underpinned by a regulatory impact assessment that considers costs to achieve a given level of mitigation. Three recent techno-economic analyses 鈥� ICF International (2016), , and Dunsky (2023) 鈥� have evaluated the marginal abatement cost of methane mitigation in Canada鈥檚 upstream oil and gas sector. However, these analyses are limited in that they either considered source breakdowns and magnitudes as outlined in available federal methane emission inventories, or these same breakdowns scaled to match aggregate measured totals. By contrast, recent field studies to create measurement-based inventories (; ; ) have shown that actual source breakdowns can be significantly different than suggested in official inventories, with aggregate totals that are approximately 1.4鈥�1.8 times federal estimates.

Leveraging actual measured source distributions obtained from a comprehensive measurement-based inventory, developed by EERL, this study outlines results of a techno-economic analysis of selected methane mitigation technologies for oil and gas production sites in the province of Saskatchewan, Canada. Beginning with an exhaustive review of grey and peer-reviewed literature, cost models for mitigation technologies were derived to identify potential cost-effective solutions. Abatement cost models were then produced using a 2021 measurement-based, source-resolved methane emissions inventory for Saskatchewan () to evaluate abatement costs under two scenarios: (1) mitigation of all emissions on each site, and (2) mitigation of emissions only when cost effective relative to a selected cost threshold. Abatement costs were separately estimated on a site-by-site basis prior to deriving total abatement costs for the province.

The preliminary results, as part of Ellen’s thesis, have been shared at 2023 AGU in San Francisco and at 2024 & 2025 CanCH4 Symposium in Ottawa. The study findings are being further developed and refined by EERL Team, as they have important implications for ongoing regulatory development as well as longer-term goals of net-zero emissions.

Matt will be presenting at the Canada’s Clean Resource Innovation Network Pavilion on Saturday, November 16th, 2024. He will be a part of an expert panel on “Methane Technology Development and Commercialization – from Canada to the World”, discussing the critical work being done to drive methane emission reductions in Canada and worldwide:

• He will share data-driven insights into the progress and challenges of achieving Canada鈥檚 2030 methane goals;
• Highlight key technologies for emissions measurement and our international collaborations on methane measurement and mitigation;
• Discuss strategies for applying actionable data and scaling technologies globally to help other countries reduce emissions.

What is COP and Why is it a big deal?

COP29 is the 29th annual conference under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), dedicated to addressing global climate change. The decisions made at COP29 will determine the future of our planet. It’s a pivotal global event and one of the key platforms that brings together world leaders, climate experts, activists, NGOs, and various other stakeholders to discuss and negotiate actions to combat climate change.

Held annually, COPs are critical for advancing international efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, adapt to the impacts of climate change, and mobilize financial and technological support for sustainable development. 聽For example, COP21 in Paris was where the historic Paris Agreement was adopted, setting ambitious targets for reducing global emissions.

This year, COP29 is focused on critical issues such as climate finance, sustainable development, environmental justice, and the transition to renewable energy. This conference plays a crucial role in shaping global climate policies and fostering collaboration among nations to achieve the goals set out in the Paris Agreement.

As UN Secretary-General Ant贸nio Guterres stated, 鈥淭he climate emergency is a race we are losing, but it is a race we can win.鈥� We look forward to seeing how COP29 progresses, and what new commitments, agreements, and initiatives governments take to tackle climate change.

Follow to stay tuned for updates from COP29, and more!

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Listen to CBC Ottawa Morning for early COP29 takeaways:

We are thrilled to announce an opening for a Postdoctoral Research Associate to join our diverse and dynamic Team EERL on our mission to measure and mitigate methane emissions. We are looking for motivated individuals eager to make a real-world impact through their knowledge, expertise and experience.

Know someone who fits this description? Share this post with your network and help us find the perfect candidate!

Why EERL?

• Be a part of cutting-edge research tackling global environmental challenges;
• Work with a supportive, creative, fun and innovative team of researchers from all over the world;
• Join our wider community of academics, industry leaders, regulators, policy-makers, and international change-makers!

Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis, so make sure to apply soon!

In summer 2023, as part of a large-scale emissions measurement campaign in British Columbia (BC) in collaboration with the British Columbia Government and United Nations Environmental Programme鈥檚 International Methane Emissions Observatory (UNEP IMEO), EERL researchers Simon Festa-Bianchet and Milad Mohammadikharkeshi completed comprehensive direct ground-based methane measurements.

This targeted campaign included on-site measurements of methane slip in combustion exhausts from 38 natural gas-fired catalytic heaters (Cata-Dyne^TM) at 7 upstream oil and gas facilities (5 unique operators) in northeastern British Columbia, Canada. Notably, the acquired data for catalytic heaters are the first known direct measurements under field conditions.聽 Preliminary results of this work were initially shared at the 2023 American Geophysical Union (AGU) conference in San Francisco and have been now published in Environmental Science & Technology Letters. The data suggest that catalytic heaters have mean carbon conversion efficiencies of only 68% in practice.聽 Although individual units are generally small methane sources, count data from a comprehensive ground survey of 407 sites suggests that these heaters may contribute an additional 6% to total upstream methane emissions in BC, and as an aggregate methane source could be 5脳 more significant than abandoned wells.

Notably, due to the seasonal use of these catalytic heaters, their emissions would be missed in measurement campaigns occurring solely in summer months. However, additional measurements demonstrate that, where feasible, methane emissions can be reduced by approximately 425脳 by replacing catalytic heaters with centralized heat systems.

Successful reduction of oil and gas sector methane emissions to meet near-zero intensity targets requires the identification and mitigation of all possible sources. This study demonstrated that catalytic heaters are an important source of emissions, which is a major finding given that they have not been specifically targeted in recently proposed federal regulations and mitigation efforts despite being ubiquitous at upstream production sites in cold climate regions.

Read full publication below:

EERL鈥檚 latest research on flaring has been published in the Proceedings of the Combustion Institute, one of the most respected journals in the field. Congratulations to our PhD researchers Alexis D. Tanner and Milad Mohammadikharkeshi, EERL alumna Parvin Mehr, and our scientific director Matt Johnson.

If you are familiar with the oil and gas industry practices, or have been following our research (or perhaps watched a recent聽聽featuring Matt Johnson), you know that gas flaring is a pervasive practice of burning off the unwanted flammable gases in the oil and gas industry. Although it is not an ideal solution, it is an important process, causing lower pollutant emissions compared to simply venting those gases into the atmosphere.

Despite being a more preferred industry practice, flaring is one of the key global sources of carbonaceous soot or black carbon emissions. However, there are no known experimental data or reliable models that can be used to predict these emissions for a range of flare gas compositions and operating conditions that are relevant to upstream oil and gas production sites, which account for 90 % of global flaring. In the absence of alternatives, most official reporting and inventory estimates are based on single-valued emission factors which are known to be insufficient and inaccurate.

This recent work and publication address this gap by developing empirical models through a range of parametric experiments,聽using multicomponent C1-C7 alkane, CO2, and N2 flare gas mixtures that are typical of flares in North Dakota (USA) and Alberta (Canada), to measure black carbon emissions from vertical lab-scale flares. EERL鈥檚 analysis reveals that black carbon emission rates fall under two different regimes corresponding to the聽transition buoyant听补苍诲听transition shear聽regimes of turbulent buoyant non-premixed flames previously proposed by Delichatsios. These were based on the visual flame observations and distinguished by the product of Reynolds number and the square of the modified fire Froude number. Within the聽transition buoyant聽regime, black carbon emissions are simply proportional to total volumetric fuel flowrate, whereas within the聽transition shear聽regime black carbon emission are inversely proportional to the apparent exit strain rate. Therefore, EERL team presented empirical models for each regime that reliably predict black carbon emissions scaled by the mean carbon number of the fuel. Although these empirical models are applicable for a narrow range of methane-dominated hydrocarbon mixtures relevant to the upstream oil and gas flaring, and are ultimately limited to the specific conditions considered in this study, they are nevertheless a significant improvement over existing, widely used single-valued emission factors.

Read full publication below:

This was a seminal event in the field of methane measurement and mitigation with participation across the oil and gas, waste management, and agricultural sectors. Featuring a common theme 鈥淢ethane By The Numbers鈥�, this 3-day technical meeting brought together 300 attendees from universities, government labs, and the private sector to share latest research, technological development, measurement data, and analytics with the goal of advancing policy development and accelerating emissions reductions.

We are pleased to share the final event report – click below to read more!

Our researchers 听补苍诲听 received their very own iconic Iron Rings!

The is given to Canadian-trained engineers upon completion of their degree in a ceremony known as The Ritual of the Calling of an Engineer. The ring serves as a symbol and reminder of the obligations and ethics associated with the engineering profession, its wide-reaching impact, and social significance.

This year marks the 99th Anniversary of this Canadian tradition! Over almost a century, it has evolved to become more inclusive and reflective of an increasingly diverse community of engineers across Canada. The tradition has also inspired some other similar traditions around the world – you can see some of our American colleagues wear their Engineer’s Rings!