Egypt plans to develop a local strategy designed to reduce methane emissions, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Tarek El-Mulla announced on Monday at the UN COP28 climate summit in Dubai.
El-Mulla said at the opening of the session on reducing methane emissions and the role of international cooperation in promoting new opportunities, that the petroleum sector is in the process of concluding an agreement to develop a detailed road map to reduce methane emissions in the oil and gas sector in Egypt.
He also added that the agreement is scheduled to be signed during the activities of the current climate conference.
The session was organised by the European Union in the Blue Zone pavilion at the COP28.
El-Mulla further said that Egypt is following the World Bank initiative to reduce routine flaring of gas by 2030, adding that the oil and gas sector in Egypt has succeeded in implementing 30 projects benefiting from torch gases and cutting down routine flaring, saving about $200 million and reducing emissions by 1.4 million tons of CO2 equivalent per year.
He also pointed out the completion of two campaigns to measure methane emissions with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), covering more than 30 production sites.
The campaigns revealed that the emissions at those sites are below global standards and that companies are doing regular leak detection and repair programmes.
Moreover, the session discussed frameworks for cooperation between the public and private sectors, not only to reduce methane emissions but also to recover and exploit torch gases in a way that reflects positively on reducing climate change and securing energy sources.
