Assessing Methane Emissions From the Natural Gas Industry: Reviewing the Case of China in a Comparative Framework

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to explore methane emissions from China’s fossil fuel industry compared with the USA and Canada, with a focus on the methane emission mechanisms, calculation methods, mitigation potential, and abatement technologies. This paper explores the methane emissions from China’s natural gas industry from a comparative perspective. The main conclusions are as follows: (1) methane emissions from the natural gas production phase are the largest in the whole natural gas supply chain. (2) When it comes to measurement and estimation methods, methane emissions in the gas industry in the USA and Canada typically achieve a Tier 3 level, while China tends to be at the Tier 1 and Tier 2 levels. (3) There is large mitigation potential for methane emissions from the natural gas industry. More effective waste reduction technologies like green well completion should be implemented in the production phase, especially in China. At the same time, more attention should be drawn to the need for leakage detection technologies of pipelines in all countries compared here. As a large methane-emitting country, China lags behind the USA and Canada in methane emission reduction. Therefore, Chinese scientists, policy makers, and entrepreneurs should pay attention to methane emissions. Stakeholders should enhance mitigation measures and leakage detection technologies in order to achieve climate targets.