Measurement,
Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification (MMRV) has become the means of evaluating
methane, CO2 (and VOC) emissions reduction efforts for the oil & gas sector.
It covers emissions from the production, processing, transmission,
liquefaction, transport, and distribution of natural gas. The DOE’s Fossil Energy
and Carbon Management Office recently announced that an international framework
for MMRV has been agreed upon. According to DOE:
Potential elements of the MMRV Framework include:
· Common
Criteria: Criteria to ensure rigor of quantification and reporting
of GHG emissions and a process for independent certification or verification of
emission estimates and adherence to criteria.
· Data
Transparency and Tools: Expectations for collecting and reporting
data consistent with the needs of natural gas market participants and a
transparent and consistent life cycle analysis tool for calculating and
reporting supply chain data quality and GHG emission intensity.
· Accreditation
Process: A process to confirm certifiers are employing consistent
protocols, as identified through the framework, including a mechanism for
independent oversight of the accreditation process.
The MMRV Framework is not a regulatory process and
countries and regions participating in its development are not committing to
use of it in a regulatory process. The MMRV Framework is intended to improve
the accuracy, completeness, and transparency of reported emissions in the
marketplace and drive emission reductions across the natural gas supply chain.
The MMRV framework addresses the expectations of purchasers,
regulators, or other stakeholders regarding the greenhouse gas intensity of
delivered or contracted gas. Buyers in Europe are probably the most interested
in MMRV. Producers in North America and the North Sea are probably the best situated
currently to deliver MMRV-certified natural gas. DOE lists the countries
involved in the framework:
“Australia, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Egypt, the European
Commission, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Mozambique,
Norway, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States have
representatives who participate in the Working Group as participants or
observers along with the Eastern Mediterranean Gas Forum”
The framework is
expected to become a “voluntary market-driven approach that will incentivize
industry to reduce emissions beyond regulatory compliance.” Most current
certification schemes of emissions-reduced natural gas are at the county level or the corporate level. The new framework integrates those efforts and simply aims
to standardize MMRV at the international level. An international Working Group
was established in May 2023 and the recent announcement of an agreement is the
culmination of the efforts of that MMRV Working Group. The Group is expected to
develop “products such as guidance, tools, and protocols for voluntary use
in natural gas markets.”
The framework will
allow buyers to compare emissions reduction claims from different suppliers. The
goal is to quantify and aggregate emissions across the supply chain and assess data
quality that ensures comparability and reliability. There will be expectations
for rigorous independent third-party reviews. Thus far, the Working Group has
developed a consensus on the MMRV design architecture and established multiple
technical subgroups. The framework is expected to be implemented and functional
in 2025. According to the DOE, the ongoing work of the MMRV Working Group includes
the following:
Leveraging internationally recognized principles for
assessing the quality of data used to quantify the greenhouse gas intensity of
natural gas delivered to buyers
Building upon
existing technical protocols for measuring and estimating methane and carbon
dioxide emissions to establish a performance-based data quality approach that
ensures comparability and values accuracy through consistent verification
requirements
Assessing
international approaches to provide reliability and confidence in measures of
supply chain GHG intensity using accredited independent third-party
verification bodies
Defining
requirements and expectations for long-term management of the MMRV Framework to
enable trust and confidence in the marketplace
Seeking and
incorporating technical input from industry, academia, non-governmental
organizations, and other stakeholders to guide the development process and
ensure future market acceptance of the MMRV framework once implemented.
References:
International
MMRV Working Group Reaches Milestone in Developing a Credible Framework for
Measuring Natural Gas Supply Chain Emissions to Drive Continuous Reductions in
Methane and Carbon Dioxide Emissions in the Global Natural Gas Market. U.S.
DOE. Fossil Energy and Carbon Management. October 3, 2024. International
MMRV Working Group Reaches Milestone in Developing a Credible Framework for
Measuring Natural Gas Supply Chain Emissions to Drive Continuous Reductions in
Methane and Carbon Dioxide Emissions in the Global Natural Gas Market |
Department of Energy
Greenhouse
Gas Supply Chain Emissions Measurement, Monitoring, Reporting, Verification
Framework. Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management. Last updated March
15, 2024. Greenhouse
Gas Supply Chain Emissions Measurement, Monitoring, Reporting, Verification
Framework | Department of Energy
Greenhouse
Gas Supply Chain Emissions Measurement, Monitoring, Reporting and Verification
(MMRV) Framework. Office of Resource Sustainability. November 15, 2023. MMRVFramework_FAQ_15Nov2023.pdf
(energy.gov)
DOE
Announces Global Collaboration to Reduce Methane Emissions. U.S. DOE Fossil
Energy and Carbon Management. November 15, 2023. DOE
Announces Global Collaboration to Reduce Methane Emissions | Department of
Energy
Greenhouse
Gas Supply Chain Emissions Measurement, Monitoring, Reporting and Verification
(MMRV) Framework: Frequently Asked Questions. November 15, 2023. MMRVFramework_FAQ_15Nov2023.pdf
(energy.gov)
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