Page 13 - FSUOGMWeek472019

FSUOGM
FSUOGM
if we are interested in this today or not — and we will buy it cheap,” the Russian president said, adding that he was joking.
He explained that Russia is following the development of these production methods, but they are destroying the environment.
“In some areas where shale oil is extracted, citizens do not get water from the tap, but black slurry. Despite all possible economic advantages, such production, we do not need, we will never go for it. We have opportunities both off the shelf and those we can develop ourselves, so there is no rush,” Putin said. BNE INTELLINEWS, November 21, 2019
UN sees little specifics on Russia’s emission cuts
The latest Emissions Gap Report 2019 by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) generally sees little concrete steps in Russia towards emission cutting despite the recent ratification of the Paris Agreement.
The report presents the latest data on the expected gap in 2030 for the 1.5°C and 2°C temperature targets of the Paris Agreement or the Paris Climate Accord.
As reported by bne IntelliNews, Russia said it would ratify the Paris Climate Accord on September 23, committing itself to reducing CO2 emissions to 70% of the 1990 levels.
However, that appeared to be an easy goal as as Russia’s CO2 emissions peaked in the last year of the Soviet Union and the following year emissions collapsed along with the Soviet economy. Russia’s commitment means it
can actually increase its emissions from the current 1.8Gt of CO2 emissions a year and still meet its commitments to the accord.
The UNEP report also suggests that the target is weak, but also notes that the climate accord has not yet been ratified.
“While the ratification date is uncertain, a draft Decree of the President on a new 2030 emission reduction target is to be prepared by December 2019, with a draft implementation plan to achieve the 2030 target expected in the first half of 2020,” the report reads.
The Russian Action Plan mandates the drafting of a “low-carbon strategy until 2050” by the end of 2019. However, no mention
of the preparation of this draft has yet been made.
“The fact that only draft documents are expected provides a weak basis for tracking and assessing progress, as they may just contain principles and approaches without concrete mitigation measures and GHG (greenhouse gas) targets,” UNEP warns.
BNE INTELLINEWS, November 27, 2019
CENTRAL ASIA & SOUTH CAUCASUS
Study shows satellite
discoveredmethaneleakat
Turkmenistan field
Montreal-based GHGSat said in a study published on November 22 that it discovered a methane leak equivalent to the fumes of
a million cars deriving from unlit flaring in the Korpezhe oil and gas field in western Turkmenistan, Bloomberg reported.
It marked the first time that a discovery of an unknown methane leak was made from space. The finding was made during a search for emissions from mud volcanoes. GHGSat notified Turkmen authorities
via Canadian and European diplomatic channels about the release, shown in images captured from early 2018 through February this year. The emissions stopped in May, after the Turkmen state-run field operator was informed.
The sequence of events demonstrated
the possibility of using satellites “to enable corrective action to fight climate change,” according to the research published by the American Geophysical Union’s Geophysical Research Letters journal. It comes at a time when the oil and gas industry faces mounting pressure to reduce emissions of methane, one of the most harmful greenhouse gases.
Two more emissions were discovered in the Central Asian region, including one from a pipeline, possibly caused by a valve release, and a smaller one caused by an unlit flare. BNE INTELLINEWS, November 25, 2019
KazMunayGas’associated
gas disposal reaches
highest level to date
Kazakhstan’s state-run oil and gas company KazMunayGas (KMG) increased its “level of disposal of associated petroleum gas (APG)” to 93% in 2018, the Times of Central Asia reported on November 26, referring to a KMG press release.
That marks the highest level reached by the company to date, KMG said. The report also said the company’s rate of gas flaring was six tonnes per 1,000 tonnes of hydrocarbons produced, 50% lower than the global average of the International Association of Oil and Gas Producers - the average stands at 12.1 tonnes. This result was due to the installation of an integrated gas processing plant at the Prorva group of fields.
“The volume of direct greenhouse gas emissions from the flare in connection with the launch of the Prorva field plant decreased by 80% and amounted to [41,500 tonnes],” the report said.
By 2030, the group plans to completely phase out the practice of regular APG flaring. BNE INTELLINEWS, November 26, 2019
Week 47 27•November•2019
w w w . N E W S B A S E . c o m
P13