Reducing methane emissions
Reducing methane emissions is widely considered one of the most effective near-term actions to keep the more ambitious 1.5°C goal of the Paris Agreement1 within reach.
What is methane?
Methane (CH4) is the primary component of natural gas, which plays a critical role in the global energy transition and can help reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions when it replaces coal for power generation.
However, methane itself is a potent greenhouse gas. While it remains in the atmosphere for a much shorter time than CO2, it traps heat far more effectively.
According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), methane’s global warming potential is about 28 times greater than CO2 over 100 years, and more than 80 times greater over 20 years.
This makes cutting methane emissions one of the most effective short-term strategies for tackling climate change.
Where do methane emissions come from?
According to the latest Global Methane Budget, there are two main sources of methane emissions:
Human activities
Around 60% of methane emissions come from human activities such as agriculture, oil and gas production, and landfill waste decomposition.
Natural sources
The remaining 40% of global methane emissions are naturally occurring, mainly from wetlands.
Virtually eliminating methane emissions from our operations by 2030 is a priority for Shell. Our target is to maintain methane emissions intensity below 0.2% and achieve near-zero methane emissions on an intensity basis by 20302.
In 2025, we eliminated routine gas flaring from our Upstream operated assets – five years ahead of the World Bank’s Zero Routine Flaring by 2030 initiative.
How is Shell reducing methane emissions?
Technology in action
We use a range of advanced technologies and work practices to detect, monitor, and repair methane leaks across our operations. These include:
Leak detection and repair (LDAR)
Using optical gas imaging (OGI) cameras and high-flow samplers to identify, quantify, and fix leaks.
Continuous monitoring
Testing continuous, wide-area emission monitoring technologies to track intermittent emissions and provide early warning of leaks.
Satellite monitoring
Using satellite data to detect methane super-emitters from space and support management initiatives.
Transparent reporting
We believe that moving towards standardised, measurement-based reporting is essential to improving the accuracy and transparency of methane emissions data.
Shell is a founding signatory of the Oil and Gas Methane Partnership (OGMP) 2.0 reporting framework. We achieved the OGMP 2.0 Gold Standard of reporting in 2023 and continue to encourage uptake of the measurement-based reporting framework globally.
Industry collaboration
We believe collaboration is key to reducing methane emissions across the industry. Shell works with governments, industry partners, and NGOs to share best practices and shape effective policies through initiatives such as:
Oil and Gas Decarbonisation Charter (OGDC)
Oil and Gas Climate Initiative (OGCI)
The World Bank Global Flaring and Methane Reduction (GFMR) Partnership
Methane Guiding Principles (MGP)
Initiated by Shell in 2017. Now retired, as it has successfully achieved its mission and objectives.
