Partnerships and uniform rules vital to meeting methane goals
The world may have agreed that methane reduction is a climate imperative, but industry leaders at ADIPEC cautioned that a divided regulatory landscape is holding back progress. The consensus of the panel on ‘Methane Reduction in a divided regulatory landscape: What it means for decarbonisation,’ was that while technology and collaboration are delivering quick wins, inconsistent policy enforcement and patchy global frameworks threaten to undermine long-term decarbonisation goals.
“Business works well when we have a line of sight of clear regulation,” said Charlotte Wolff-Bye, Chief Sustainability Officer at PETRONAS. “We can’t be super-emitters in one country, and low-emitters elsewhere. The world doesn’t work like that.”
For PETRONAS, methane abatement is no longer an aspiration, but an engineering discipline. Wolff-Bye detailed how the company’s Methane Leadership Programme has trained technicians across Southeast Asia to identify and manage leaks. The initiative has proven so successful that it evolved into Methane Leadership 2.0, drawing in more regional partners and international collaboration. “We set a target to reduce emissions by 50% by 2025, and we’re well beyond that,” she said. “We even set a target for Malaysia’s entire oil and gas sector, not just PETRONAS, and are guiding others to halve emissions by 2030. Engineers respond well to targets; without them, you’re just waffling around.”
To make progress measurable, PETRONAS is establishing a Methane Emissions Technology Evaluation Centre in Malaysia, which is modelled on facilities in Colorado, France, and Japan, to test detection tools under tropical conditions. The centre will be tied to a technical training facility, embedding methane mitigation skills “in the blood” of every technician from their first day offshore.
Collaborative correction
Julien Perez, Managing Director at the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative (OGCI), and the Oil and Gas Decarbonisation Charter (OGDC), echoed the importance of collaboration and data-driven action. OGCI’s methane satellite programme now covers 50 assets across 10 countries, offering free data to help operators locate and fix leaks.
“These are quick, high-impact wins, but technology has limits. Satellites can’t see everything, especially in tropical or offshore environments, so we need combinations: planes, drones, and cameras to get precise results,” said Perez.
The collaboration extends beyond companies. Perez argued for peer-to-peer engagement, where one operator helps another resolve similar challenges, and for governments to learn from each other’s regulatory experiences, instead of reinventing the rule.
“Engineers respond well to targets; without them, you’re just waffling around.”
The policy puzzle
Zubin Bamji of the World Bank warned that a lack of consistent and enforced regulation remains a major roadblock, especially in developing nations, where roughly half of global oil and gas methane emissions occur.
“Many jurisdictions have policies, but no enforcement,” he said. “International oil companies pay fines for flaring, while local operators haven’t paid a cent. Everyone must be held equally accountable.”
The World Bank’s new Global Flaring and Methane Reduction Partnership aims to bridge that gap, by offering grant funding and regulatory support to emerging economies showing political will. Bamji pointed out the multiple dimensions of methane reduction: economic, social, and security-related as much as environmental.
Each year, an estimated 150 billion cubic metres of gas is flared globally, much of it in countries struggling with energy poverty. “This is energy literally going up in smoke,” Bamji said. “In some of these countries, $80–90 million worth of gas is wasted annually. For them, that’s transformative money.”
Over-regulation and innovation
Perez and Wolff-Bye both cautioned against over-prescriptive rules that fail to reflect local realities. “Not all technologies work everywhere,” Wolff-Bye said. “Satellites don’t capture data well in the tropics. You need technology that fits your environment.” Perez agreed, saying, “Policy should set the destination, not dictate the route. Industry knows which technologies work where.”
That balance between ambition and adaptability has spurred innovation. PETRONAS, inspired by OGCI’s early funding challenges to innovators, launched its own Race to Decarbonise open innovation programme, drawing applications from more than 30 countries. “Sometimes you just need to put a bit of money and focus on the table,” Wolff-Bye said.
Brian Sullivan, CEO of Ipieca, noted that industry bodies are already sharing frameworks to help companies navigate this fast-evolving space. “We’ve developed practical guidance that acts like a decision tree, helping operators choose the right technology for their circumstances,” he said.
Shared responsibility
Beyond technology, Bamji argued, methane reduction requires a shared sense of responsibility between producers and importers. “If you’re importing oil from a high-flaring country, you’re also importing its emissions,” he said. “The EU’s upcoming Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism and related initiatives,” he added, “reflect a growing recognition that accountability must extend along the entire supply chain.”
Overall, the panelists agreed that methane abatement is not a technological problem but a coordination challenge, and requires a combination of leadership, regulation, and cross-sector partnerships.
“It takes a village to get this done,” Bamji said. “Producers, policymakers, financiers, and even civil society all have a role. It’s about making sure everyone is pulling in the same direction.”
“This is about changing a generation, making methane management part of how we work, not just what we measure,” concluded Wolff-Bye.
