Neptune Energy today announced it has been awarded Gold Standard status by the Oil & Gas Methane Partnership (OGMP) in recognition of setting ambitious targets and establishing credible plans to reach a net zero methane intensity by 2030.

To achieve Gold Standard companies are required to outline a credible and clear path to reduce methane emissions by 45% or more and to report their progress annually.

Neptune’s Gold Standard achievement was featured in the United Nations inaugural International Methane Emissions Observatory (IMEO) report, which also highlighted Neptune’s 2025 methane emission intensity target of 0.0015% as being the most ambitious of all the participating oil and gas companies.

The importance of tackling methane emissions is a major focus at COP26 in Glasgow, and the IMEO will play an integral role in the Global Methane Pledge – a US and EU-led effort by more than 30 countries to slash methane emissions by 30% by 2030 – by establishing a global public record of trusted and transparent methane emissions.

Neptune Energy’s VP Operations Europe, Pete Jones, said: “Emissions reduction is an area in which Neptune is demonstrating leadership through our actions. We already have one of the lowest methane intensities in the sector, at 0.01%, compared with the industry average of 0.23%, and want to go further, with a target of net zero methane emissions by 2030.

“The OGMP’s recognition of the clear plans we’ve developed to reduce operational methane emissions and to transparent reporting is most welcome and enables us to support the work of the IMEO and the objectives of the Global Methane Pledge.”

The IMEO report stated: “Neptune Energy is an upstream company with an ambitious target to reach a near-zero methane intensity for their production of hydrocarbons based on their exports. They are committed to work with their global assets to have the highest reporting quality and deploy mitigation measures.”

The announcement follows the completion of a first-of-its-kind collaboration with Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) to measure methane emissions on the Neptune-operated Cygnus platform in the UK North Sea, using advanced drone technologies.

Fixed wing and rotary drones equipped with methane-sensing equipment were deployed to establish an accurate, scientific benchmark for measuring total methane emissions within an offshore environment to help develop best-practice approaches for the wider upstream industry. The results of the study will be published in a scientific peer-reviewed paper in 2022.