Egypt’s Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Tarek El Molla has emphasised the critical role of methane emission reduction in combating global warming. He announced that Egypt is part of the World Bank’s initiative to eliminate routine flaring by 2030.
During the COP28 climate summit in Dubai, El Molla participated in a session titled “Accelerating the pace of reducing methane emissions in the oil and gas sector within the framework of Global Methane Pledge,” alongside international counterparts.
The minister highlighted Egypt’s proactive measures in the oil and gas sector, including the execution of 30 projects aimed at gas flare recovery. These efforts have resulted in significant annual savings of approximately $200m and a reduction of 1.4 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions each year. Additionally, Egypt has conducted two extensive methane measurement campaigns across over 30 sites.
El Molla noted that Egypt joined the Global Methane Pledge in June 2022 and has since updated its nationally determined contributions to include a target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the oil and gas sector by 65% by 2030. This goal is primarily to be achieved through the recovery of associated petroleum gas.
Furthermore, the Egyptian petroleum sector is finalizing an agreement with the US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) to receive a grant for technical support in developing a comprehensive roadmap to mitigate methane emissions. This initiative was announced during the International Reducing CO2 Emissions Day at COP27 in Sharm El Sheikh.
Lastly, the Minister declared Egypt’s plan to establish internal regulations for methane emissions in the oil and gas sector by the end of 2024. This move is part of the roadmap and underscores the need for concessional financing through the newly launched methane emissions financing programme, which aims to bolster projects addressing methane emissions.
