The province’s second annual progress report on methane emissions reductions from Alberta’s oil and gas sector shows that methane emissions from these operations decreased by about 44 per cent between 2014 and 2021.

Based on these estimates, Alberta will meet, and surpass, its target to reduce methane emissions from the oil and gas sector by 45 per cent from 2014 levels by 2025.

“Alberta was the first government in Canada to set a methane emissions reduction target, and we’re one per cent away from meeting it. This is the result of strong leadership from the men and women in our industries, and investments in technology and innovation that are making a difference for our oil and gas sector.”

Sonya Savage, Minister of Environment and Protected Areas

“I’m incredibly proud to see the work our energy industry has accomplished over the past seven years. It would not be possible without collaboration, ingenuity and technology advancements. We will continue to work above and beyond to ensure our responsible energy sector thrives for decades to come.”

Pete Guthrie, Minister of Energy

Helping industry cut methane emissions

Alberta’s approach to reducing methane emissions focuses on investments in technology, innovation and scientific research, and programs that help the oil and gas sector improve methane emissions monitoring and management. For example:

  • The Methane Technology Implementation Program has allocated almost $24 million for methane reduction projects at oil and gas sites, with funded projects estimated to reduce methane emissions by 17 million tonnes over the lifetime of the technologies versus if projects had not moved forward.
  • The Alberta Methane Emissions Program is enabling methane emissions reductions in Alberta’s oil and gas industry while supporting government regulatory revisions, reducing costs to industry and ensuring best practices around methane detection and management. This program is supported by $17.6 million from the Technology Innovation and Emissions Reduction (TIER) fund.

“The province continues to deliver on funding programs that support research into emerging technologies, field pilot testing and deployment of methane mitigation solutions. We expect to see ongoing success as the energy sector pushes their ambition and key stakeholders keep working together to evolve and improve the world’s most comprehensive methane mitigation system.”

Jackson Hegland, executive director, Methane Emissions Leadership Alliance

"Technologies are helping Alberta's oil and gas producers reach their methane reduction targets and develop a robust clean tech industry, which reduces methane emissions on a global scale. PTAC and its partners are proud to be ongoing supporters and facilitators of Alberta's oil and gas innovation system by turning challenges into opportunities."  

Soheil Asgarpour, president, Petroleum Technology Alliance Canada

The Alberta Energy Regulator’s annual methane emissions report is now available online. Alberta’s government and the regulator continue to ensure methane emissions monitoring meets regulatory requirements, and are both committed to transparent reporting of results.  

“The AER is responsible for ensuring oil and gas companies meet our regulatory requirements to reduce methane emissions. In addition to reporting on progress towards Alberta’s methane reduction goal, our annual report provides enhanced transparency of the performance of each producer.”

Laurie Pushor, president and CEO, Alberta Energy Regulator

Quick facts

  • The latest progress report is for the 2021 reporting year.
  • The progress report for the 2020 reporting year showed that methane emissions from upstream oil and gas operations decreased by about 34 per cent between 2014 and 2020.
  • The progress report fulfils the requirements of the methane equivalency agreement between Alberta and Canada that came into force in 2020. This agreement keeps Alberta in charge of regulating emissions from the oil and gas sector.