The Methane Mitigation Technologies program aims to eliminate non-trivial methane emissions from the oil and gas supply chain by 2030 in support of the Administration’s mission of addressing climate change.  These non-trivial methane emissions include methane production, processing, transportation, and use.  

The Methane Mitigation Technologies program is focused on developing accurate, cost effective and efficient technology solutions and best practices to identify, measure, monitor and eliminate methane emissions from these sources. Methane mitigation research and development (R&D) efforts include advanced materials of pipeline construction, monitoring sensors, data management systems, and more efficient and flexible compressor stations. Research efforts for methane emissions quantification will focus on developing technologies to detect, locate, and measure emissions. This includes the development and validation of measurement sensor technologies for the collection, dissemination, and analysis of emissions data, which will inform efforts, such as the Greenhouse Gas Inventory and orphan well remediation programs of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Department of the Interior (DOI), respectively.  

The Office is also working on creating innovative solutions to reduce associated gas flaring and venting, including alternative uses for the “stranded” natural gas, through modular technologies designed to convert the gas to higher-value solid and liquid products that can be transported efficiently. In addition, modular conversion technologies designed to generate hydrogen as a clean, distributed energy carrier is also being pursued.

The Natural Gas Hydrogen program will support the Departmental efforts on development of hydrogen technologies that help contribute to a carbon-pollution-free economy. The fastest and most reliable path to advance a hydrogen economy is to build on low-cost, readily available natural gas and existing natural gas infrastructure. The Natural Gas Hydrogen Research program will focus on advancing technologies for the “carbon-neutral” production, transportation, and geologic storage of hydrogen sourced from natural gas.  

The Undocumented Orphaned Well Research Program aims to develop technologies and methodologies to enable the finding and characterization of undocumented orphaned wells by determining their physical locations, methane emissions, wellbore integrity, and any additional environmental impacts. This program focuses on undocumented orphaned oil and natural gas wells located on private, State, Federal and Tribal land across the United States (U.S.).