Ghana is moving to cut methane emissions from its oil and gas industry by eliminating routine flaring in oil fields by 2026, a move aimed at meeting international climate and market requirements.
The initiative will see the construction of a second gas processing plant to convert excess gas into usable energy, while new oil fields will be required to adopt systems that prevent flaring in line with existing regulations.
Ghana is also working with partners to deploy advanced technologies to improve methane measurement and reporting.
Victoria Emeafa Hardcastle, Acting Chief Executive Officer of the Petroleum Commission, announced the measures at a roundtable in Accra themed “Changing Export Market Expectations Regarding Methane.” The meeting formed part of the ongoing Africa Oil Week, which brings together industry leaders to foster dialogue and investment across the continent’s energy sector.
She explained that methane, a greenhouse gas with more than 80 times the warming potential of carbon dioxide over a 20-year period has become a central focus of climate action.
New methane rules, particularly the European Union Methane Regulation (EU 2024/1787), are reshaping the petroleum export market.
“With the EU consuming over 500 million tonnes of oil equivalent annually, most of it imported, exporters must now comply with stringent methane emission measurement, reporting, and verification standards,” Madam Hardcastle said.
“This development has added new requirements to crude oil exports, changing long-established expectations. For petroleum-producing developing countries, especially in Africa, these obligations come on top of funding constraints and the high cost of technology.”
Industry experts echoed her concerns. Dan Grossman of the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) said new oil and gas producers such as Ghana have a unique opportunity to design infrastructure that minimizes leaks and emissions from the outset, avoiding the costly retrofits faced by older producers.
“Leak detection and repair programmes, continuous monitoring, and best practices are cheaper and easier to implement at the early stage of production,” he noted, adding that European buyers increasingly use methane performance as a criterion for selecting gas imports.
Maria Olczak, a Research Fellow at the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies, highlighted that between 2025 and 2030, EU regulations will require exporters to demonstrate methane management.
“Compliance will be essential for African producers who want to keep or grow their market share in Europe,” she said.
On the investment side, Mr. Philip Torres, Senior Advisor at the Emerging Markets Investors’ Alliance, stressed that methane abatement is both environmentally and economically beneficial.
“At least half of abatement options are revenue-enhancing, and investors are now screening companies on methane performance. Meeting targets can even unlock cheaper financing through sustainability-linked bonds,” he said.
Panelists urged African governments and national oil companies to join international initiatives such as the Oil and Gas Methane Partnership (OGMP 2.0), which already covers more than 40 percent of global oil and gas production.
They noted that aligning with such frameworks would improve transparency, attract investment, and strengthen market access.
As Ghana pushes ahead with its methane reduction agenda, stakeholders say the benefits go beyond climate commitments.
In addition, stronger emission controls could boost export competitiveness, secure investor confidence, and enhance the long-term sustainability of the petroleum sector.
