A 15-year Canadian research, product development and field testing campaign has made available proven technology capable of reducing methane emissions by more than 45%, according to the oil and gas industry agency leading the environmental effort.

“Methane is the key to creating a clean Canadian oil and gas brand,” Petroleum Technology Alliance Canada (PTAC) stated in the Methane Detection and Mitigation Initiatives Report, a  35-page summary of leak detection and mitigation initiatives that it spearheaded.

The Canadian Energy Research Institute has estimated a C$700 million ($542 million)-plus cost for oil and gas producers to hit the country’s methane emission targets.

PTAC said that research groups of industry and government experts collected “a tsunami of...