Cairn Oil & Gas attains UNEP’s ‘Gold Standard Pathway’ recognition under the Oil and Gas Methane Partnership 2.0 initiative 

New Delhi : Cairn Oil & Gas, part of Vedanta Group and India’s largest private oil and gas exploration and production company, has attained the Gold Standard Pathway status for reporting year 2025 under the Oil and Gas Methane Partnership 2.0 (OGMP 2.0) – the United Nations Environment Programme’s flagship oil and gas reporting and mitigation programme.

As a member company of OGMP 2.0, Cairn has established its methane reduction target and submitted a granular and credible implementation plan to attain ‘Gold Standard Reporting’. The company has pledged a 30% reduction in absolute methane emissions over the next five years.

Cairn Oil & Gas became the first and the only Upstream company in India to join UNEP’s OGMP 2.0 in 2024, committing to effectively reducing methane emissions and transparent climate reporting along with accelerating its efforts to decarbonise operations.

Talking about this milestone, Giulia Ferrini, Head of UNEP’s International Methane Emissions Observatory said, “Achieving OGMP 2.0’s Gold Standard Pathway reflects a company’s commitment to transparency and to improving the accuracy of methane emissions data. Measurement-based reporting is essential to improving operational excellence and driving the emissions reductions needed to meet global climate goals.”

Jasmin Sahurity, COO, Cairn Oil & Gas said, “Cairn Oil & Gas is fully committed to reducing methane emissions from our operations. This recognition by UNEP underscores our resolve to advance India’s energy security through sustainable operations. With renewable energy integration, flare reduction, Carbon Capture Utilisation and Storage (CCUS), adoption of low carbon technologies, and extensive nature-based carbon solutions, we are inching closer to our Net Zero goals and setting new benchmarks in sustainable energy production for the future.” 

Operating 55 blocks across India, Cairn has a vision to contribute 50% of domestic hydrocarbon production, while safeguarding the planet’s precious ecosystems. Building on its significant progress in emission reduction, including a 57% reduction in flaring volumes of potential gas since 2021, Cairn is now advancing towards the Zero Routine Flaring Agenda while setting an ambitious target to reduce absolute methane emissions by 30% over the next five years.  Other interventions include installation of recycled gas compressors and ejectors, laying of gas transportation pipelines from satellite fields, gas cascading and bottling, process optimisation, and the deployment of advanced digital solutions.

OGMP 2.0 covers over 42% of global oil and gas production, empowering companies to improve the quality and accuracy of emissions data for effective methane reduction. It is increasingly recognised as the global standard for Measurement, Reporting and Verification (MRV) of methane emissions in the oil and gas sector.

OGMP 2.0 operates under UNEP’s International Methane Emissions Observatory (IMEO), which provides open, reliable, and actionable data to drive effective to reduction strategies.