A data and analytics platform from Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) could produce accurate, timely and actionable greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions data for reducing methane emissions from the oil and gas industry in the Texas Permian Basin.

Developed in partnership with Spherical Analytics, the Climate Action Engine (CAE) can respond to the oil and gas industry’s need to make methane emissions-reduction actionable.

“By bringing data, intelligence and people together onto a single platform, RMI is enabling climate solutions for the oil and gas industry that work for the benefit of the climate, companies, countries and people,” said Taku Ide, principal at Rocky Mountain Institute.

As measured by carbon dioxide equivalency, over half of global energy-related emissions come from the production, transportation and use of oil and gas products. As a result, reducing methane emissions is increasingly important to all actors and investors in the oil and gas value chain.

By connecting industry, finance and other stakeholders with high-quality data, the CAE can help them understand how to meet emissions reduction targets collaboratively and help move capital to support climate mitigation.

“RMI’s deployment of our enterprise data fabric platform, Immutably, brings the power of machine learning for the generation of asset grade data and AI-enablement for asset grade analytics to provide critical insights into climate intelligence,” said Dan Harple, founder and CEO of Spherical Analytics, a Context Labs company.

Operators including Shell, Origin Energy, Exxon and Chevron will provide feedback to shape the CAE’s outputs and use cases to help identify opportunities to reduce methane emissions under operational control in Texas.

“Combining data and AI on a single platform is an innovation that could enhance our methane emissions management and supports Shell’s ambition to become a net zero emissions energy business by 2050 or sooner,” said Frits Klap, Shell vice president. “We look forward to the potential additional benefits from participating in this CAE pilot.”

Over time, the CAE could be expanded to cover all GHG emissions across critical sectors.