Methane Action Plan

Released in January 2019, the Methane Action Plan (MAP) is the Government of Saskatchewan's comprehensive approach to reducing greenhouse gas emissions from venting activities in the upstream oil and gas industry.

MAP will reduce methane* emissions by 4.5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO₂e) annually by 2025. Total MAP emissions reductions between 2020-2030 will be at least 38.2 million tonnes CO₂e.

MAP is one of the main components of the Government of Saskatchewan's Prairie Resilience: A Made-in-Saskatchewan Climate Change Strategy, released in December 2017. MAP works with the province’s Output-Based Performance Standards (OBPS) Program to reduce emissions in the oil and gas sector by combining flexible results-based regulations with nine new policies and programs – described below – that protect industrial competitiveness and limit the risk of carbon leakage, protect industrial competitiveness and limit the risk of carbon leakage.

MAP focuses on addressing local conditions and challenges in ways that only a made-in-Saskatchewan approach can. This includes regulations, policies and programs that align to the specific emission management, infrastructure and investment requirements found in each of the province's four major oil producing regions.

Importantly, MAP is intended to help guide the upstream oil and gas sector in a multi-year transition away from venting and flaring and towards methane capture and commercialization.

MAP is expected to reduce methane* emissions by 4.5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO₂e) annually by 2025, with total MAP emissions reduced by at least 38.2 million tonnes CO₂e between 2020-2030.

Methane Action Plan

* When oil is produced, it comes to the surface mixed with a combination of gases, known as "associated gas." To avoid confusion, the term "methane" is used throughout the MAP document in place of the lesser-known term "associated gas." Associated gas emissions from venting and flaring were 10.9 million tonnes CO₂e in 2015, the Prairie Resilience baseline year.

Oil and Gas Emission Management Regulations

On January 1, 2019, the Government of Saskatchewan introduced The Oil and Gas Emission Management Regulations (OGEMR), which will reduce upstream oil and gas industry emissions from venting by more than 40 per cent between 2020-2025, at which time provincial methane emissions will be capped. OGMER was revised in early 2024 to focus on emissions from venting, with flaring emissions now covered by the Ministry of Environment’s OBPS Program. These changes were made retroactive to January 1, 2024, and are intended to reduce red tape and avoid duplicative regulations.

OGEMR is a results-based regulation that allows industry to determine how best to achieve verifiable emission reduction targets. This approach helps companies plan their emissions reductions across their entire fleet of facilities, reducing the risk of having to prematurely shut down and strand assets before their natural end of life. Under OGMER, industrial emitters are required to pay a penalty for each tonne of emissions that exceed permitted levels.

For additional details, visit the Oil and Gas Emissions Management webpage.

MAP Complementary Programs and Policies

1. Saskatchewan Technology Fund: Penalties incurred under OGEMR go into the Saskatchewan Technology Fund but are held separately from other payments made under The Management and Reduction of Greenhouse Gases (Standards and Compliance) Regulations, 2023. The OGEMR portion of the fund focuses on supporting all types of methane capture and commercialization projects, as well as other emissions management projects in the sector.
2. SaskPower and First Nations Power Authority (FNPA) Agreement: SaskPower, the Government of Saskatchewan and the FNPA signed a Memorandum of Understanding to assist First Nations power producers develop and submit power generation projects to SaskPower. First Nations power producers use the FNPA as a main point of contact for any power project proposals.
3. Associated Gas Conservation Program (AGCP): AGCP is a program administered by SaskEnergy/TransGas that allows oil and gas producers to share their excess gas with other producers rather than burning it off or releasing it into the atmosphere.
4. Oil and Gas Processing Investment Incentive (OGPII): OGPII, administered by the Ministry of Energy and Resources, offers transferable royalty/freehold production tax credits for qualified projects at a rate of 15 per cent of eligible project costs. OGPII is open to oil and gas value-added processing projects as well as methane, production byproduct, or waste product commercialization projects across the sector.
5. Saskatchewan Petroleum Innovation Incentive (SPII): SPII is administered by the Ministry of Energy and Resources. It offers transferable royalty/freehold production tax credits for qualified innovation commercialization projects at a rate of 25 per cent of eligible project costs. The program targets a broad range of innovations deployed across Saskatchewan's oil and gas sector, including emissions management projects. The program is open to pilot projects and commercial scaling projects, allowing applicants to test their innovations before deploying them at commercial scale. Projects in multiple locations and those that include multiple phases may be considered eligible under a single application.
6. Associated Gas Royalty Review: The Ministry of Energy and Resources has paused the collection of Crown Royalty and Freehold Production Tax on associated gas produced from wells other than gas wells, including natural gas produced from oil wells, for five years. The moratorium fulfills a commitment announced in the Government of Saskatchewan's Growth Plan to help producers reduce methane-based greenhouse gas emissions by 40 to 45 per cent between 2020 and 2025. The moratorium applies to natural gas produced on or after April 1, 2021, and before April 1, 2026.
7. Geographic Information System: The Ministry of Energy and Resources offers a Gas Commercialization Mapping (GCM) Service, which identifies geographic areas where there may be enough deposits of gas to create further opportunities for gas commercialization. See Gas Commercialization Mapping (GCM) Service.
8. Industry-Utility-Government Joint Planning Areas: The Ministry of Energy and Resources, Ministry of Environment, SaskEnergy and SaskPower will create Industry-Utility-Government Joint Planning Areas in regions of the province where significant volumes of methane venting and flaring occurs. These planning areas will help develop and execute methane capture and commercialization projects. View the Gas Commercialization Mapping (GCM) Service.
9. Methane Action Plan Annual Progress Report: Since 2020, the Government of Saskatchewan has released annual progress reports on all commitments, targets, programs and policies listed in the Methane Action Plan.