LONDON, Sept 17 (Reuters) - Royal Dutch Shellannounced on Monday plans to limit emissions of methane, apotent greenhouse gas, across its oil and gas operations.
Shell aims to maintain methane emissions intensity below 0.2percent by 2025, it said in a statement, joining British rivalBP, which last year set a similar goal.
Methane is released into the atmosphere mostly through leaksin gas infrastructure such as pumps and pipelines.
The gas has a bigger impact than carbon dioxide, even thoughthe oil and gas industry produces less methane and the gas alsohas a shorter lifetime.
The methane target will be measured against a baseline leakrate, which is currently estimated at range from 0.01 percent to0.8 percent across the company's oil and gas assets, it said.
The Anglo-Dutch company set out last year an ambitious planto halve its carbon emissions by 2050, far exceeding rivals.Investors have called on the company to set binding targets toreach those goals.
(Reporting by Ron BoussoEditing by Edmund Blair)
BP (BP.)
