Argentina – Methane Regulatory Support for the Oil and Gas Sector

Rationale

This project responds to a request from the province of Neuquén, Argentina, for support under the Fossil Fuel Regulatory Programme (FFRP).

Neuquén is Argentina's main oil and gas producing region and includes the Vaca Muerta formation. The project will support the province in strengthening institutional and technical capacity, developing and implementing methane mitigation and monitoring regulations, and advancing initiatives to reduce methane emissions from the oil and gas sector.

The work builds on existing provincial efforts to strengthen greenhouse gas reporting and methane management and will support Neuquén in identifying and implementing effective regulatory and mitigation approaches.

The project is part of CCAC's Fossil Fuel Regulatory Programme (FFRP). The province's participation in the programme was also publicly announced in September 2026. CCAC Coalition

Objectives

The project aims to support Neuquén to:

• Assess and strengthen capacity to develop, implement and monitor fossil fuel methane policies and regulations.
• Develop and begin implementing methane mitigation policies and regulations for the oil and gas sector.
• Strengthen monitoring, reporting and verification systems.
• Increase government capacity to engage with operators and other stakeholders on methane mitigation and regulatory compliance.

Activities

To achieve these objectives, the project will:

• Assess institutional and technical capacity for methane policy development, implementation and monitoring.
• Map key stakeholders and identify opportunities for coordination.
• Establish a Provincial Task Team for Fossil Fuel Methane Mitigation or equivalent coordination mechanism.
• Conduct workshops on emissions quantification, methane regulation, mitigation technologies and remote sensing.
• Develop a tailored framework for implementation and long-term management of methane regulations.
• Conduct a methane mitigation assessment and identify priority mitigation measures.
• Support development or enhancement of programmes, policies, regulations and guidelines, including potential measures related to LDAR, associated gas venting and enforcement.
• Support dissemination of regulatory requirements, implementation steps and compliance standards.
• Train government officials and other stakeholders on best practices for MRV.
• Develop recommendations for strengthening provincial MRV and reporting systems.
• Conduct awareness-raising and training with private-sector actors on methane mitigation and compliance with new regulatory requirements.