26 Oct 2026・5 min read In the early 1970s, while visiting an oil production facility, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the UAE’s late Founding Father, was concerned by the sight and smell of gas flaring. Disturbed that valuable gas was being burned, he issued Law No. 8 of 1978, the oil and gas sector’s first directive to minimize flaring. Today, ADNOC applies the same principle to methane, a valuable component of natural gas that can escape into the atmosphere, through a multilayered program designed to eliminate emissions at the source using smarter design, operational practices, and advanced technologies. “Our long-standing focus on minimizing routine flaring and putting gas to productive use gave us a strong foundation for managing methane,” says Samar Al Hameedi, ADNOC’s Vice President of Climate Change. “The key is understanding where emissions occur, addressing their sources, and following up on the results.” ADNOC has translated this approach into measurable achievements. Upstream methane intensity was 0.05% in 2025, below both its target of less than 0.15% and industry benchmarks. On October 12, 2026, ADNOC also retained the Oil and Gas Methane Partnership (OGMP) 2.0 Gold Standard reporting status for the third consecutive year. OGMP recognition marks an important milestone for ADNOC’s Group Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) department. The Gold Standard is the United Nations Environment Programme’s benchmark for credible, measurement-based methane emissions reporting. “Measurement helps us identify the largest sources, prioritize action, and build confidence in the information we report,” says Fatima Naji, ADNOC’s Vice President of Group Environment OH & Social Risk, who leads methane monitoring for ADNOC.