MiQ, a non-profit organization co-founded by RMI and SYSTEMIQ, has launched a new digital registry designed to manage and track methane emissions certificates for the oil and gas sector. Unveiled at the FLAME conference in Amsterdam, the platform provides independent verification to support industry accountability and compliance with upcoming European Union methane regulations.
Establishing Independent Accountability for Methane Emissions
The launch of the MiQ Registry marks a significant expansion in how the energy industry monitors its environmental footprint. By functioning as a secure electronic ledger, the platform tracks certificates from the point of issuance through to their retirement. This mechanism is intended to prevent common market failures such as double counting or the issuance of fraudulent credits, ensuring that the data regarding methane performance remains authentic and transparent.
For regulators and industry participants alike, the need for a verifiable system has become increasingly urgent. As the organization noted, the transition to clean energy is a long-term process, making the reduction of avoidable methane emissions from existing oil and gas infrastructure one of the most effective ways to address climate pollution in the interim. The platform integrates with the Certificate Import Reconciliation Information System (CIRIS), which utilizes mass balance mechanisms and document tracking to maintain the integrity of the certification process.
“Sin una infraestructura de registro confiable e independiente, ¿cómo pueden la industria, los gobiernos, los reguladores y la sociedad civil confiar plenamente en los informes de emisiones de metano?” Georges Tijbosch, CEO of MiQ
Expanding Certification Beyond Natural Gas
While MiQ has previously established itself as a leader in certifying natural gas production, the new registry represents the first time such a system has incorporated specific capabilities for crude oil. This shift acknowledges that methane leakage is a pervasive issue across the broader fossil fuel supply chain, not just within natural gas extraction. The organization currently reports that its systems certify more than 7% of the global gas supply, with approximately 28 billion MMBtu already recorded within its framework.
The expansion into crude oil certification is part of a broader push to standardize how energy companies report their environmental performance. By applying a robust, data-informed grading method—established by RMI and SYSTEMIQ in 2020—MiQ aims to provide the trusted data necessary for third-party auditing firms to assess operational performance. The organization has confirmed that it expects to announce the certification of an initial crude oil production facility in the near future, which will serve as a practical demonstration of the registry’s application to oil-heavy assets.
Navigating the European Regulatory Landscape
A primary driver for the registry’s development is the upcoming European Union Methane Regulation, which imposes stricter requirements on energy imports. By providing a clear, traceable path for emissions data, the MiQ platform is positioned to assist international operators of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and crude oil in meeting these compliance standards. The International Energy Agency has previously highlighted the vital role that such certification frameworks play in providing the transparency required by global markets.
As the industry moves toward 2026, the challenge remains to balance the reliance on fossil fuels with the necessity of reducing climate-warming emissions. The MiQ registry serves as a technical bridge, turning abstract sustainability goals into verifiable, tradeable certificates. By strengthening transparency in methane emissions, the organization hopes to create a market environment where cleaner production methods are rewarded, incentivizing companies to invest in leak detection and repair technologies that might otherwise be overlooked.
Operational Integrity and Market Standards
The registry’s architecture is built to address the specific requirements of the European Union’s Methane Regulation, which mandates that importers provide reliable data on the methane intensity of their energy supplies. By digitizing the certification process, MiQ aims to minimize the administrative burden on operators while increasing the reliability of the data provided to regulators. The registry functions as a centralized repository where the entire lifecycle of a certificate is documented, from its initial generation at a certified production site to its ultimate retirement against specific volumes of gas or oil sold.
The implementation of mass balance mechanisms within the platform is designed to ensure that the volume of certified energy sold by an operator does not exceed the volume of energy produced at the certified facility. This, combined with the integration of third-party audit reports, creates a closed-loop system for emissions verification. This rigor is essential for the market to treat these certificates as credible instruments that reflect real-world environmental outcomes.
Broader Implications for Global Energy Markets
Beyond the European regulatory framework, the registry is intended to provide a model for international market standardization. As global energy trade increasingly focuses on the carbon intensity of commodities, the ability to provide an immutable record of methane emissions performance is expected to become a competitive differentiator for producers. MiQ’s work in establishing these standards seeks to move the industry away from self-reported estimates and toward a system defined by empirical data and independent oversight.
The organization’s focus remains on maintaining the integrity of the data stream. By requiring that all certifications be backed by independent, third-party audits, MiQ ensures that the registry remains a trusted source for stakeholders across the energy supply chain. As more production assets are brought into the registry, the resulting data sets will provide a clearer picture of the methane emissions landscape, enabling more effective policy interventions and industry-led initiatives to reduce emissions across the global oil and gas sector.