women help forge path toward lower methane emissions future

Arsineh Hecobian’s schedule is sometimes ruled by meetings, but there’s one she’ll never forget.

She had logged onto a video call about methane emissions reduction to discover all six participants were women.

“I remember that moment of looking at the screen and seeing all these amazing women working to solve the same challenge,” said Hecobian, a Chevron methane detection and quantification advisor. “I can’t express how much joy I get from even just saying that.”

The International Energy Agency says rapid and sustained methane emission reductions “are key to limiting near-term global warming and improving air quality.”

Meeting such targets requires a diverse workforce, Hecobian said. “Sometimes, it’s the lack of diversity of thought that holds us back,” she said. “Having a diverse team truly allows for different types of opinions to be shared, and that’s what propels us to reach our goals faster.”

Many of Chevron’s efforts reducing methane emissions are led by women.

In the Permian Basin, for instance, Munkhbayar Baasandorj, leads the region’s methane strategy.

Elsewhere, women are making strides in reducing methane emissions, including:

• Vanessa Ryan, Chevron’s methane reduction manager, was recently named one of Hart Energy’s 50 groundbreaking pioneers in the sector for the past five decades.
• Colleagues Blair Blackwell and Emily Jobson worked together to detect methane emissions by satellite in Kazakhstan.
• Colby Hall led a 20-day drone campaign offshore Angola to gather methane emission data that could inform repairs.