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Theaus CH4: Turning Methane Abatement Into Actionable Climate Impact

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Theaus CH4 introduces an innovative, market-driven approach to methane abatement: we permanently shut down marginal oil and gas wells and generate carbon credits to fund the process.

Decommissioning these wells is expensive, and because inactive or low-producing wells don’t generate meaningful revenue, most operators have no financial incentive to retire them. As a result, many wells are left to emit methane—an extremely potent greenhouse gas—for years or even decades. Our strategy flips that equation. By quantifying and monetizing the avoided emissions, we create a financial mechanism that makes early, permanent well closure economically viable.

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What We Target

We focus on marginal oil and gas wells across Canada—wells that are either idle or producing at very low volumes. To qualify for inclusion in our program, each well must meet rigorous eligibility and additionality criteria:

• The well must be genuinely uneconomic.

• It must be legally permitted for decommissioning.

• It must show potential for measurable, long-term emissions avoidance.

This ensures that every ton of emissions reduced through the project is additional and wouldn’t have happened under business-as-usual conditions.

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What We Prevent

Shutting down marginal wells prevents both methane (CH₄) and carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions:

• Methane: These wells often leak methane through fugitive emissions from casing, tubing, valves, and surface equipment.

• Carbon Dioxide: If the well remained in operation, its extracted oil or gas would eventually be combusted, contributing to CO₂ emissions downstream.

Decommissioning stops both sources. It eliminates future fugitive emissions and cuts off the potential for combustion-related emissions entirely.

 The key difference: we accelerate it and ensure it's done properly.

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How We Ensure Quality

Integrity is central to our methodology. We factor in:

• Permanence: We ensure the emission reductions last by verifying proper well closure and legal transfer of liability.

• Leakage Risk: We evaluate whether emissions may shift to other wells or sectors and apply discounting where appropriate.

• Conservative Accounting: All assumptions favor underestimation of impact rather than overstatement, supporting the credibility of the resulting carbon credits.

The result: high-integrity, verifiable carbon credits that reflect real, permanent, and additional climate benefits.

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The Big Picture

Methane is over 80 times more potent than CO₂ over a 20-year timeframe. Tackling it is one of the fastest ways to slow the pace of climate change. Yet abandoned and marginal wells are often overlooked in climate policy and market mechanisms.

Theaus CH4 is changing that. By unlocking new financial pathways to decommission these wells, we turn a persistent liability into a climate asset—creating real-world impact where it's needed most.

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