Energy Exchange

Bipartisan western governors agree methane reductions benefit states

By Jon Goldstein / Published: June 28, 2018

Yesterday the Western Governors Association, a bipartisan organization representing the Governors of the 19 western states, announced a policy resolution recognizing the importance and economic benefits of efforts to cut methane pollution from oil and gas facilities – the nation’s largest industrial source of methane.

The resolution states:

There are environmental and economic benefits of reducing methane emissions and opportunities for the beneficial use of this natural resource. Many western states – in cooperation with industry in those states – have already implemented regulatory strategies that reduce methane emissions from oil and gas operations, while expanding the use and sale of methane.

Posted in California, Colorado, General, Methane, Natural Gas, State, Texas, Wyoming / Tagged New Mexico | Comments are closed

Huge new Utah oil and gas project could have serious impacts on air quality

By Jon Goldstein / Published: June 18, 2018

A proposal under review at the Bureau of Land Management to bring thousands more oil and gas wells to a region of Utah already struggling with unhealthy air could cause more pollution and more waste.

The Greater Chapita Wells Project Area is slated to bring nearly 3,000 new wells to the state’s Uintah basin – an area the Environmental Protection Agency recently designated as having harmful levels of ozone.

Ozone, commonly known as smog, can trigger asthma attacks and other health concerns. Recent research suggests emissions from oil and gas facilities are the leading cause of the region’s ozone pollution problem.

Posted in Air Quality, BLM Methane, Natural Gas / Comments are closed

Utah’s looming ozone issue creating more impetus for stronger oil and gas controls

By Jon Goldstein / Published: February 26, 2018

Utah’s leaders have a challenge on their hands. Unhealthy ozone levels brought on by oil and gas pollution mean counties in the state’s Uinta Basin don’t meet our nation’s clean air standards.

Ozone, the main component in smog, is a serious public health risk that causes asthma attacks and respiratory damage especially in children and the elderly. Studies suggest oil and gas development is significant contributor to wintertime ozone pollution in the Uinta basin. Read More »

Posted in Air Quality, Methane, Natural Gas / Comments are closed

Report reveals pollution transparency problems for majority of New Mexico’s energy companies

By Jon Goldstein / Published: February 13, 2018

Much is known about the methane pollution coming from New Mexico’s oil and gas industry. Scientists studying methane emissions have found the nation’s most concentrated cloud of methane shrouding the state’s San Juan Basin. And since methane is the primary components of natural gas, we know the state’s operators are wasting hundreds of millions of dollars per year because of these leaks.

We know much less, however, from New Mexico’s oil and gas companies themselves.

A new report reveals that far too few oil and gas producers are disclosing information about their methane waste problem.

Posted in Methane, Natural Gas / Tagged New Mexico | Comments are closed

Methane waste: New Mexico’s multi-million dollar opportunity to increase funding and cut pollution

By Jon Goldstein / Published: November 28, 2017

A new analysis is taking a closer looking at the scope of New Mexico’s methane problem and the financial impact it’s having on the state’s taxpayers.

We have known for some time that New Mexico had a problem with methane waste and pollution from the state’s oil and gas industry. A 2015 report from business consulting firm ICF International found that more methane gas was wasted from oil and gas production on federal and tribal lands in New Mexico than any other state. And the infamous hot spot of methane pollution over the state’s San Juan Basin is the highest concentration of this pollution found anywhere in the U.S. But a new report is providing the first-ever comprehensive, statewide view of methane emissions and waste from New Mexico’s oil and gas industry.

This new analysis, which is based on industry-reported inventory data and an extensive review of recent scientific research, estimates that the excessive leaking, venting and flaring of natural gas has resulted in New Mexico’s oil and gas industry emitting 570,000 tons of methane each year. Read More »

Posted in General, Methane, Natural Gas / Tagged New Mexico | Comments are closed

Three reasons Westerners are fighting to defend federal methane waste standards

By Jon Goldstein / Published: October 24, 2017

Westerners are a hardy bunch. They are used to working through adverse conditions and making the best of what the land provides. That includes fighting to defend requirements from the U.S. Bureau of Land Management that are designed to cut wasted natural gas and maximize revenue for community projects. This is despite repeated attempts from the Trump Administration to undercut these regulations and sell taxpayers short.

Here are three reasons communities and individuals from across the Mountain West are fighting to defend methane waste rules:

Westerners hate waste: $1.8 billion and counting. That’s the value of taxpayer-owned natural gas that has been wasted since 2013 when the BLM began developing a new set of standards to address this problem. The rules finalized last November would help cut that waste and recover millions more in tax and royalty revenues for the western communities faced with impacts from oil and gas development that need it most.

Posted in BLM Methane, General, Methane, Natural Gas / Comments are closed