Energy Exchange

Does new NOAA study really show that methane emissions have been overestimated? No.

By EDF Blogs / Published: May 17, 2019

A new study published this week in the journal Geophysical Research Letters sheds useful light on some of the technical challenges involved in understanding past trends in methane emissions, but the reporting by industry groups and some media outlets describes conclusions that are at odds with what the researchers themselves actually found.

Led by scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the paper itself represents a solid analysis. But some of the secondary interpretations of the work have been vastly over-simplified, downplaying or papering over the substantial emissions increases reported by the authors.

Also posted in Methane / Comments are closed

New Mexico’s million-ton methane problem

By EDF Blogs / Published: April 12, 2019

By Jon Goldstein and David Lyon

You can’t see what you don’t look for. That axiom is at the heart of the problem with the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) methane emission estimates. It is also why a new analysis based on empirical data and cutting-edge science finds a far larger methane emissions problem in New Mexico than previously thought.

EPA estimates emissions based on data reported by oil and gas operators and a set of assumptions about leak rates called “emission factors.” EDF and our research partners decided to take a closer look at emissions in New Mexico, conducting direct measurements at well facilities and applying the latest science to understand leaks in the supply chain.

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

What the world’s largest provider of oilfield services has to say about innovation and regulation

By Aileen Nowlan / Published: April 5, 2019

Here is something you don’t hear every day: oil and gas methane regulations can reinforce innovation and leadership. Numerous new methods to reduce oil and gas methane emissions are being developed; and regulators, environmentalists, oil companies and innovators are working together to craft a new way for innovation to be recognized and rewarded.

I interviewed Drew Pomerantz of Schlumberger, the world’s largest provider of oilfield services, about what new methods and technologies are available to reduce oil and gas methane emissions, what their impact might be, and what is needed to realize that potential.

Also posted in Fourth Wave, Methane / Comments are closed

Investors urge companies to support methane regulations. Are they listening?

By Kate Gaumond / Published: April 4, 2019

Over the past few weeks, companies like BP, Equinor, Exxon and Shell have publicly stated their support for direct federal regulation of methane. It is not every day that a company asks for more rules rather than less. What’s one of the driving forces behind these public position reversals? Investors.

Investors have been an important pressure point in moving these companies to their new policy positions, and they continue to wield their influence to encourage more companies to join.

Also posted in Methane / Comments are closed

Momentum building on methane, Europe’s climate blind spot

By Poppy Kalesi / Published: April 1, 2019

In a new resolution on the European Union’s (EU) net-zero strategy, the European Parliament once again acknowledged the political urgency for legislation on what has, to date, been Europe’s climate blind spot: methane emissions. This vote on March 14, is the fourth significant development in the space of the last six months, raising expectations that the EU is finally embracing a major opportunity to better characterize emissions of methane and take action to unlock cost-effective mitigation.

Methane is a short-lived climate pollutant. Increases of methane in the atmosphere from human activity account for more than 25 percent of the warming we currently experience. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), over a 20 year period, methane has a global warming potential (GWP) up to 87 times higher than CO2. While methane breaks down in a decade, carbon dioxide sticks around for more than a century. To avert climate catastrophe in the near term and long term, we must reduce both.

Also posted in Europe, Methane / Comments are closed

Report reveals heavy burden of energy waste, methane emissions on Navajo communities

By EDF Blogs / Published: March 21, 2019

By Matt Miccioli, EDF Stanford Schneider Fellow

A recent study of oil and gas methane emissions on the Navajo Nation reveals companies operating on tribal lands pollute 65 percent more than the national average, wasting millions in tribal resources every year and underscoring the opportunity for tribal leaders to reduce emissions.

The analysis, conducted by Environmental Defense Fund and released in conjunction with Grand Canyon Trust, Dinè CARE and Native American Voters Alliance, quantifies the volume of natural gas burned off, vented or leaked from oil and gas production on Navajo lands. It found that companies are wasting about 5.2 percent of their natural gas, generating about 13,000 tons of methane pollution.

Also posted in Air Quality, General, Methane, Natural Gas / Tagged Methane, Natural Gas, Navajo Nation, New Mexico | Comments are closed