Energy Exchange

New whitepaper demonstrates how China can take a world class approach to underground gas storage

By EDF Blogs / Published: May 7, 2019

As China replaces high-polluting coal with cleaner burning natural gas to address its air quality concerns, natural gas demand in the country has undergone rapid growth. China is charting a course to aggressively increase its underground gas storage (UGS) capacity over the next two decades.

Though UGS brings benefits to the gas supply system, including operational flexibility and efficiency, it can also bring significant risk to human health, safety and the environment. Here in the United States, we’ve seen first-hand what can happen when things go wrong with UGS. Aliso Canyon in California, where a nearly 50-year old depleted reservoir gas storage facility lost containment, leaked 100,000 tonnes of methane over four months and forced the evacuation of 11,000 residents from an adjacent neighborhood.

As China draws upon leading technical and regulatory guidance addressing UGS facilities, it is critical that it develop and institute a management framework throughout all phases of UGS operation, from planning and construction through operation and, ultimately, closure.

Posted in Natural Gas / Tagged China | Comments are closed

Not all biogas is created equal

By EDF Blogs / Published: April 15, 2019

By Joe Rudek and Stefan Schwietzke

In this climate-conscious economy, where many consumers demand cleaner energy options, gas companies are exploring more opportunities to reduce their carbon footprint.

One option gaining traction is biogas – a form of natural gas that comes from decaying biological sources (like decomposing food and manure), rather than fossil fuels. In fact, gas utilities from Vermont to California have introduced programs to allow their customers to purchase biogas through the existing gas system.

Some utilities suggest that biogas cuts carbon emissions across the energy sector. However, the reality is that biogas must be developed with safeguards that protect the climate and local environmental conditions, and is only one tool among many needed to address the climate crisis.

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

California fixes a major problem with oilfield wastewater injection

By Adam Peltz / Published: April 1, 2019

A new rule goes into effect today that will help protect California’s groundwater.

The rule applies to injection wells – the underground facilities that enable enhanced oil recovery and the long-term disposal of the oil industry’s wastewater. California has around 55,000 oilfield injection wells, nearly one-third of the nation’s total, and the state’s oil industry injects over 100 billion gallons of water a year into them. The Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources (DOGGR) came under scrutiny in recent years when the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) discovered state regulators accidentally allowed thousands of wells to pump oilfield wastewater directly into drinking water aquifers, along with other program deficiencies.

Also posted in California / Tagged Water | Comments are closed

New Mexico legislation marks new focus on improved oil and gas oversight under Gov. Lujan Grisham

By EDF Blogs / Published: March 22, 2019

By Jon Goldstein and Nichole Saunders

When New Mexico legislators adjourned last Saturday, they had a long list of accomplishments for the first session under Gov. Lujan Grisham’s executive leadership. Near the top of that list is a bill that, once signed, will mark the first major legislative reform for the state’s oil and gas industry in over a decade.

House Bill 546 has significant implications for how the state oversees its large and growing oil and gas industry. This includes restoring crucial powers to the state’s main oil and gas regulator and enabling it to protect the state’s air and water resources from oil and gas pollution, as well as clarifying how New Mexico manages the massive volume of oilfield wastewater, or “produced water,” generated by operators. These reforms, championed by Sen. Richard Martinez, Rep. Nathan Small and Rep. Matthew McQueen will begin to deliver oil and gas policy that New Mexicans can be proud of.

Also posted in produced water / Tagged New Mexico, produced water | 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, Methane regulatons / Tagged Methane, Natural Gas, Navajo Nation, New Mexico | Comments are closed