{"id":15336,"date":"2017-04-13T12:55:44","date_gmt":"2017-04-13T16:55:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/?p=15336"},"modified":"2017-04-13T13:07:03","modified_gmt":"2017-04-13T17:07:03","slug":"curb-your-enthusiasm-and-your-methane-as-oil-and-gas-industry-goes-big-in-the-permian-efforts-to-tackle-emissions-will-be-telling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2017\/04\/13\/curb-your-enthusiasm-and-your-methane-as-oil-and-gas-industry-goes-big-in-the-permian-efforts-to-tackle-emissions-will-be-telling\/","title":{"rendered":"As Oil and Gas Industry Goes Big in the Permian, Efforts to Tackle Emissions Will Be Telling"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By Jon Goldstein<\/a> and Ben Ratner<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Much ink has been spilled recently about big new oil and gas investments in the Permian Basin across West Texas and Southeastern New Mexico. What some are dubbing \u201cPermania<\/a>\u201d includes a more than $6 billion investment by ExxonMobil in New Mexico acreage and an almost $3 billion one by Noble Energy across the border in Texas, among others. But a large question remains: will these types of big bets also come with the needed investments to limit methane emissions?<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not just an academic question. The answer will go a long way toward revealing if industry actors plan to operate in a way that serves the best interest of local communities and taxpayers. Unfortunately, New Mexico is currently the worst in the nation<\/a> for waste of natural gas resources from federal lands (such as those that are found in large parts of the state\u2019s Permian Basin). Largely avoidable venting, flaring and leaks of natural gas from these sites also puts a big hole in taxpayers\u2019 wallets, robbing New Mexico taxpayers of $100 million worth of their natural gas resources every year and depriving the state budget of millions more in royalty revenue that could be invested in urgent state needs like education.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, at least one estimate<\/a> shows a doubling of methane emissions in recent years on 2.1 million acres of Texas\u2019 Permian Basin lands managed by the University of Texas, and students and faculty are calling for needed reductions. There\u2019s good reason to believe that the rest of the Texas Permian has seen similar increases in methane emissions.<\/p>\n