{"id":17953,"date":"2018-06-12T10:23:03","date_gmt":"2018-06-12T14:23:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/?p=17953"},"modified":"2018-06-12T14:21:20","modified_gmt":"2018-06-12T18:21:20","slug":"in-permian-company-leadership-and-state-standards-are-critical-for-reducing-oil-and-gas-methane-emissions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2018\/06\/12\/in-permian-company-leadership-and-state-standards-are-critical-for-reducing-oil-and-gas-methane-emissions\/","title":{"rendered":"In Permian, company leadership and state standards are critical for reducing oil and gas methane emissions"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Jon Goldstein<\/a> and Colin Leyden\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"This May, ExxonMobil, the world\u2019s largest publicly traded oil and gas company, announced<\/a> targets to limit methane waste from its global operations. We\u2019ve also seen commitments to cut methane from a range of leading companies like BP<\/a> and others<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But as more companies step forward with methane targets, it begs the question: Is voluntary action from companies enough to move the needle on methane? A look at what could become the world\u2019s largest oil field points to the answer being a solid no.<\/p>\n

A Permian problem<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Permian Basin has become a major focus of industry development, with Exxon itself stating<\/a> it plans to triple its presence there by 2025. According to IHS Markit<\/a>, the Permian contains 60-70 billion barrels of recoverable oil, which is worth approximately $3.3 trillion at current prices. The Permian is in the running to become the world\u2019s largest oil field<\/a> over the next decade.<\/p>\n

Of course, the production increase in the Permian also means the basin is growing as a source of methane emissions. An EDF analysis based on the\u00a0most current New Mexico Permian inventory<\/a> from the Western Regional Air Partnership estimates methane emissions from oil and gas production in the entire Permian Basin were 1.9 million tons in 2014.\u00a0 That\u2019s equal to 131 billion cubic feet of gas that could\u2019ve gone to market at a value of $390 million \u2013 enough to meet the cooking and heating needs of every home in Houston and Dallas for a year, and it causes the same annual climate pollution as more than 34 million cars.<\/p>\n

Given the size of the problem and its potential growth, voluntary industry action alone won\u2019t be enough to prevent widespread waste and climate pollution. Even with its recent announcement to cut methane emissions, Exxon\u2019s actions would barely make a dent. They are one of the largest operators in the basin, but only account for a little over 5% of total production.<\/p>\n

No replacement for commonsense rules<\/strong><\/p>\n

Even companies like Exxon agree<\/a> that voluntary methane programs are no replacement for solid, across-the-board rules. In the case of the Permian, Texas and New Mexico need to step up to prevent rampant resource waste and pollution, while leveling the playing field for those companies doing the right thing.<\/p>\n

Without a set of commonsense standards to ensure responsible operation, states face the reality that not all companies are good actors, and even among those that are there\u2019s wide variance.<\/p>\n

EDF\u2019s recent report, Taking Aim<\/a>, addresses the fact that not all voluntary methane reduction programs are created equal. Even among leading companies, there\u2019s often more that could be done. For example, Exxon plans to target 15 percent of wasted methane by 2020 but IEA points out that up to 50 percent of methane emissions could be curtailed at no net cost<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Additionally, across-the-board rules ensure that good actors who invested in mitigation don\u2019t get burned, while bad actors enjoy a free ride to pollute as they see fit.<\/p>\n

The public, investors, and leading companies agree\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

The public agrees that cutting pollution and conserving resources shouldn\u2019t take a back seat to corporate profit. Recent polling shows<\/a> New Mexico residents voiced that opinion loud and clear, with 65 percent supporting rules to cut methane waste in their state.<\/p>\n

The good news is that striking a balance is possible. Just look at Colorado, which led the nation with a set of collaborate methane rules and recently saw record levels of oil production<\/a>. Responsible production and good business practices can go hand-in-hand, and that\u2019s increasingly what investors<\/a> and the public are demanding.<\/p>\n

As leading companies call for responsible, commonsense regulation<\/a> it\u2019s crucial that states deliver so that leading practices become standard practice when it comes to methane.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Jon Goldstein and Colin Leyden\u00a0 This May, ExxonMobil, the world\u2019s largest publicly traded oil and gas company, announced targets to limit methane waste from its global operations. We\u2019ve also seen commitments to cut methane from a range of leading companies like BP and others. But as more companies step forward with methane targets, it …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[439,55717,693,181],"tags":[68464],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-17953","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-climate","category-methane-2","category-natural-gas","category-texas","tag-new-mexico"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nIn Permian, company leadership and state standards are critical for reducing oil and gas methane emissions - Energy Exchange<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2018\/06\/12\/in-permian-company-leadership-and-state-standards-are-critical-for-reducing-oil-and-gas-methane-emissions\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"In Permian, company leadership and state standards are critical for reducing oil and gas methane emissions - Energy Exchange\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Jon Goldstein and Colin Leyden\u00a0 This May, ExxonMobil, the world\u2019s largest publicly traded oil and gas company, announced targets to limit methane waste from its global operations. 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