Regulating methane, which is leaking faster than thought
Methane has been in the news this week:
1. Methane Leaks in Natural-Gas Supply Chain Far Exceed Estimates, Study Says
“A little-noted portion of the chain of pipelines and equipment that brings natural gas from the field into power plants and homes is responsible for a surprising amount of methane emissions, according to a study published on Tuesday. Natural-gas gathering facilities, which collect from multiple wells, lose about 100 billion cubic feet of natural gas a year, about eight times as much as estimates used by the Environmental Protection Agency … The newly discovered leaks, if counted in the E.P.A. inventory, would increase its entire systemwide estimate by about 25 percent.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/19/science/methane-leaks-in-natural-...
2. Methane Leaks May Greatly Exceed Estimates, Report Says
“A device commonly used to measure the methane that leaks from industrial sources may greatly underestimate those emissions, said an inventor of the technology that the device relies on.”
The report found that the Bacharach Hi Flow Sampler, the methane sensor in use around the world, can greatly underestimate methane levels in some situations.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/05/science/methane-leaks-may-greatly...
3. Methane is a much more potent greenhouse gas (causes more global warming) than carbon dioxide. 30 times more, by one measure. Over half of the methane released into Earth's atmosphere is anthropogenic, not natural. Within anthropogenic methane emissions, the two biggest contributors are livestock and the energy industry, and the latter is growing, because of the natural gas industry.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atmospheric_methane
4. E.P.A. Announces New Rules to Cut Methane Emissions
“The Obama administration on Tuesday proposed the first federal regulations requiring the nation’s oil and gas industry to cut emissions of methane as part of an expanding and increasingly aggressive effort to combat climate change. … The rules were designed to ensure that oil and gas companies reduced waste and sold more gas that would otherwise be lost, while protecting the climate and the health of the public. … The proposals — which would require drillers to stop leaks and capture lost gas even in wells intended to extract only oil — would cost the industry up to $420 million to carry out by 2025, but that there would be savings, including reduced waste, of as much as $550 million during that period, bringing a net benefit of as much as $150 million. …
The administration has set a goal of reducing methane emissions by 40 to 45 percent from 2012 levels by 2025. The latest proposed regulations are expected to reduce methane emissions by 20 to 30 percent. … Oil and gas companies oppose the proposals, calling them unnecessary and costly, while environmental advocacy groups say they do not go far enough because they apply mainly to new wells and not most existing ones.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/19/us/epa-announces-new-rules-to-cut...
Views: 3314
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Tim Tarr on -
"Over half of the methane released into Earth's atmosphere is anthropogenic, not natural."
Where pray tell did that number come from. Now even stranger is an estimate of wetlands producing 70-80% of natural emissions. So, the Oceans cover~2/3 of earth and emit <20%??
Least we forget there are methane emissions that escape from geology too.
Their is no good estimate for emissions form wetlands. So how can anyone even try to guess on Ocean emissions.
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Permalink Reply by Robert Bond on
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From my understanding of organic decomposition 1) a tree falls to the ground in the woods, 2) decomposition begins, 3) methane is released along with other compounds. Some go into the soil as to help fertilize the growth of new trees and other plants which will die, decompose, and make more methane and others such as the methane go into the air others run off with the rain water.
In my opinion livestock and animal farts are both natural sources of methane unless one does not consider humans and animals as natural.
Nuff said about this study the process of natural decomposition of organic material and you will have an understanding of what is going on. Nothing new or sinister about it.
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Permalink Reply by Barry D on
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Bob,
You are correct.
Methane created by farm animals is a greater source of methane than leaks from the oil and gas industry.
Further, methane is a natural element. It does not present a danger to the environment.
This is just another scare tactic promoted by the anti fossil fuel crowd, like Paul.
Here's a question that has always interested me, If a cow farts in a field and no one is there is there a sound ?
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Permalink Reply by Paul Heckbert on
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> Where did that number come from?
Follow the link to the Wikipedia article that I gave.
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Permalink Reply by Barry D on
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Paul,
Everything anyone needs to know about the quality of your posts is contained in this response.
Wikipedia ? Really? That's one of your sources?
High School students know not to cite Wikipedia.
And, I'm certain most students in grade school know the same.
Wow! Do you really expect people to take you seriously?
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Permalink Reply by Jim Litwinowicz on
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Note the bait and switch. He starts talking about methane leakage from O & G industry but then morphs to 'anthropogenic' which the average reader will think is the same thing but it is not. Anthropogenic includes all human activity which includes agriculture, lumber, landfills, industry, and much more more.
Further, the largest source of methane from the O & G industry in not the upstream activities but from the distribution side. The lines that crisscross our cities and neighborhoods are mostly over 80 yrs old and leak like crazy. That is why distribution companies like Columbia Gas have started extensive projects to replace these lines costing billions over the next twenty years.
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Permalink Reply by craig on
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If we follow Paul's narrative then it can be said that we need less bicycles on the road. In fact we need to abolish bicycles as a mode of transportation. The deaths of bicyclists is rising dramatically and the gov't isn't doing enough to stop these folks from riding bicycles.
http://www.latimes.com/business/autos/la-fi-hy-californa-leads-nati...
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More evidence of massive methane leaks and the consequences for global warming, from today's news:
"Methane emissions from the Barnett Shale in North Texas are at least 90 percent higher than government estimates. That conclusion comes from a peer-reviewed study published Monday in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. ... Typically, "top-down" measurements, where scientists use airplanes to gauge emissions from an entire region, show higher leak rates than data collected from "bottom-up" methods, which involve analyzing individual facilities and adding up the results."
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That insideclimatenews story says
“Just 2 percent of the oil and gas facilities in the Barnett released 50 percent of the methane. … Methane is 86 times more potent than CO2 as a greenhouse gas on 20-year timescales.”
The journal paper on which it's based, “Reconciling divergent estimates of oil and gas methane emissions”, is available here:
http://www.pnas.org/content/112/51/15597.full.pdf
High level conclusion: we need better methods for measuring methane leaks, because they're so consequential.
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Permalink Reply by Barry D on
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Paul,
Wow! Twice in a month I agree with you. Methane does have more of an effect than CO2.
So what?! CO2 isn't a GHG.
That isn't the point. Instead the issue is whether methane released by human activity is a significant contributor to global warming. The answer to the question is a resounding NO!
As I stated in an earlier response, as the production and use of natural gas has increased the amount of methane leaked by those activities is dropping.
This should not be a subject for serious discussion or concern.
If you think it is such a problem I'd like to see you pony up some cash. Or a least, have you check all of the gas connections in youer home ? Have you had the efficiency of your furnace evaluated. I do both regularly. If you don't then you are a hypocrite and not fit to opine on the subject.
But we already knew that; didn't we?
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