Methane leaks from British Columbia wells worse than thought

In British Columbia (BC) and Alberta, large quantities of methane are leaking out of the well bore, through flaws in the casing and cement, being released into the air. This is bad not just because it's a waste of money, but also because methane is a far more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide, accelerating global warming, and because methane migration likely points to leakage of fracking chemicals, which could contaminate water aquifers.

Despite What Politicians Say, Hundreds of BC Gas Wells Leak Methane

Industry regulator withheld data from government for four years.
https://thetyee.ca/News/2017/11/23/Hundreds-of-BC-Gas-Wells-Leak-Meth/

One of the sources cited in the above report is Anthony Ingraffea of Cornell University, an expert on Marcellus shale formations.


Alberta methane releases underestimated: ‘If we thought it was bad, it’s worse’

https://globalnews.ca/news/3808448/alberta-methane-releases-underes...

tags: pollution,methane,leak,migration,contamination,"global warming","climate change"

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Dan on November 30, 2017 at 7:02am
Permalink Reply by David Allen Lilly on November 30, 2017 at 8:27am

Methane melts snowflakes

Permalink Reply by Barry D on November 30, 2017 at 11:20am

Depending on info from Tony Ingraffea on these leaks would be like putting

Cap'n Crunch in charge of a naval maneuver.

A complete joke and totally unreliable.

Permalink Reply by Paul Heckbert on December 1, 2017 at 6:52am

There's a relevant paper on leaky casing & cement here:

"Assessment and risk analysis of casing and cement impairment in oil and gas wells in Pennsylvania, 2000–2012", Anthony R. Ingraffea, Martin T. Wells , Renee L. Santoro, and Seth B. C. Shonkoff. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2014.

http://www.pnas.org/content/111/30/10955.full.pdf

Some conclusions:

"Comparison of state inspection and well spud reports (where the “spud” date is the start date of drilling) indicates a loss of well integrity in 1.9% of the oil and gas production wells spudded between 2000 and 2012. This value agrees well with some previous estimates in the literature; however, this superficial indication comes with important caveats and is an incomplete assessment. The data suggest large differences in structural integrity issues between well types, with unconventional wells showing a sixfold higher incidence of cement and/or casing issues relative to conventional wells statewide ... Unconventional wells spudded before 2009 in the northeastern (NE) counties of the state are associated with the highest occurrence of loss of structural integrity (9.84%). ... Unconventional wells spudded in the NE region since 2009 (2,714 wells) show a similarly high rate of occurrence (9.18%)."

Permalink Reply by Paul Heckbert on November 30, 2017 at 12:45pm

Yes, about a third of methane is emitted by cows, in some countries, but check this historical graph, which shows methane levels were fluctuating around 500 ppb for a million years, and then hit 1000 in 1930, and 1500 in 1980, and are now approaching 2000 ppb. Methane from cows (raised by humans) and methane leaks from natural gas production are big contributors to global warming. And as David points out, the methane melts snow and glaciers, sea levels rise, coasts are inundated, economies are shattered, and refugee crises are sparked. Look at Syria, for example.

https://www.epa.gov/climate-indicators/climate-change-indicators-at...

Permalink Reply by Jon on December 1, 2017 at 7:00am
Permalink Reply by Brett on December 1, 2017 at 11:44am

IMPORTANT UPDATE:

No, wait.....it was moose flatulence. Disregard the posting.

Permalink Reply by Barry D on December 2, 2017 at 1:55am

Paul - the "Fake News" on GMS

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