PLANET PHILADELPHIA
  • Home
  • Show Archives
  • Sound For The Planet
  • About
  • Resources
  • Contact

Planet Philadelphia

Environmental Radio Show

4-5:00 PM ET 1st & 3rd Fridays/month

WGGT-LP 92.9 FM in NW Philadelphia
​

& gtownradio.com

Super-Polluting Methane Emissions Twice Federal Estimates in Permian Basin, Study Finds - CCnow Collaborative reporting

4/24/2020

 
Picture

​This story is a part of Covering Climate Now’s week of coverage focused on Climate Solutions, to mark the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. this story was originally published at InsideClimate News. 
​
#CCNow and #ClimateSolutions.

Super-Polluting Methane Emissions Twice Federal Estimates in Permian Basin, Study Finds
The methane is a byproduct of fracking for oil, often burned off at well heads or emitted into the atmosphere instead of being captured for use as fuel.



By Phil McKenna
Follow @mckennapr

Methane emissions from the Permian basin of West Texas and southeastern New Mexico, one of the largest oil-producing regions in the world, are more than two times higher than federal estimates, a new study suggests.


The findings, published Wednesday in the journal Science Advances, reaffirm the results of a recently released assessment and further call into question the climate benefits of natural gas.  


Using hydraulic fracturing, energy companies have increased oil production to unprecedented levels in the Permian basin in recent years. 


Methane, or natural gas, has historically been viewed as an unwanted byproduct to be flared, a practice in which methane is burned instead of emitted into the atmosphere, or vented by oil producers in the region. While new natural gas pipelines are being built to bring the gas to market, pipeline capacity and the low price of natural gas has created little incentive to reduce methane emissions.


Daniel Jacob, a professor of atmospheric chemistry and environmental engineering at Harvard University and a co-author of the study, said methane emissions in the Permian are "the largest source ever observed in an oil and gas field."


He added, "There has been a big ramp up in oil production in that region and when you don't care too much about recovering the natural gas, it makes for a large emission."  


As a global oil glut threatens to curtail oil production in the region, it remains unclear if methane emissions from the Permian will diminish, or if emissions will continue to climb, as operators scale back monitoring and maintenance operations during the coronavirus pandemic.   


"There is going to be a lot less wells being drilled, probably less gas being flared, even wells [that] will [probably] be shut in," said David Lyon, a scientist with the Environmental Defense Fund and a co-author of the study. "If that is done properly, then I think you will have less emissions. At the same time, I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of operators cut back on their environmental staff and they do less leak inspections and other activities that would reduce emissions. They may have less ability to respond to malfunctions and things that cause emissions." 


The current study estimates 3.7 percent of all the methane produced from wells in the Permian basin is emitted, unburned, into the atmosphere. That is more than twice the official EPA estimate for the region.


While the percentage may seem small, methane is a super-pollutant that is approximately 84 times more potent as a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. It is often called a "short-lived climate pollutant" because it lasts only 12 years in the atmosphere when carbon dioxide can last for centuries. Methane's relatively short life in the atmosphere means that any reduction in methane emissions will have a near-term benefit in helping to slow climate change. 


Climate scientists estimate that if just3.2 percentof all the gas brought above ground at the well leaks into the atmosphere, rather than being burned to generate electricity, natural gas becomes, as a result, worse for the climate than burning coal.


The gas leaked and vented from the Permian makes nearly the same contribution to global warming as carbon dioxide emissions from all U.S. residences, according to the study. If that same volume of methane were to be used instead for residential purposes, it would meet the gas needs of seven million households in Texas, according to the study.


The study was based on 11 months of data from the European Space Agency's Tropospheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI) collected during 2018 and 2019. TROPOMI is a space-based spectrometer that uses infrared imaging to detect the average concentration of methane in columns of the atmosphere averaged across approximately 4 mile by 4 mile sections of the Earth's surface. Launched aboard a European Space Agency satellite in 2017, the device has significantly enhanced researchers' ability to quantify methane emissions across regions like the Permian basin.


The study also draws on data from a U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration satellite that detects heat from gas flaring and thereby pinpoints the location of oil and gas wells. When the data from the two different satellites are combined, they show that areas with a high number of wells correspond to areas with high methane concentrations. 


"That is important because it adds further confirmation that the high methane concentrations observed in the Permian stem from emissions from oil and gas production," said Riley Duren, a research scientist at University of Arizona and an engineering fellow at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, who was not involved in the new study.  


Leaks May Offset Gains by Reduction in Flaring
The findings confirm data released by the Environmental Defense Fund on April 7 as part of its ongoing PermianMAPproject. Drawing on airplane monitoring data, the group concluded that 3.5 percent of methane produced in the Permian was leaking or being intentionally vented into the atmosphere.


The recent report and current study come as EDF and others allege thatchanges in how the EPA estimates methane releasesfrom oil and gas field facilities has decreased the agency's official emissions estimates, as they appear in its recently released 2020 inventory of greenhouse gas emissions.  


"EPA makes updates to methods and data sources periodically when new information is available to improve our emissions calculations," EPA spokesperson Enesta Jones said in a written statement.


American Petroleum Institute senior counselor Howard Feldman, who was also asked to comment on the new study, said, "As with any report, we will review the methods that Harvard used to validate the data and their conclusions."
 
Feldman said that 
methane emissions are declining. 


"America's natural gas and oil companies," he said, "have initiated multiple initiatives across the U.S., like The Environmental Partnership and the Texas Methane and Flaring Coalition, to build upon the progress we've made to reduce emissions in producing basins like the Permian, during a period of significant oil and natural gas production growth."


Feldman added, "These initiatives underscore the industry's commitment to leveraging new technologies and innovative practices that reduce emissions and establish clear pathways for continuous environmental improvement."


Exxon Mobil Corp. announced earlier this month that it is conducting field trials of various methane detection technologies, including satellite and aerial surveillance monitoring ofnearly 1,000 sitesacross the Permian basin, to further reduce methane emissions. 


In 2018, Exxon, as part of a coalition of oil and gas producers known as the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative, pledged to reduce methane emissions from a 2017 baseline of 0.32 percent to0.25 percent by 2025. The current study's basin-wide estimate of a 3.7 percent rate of emissions suggests that, at least in the Permian, Exxon and other producers are well off of their emission reduction targets.


An April 6reportby the Norwegian energy research firm Rystad Energy noted that flaring in the Permian has decreased from a high of nearly 900 million cubic feet per day in the third quarter of 2019 to approximately 700 million cubic feet per day in the first quarter of 2020. The firm projects that flaring will continue to decline by an additional 40 percent this year as an oil production downturn caused by Covid-19 and the ongoing oil price war continues.


Flaring significantly reduces methane's greenhouse gas impact. When methane is burned, carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere instead of methane.  Reductions in flaring are typically an indicator that less methane is being wasted and that more of it is being shipped to market via pipelines.   


Flaring, however, isn't entirely effective. Flares that aren't operating properly result in incomplete combustion, and the portion of methane that isn't burned by the flare is released into the atmosphere. In other cases, unlit flares allow all the methane that passes through them to vent, unburned, into the air.   


Earthworks, an environmental advocacy group, argues that a steady increase in unlit gas flares  may offset any benefits from the decreasing volume of flared gas. Field measurements of approximately 100 flares in the Permian basin by the group show that the phenomenon of unlit flares increased from 14 percent of all flares monitored in 2017 to 34 percent in 2020, according to an April 6reportby the group.


Sharon Wilson, a gas imaging specialist for Earthworks, said she anticipates unlit flaring to increase as financial pressure, work restrictions imposed by Covid-19 and the inability of environmental watchdogs to continue field observations, results in decreased maintenance of existing flares.


"At the moment I'm afraid there is all manner of mayhem happening out there," Wilson said.


EDF is now conducting a larger study of unlit wells or wells with incomplete combustion and plans to release its findings in the coming weeks. State regulators in Texas are also considering whether tomandate a reductionor "proration" in the state's oil production, as supply outstrips demand.


EDF is urging the state's Railroad Commission, which regulates oil production, to include mandatory reductions in flaring as part of any requirement to reduce oil production.
​


"The goal of having flaring as part of proration would be to reduce the volume of gas being flared in the basin," Colin Leyden, a senior manager for regulatory and legislative affairs at EDF said. "Obviously with less flares you'd have less chance of things going wrong."

About the Author
Phil McKennaPhil McKenna is a Boston-based reporter for InsideClimate News. Before joining ICN in 2016, he was a freelance writer covering energy and the environment for publications including The New York Times, Smithsonian, Audubon and WIRED. Uprising, a story he wrote about gas leaks under U.S. cities, won the AAAS Kavli Science Journalism Award and the 2014 NASW Science in Society Award. Phil has a master's degree in science writing from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and was an Environmental Journalism Fellow at Middlebury College.

Comments are closed.
    Picture

    ​Planet Philadelphia won the 2024 SustainPHL Sustainable Storyteller award.

    These nominees use storytelling through various media to inspire positive change and highlight environmental actions.
    Picture
    Please support
    ​Gtown Radio!

    And please mention Planet Philadelphia if you donate.
    ​Planet Philadelphia is a radio show about our shared environment aired 4:00-5:00 PM EST 1st &3rd Friday a month on WGGT-LP 92.9 FM in Philadelphia and/or  at gtownradio.com. Also on Villanova University’s radio station, WXVU, Thursday mornings at 9:00 a.m. at 89.1FM. ​
    Podcasts are available at
    planetphiladelphia.com show archives page. 
    Individual interviews.
    Picture
    Planet Philadelphia is a partner in Covering Climate Now, a global collaboration of more than 250 news outlets to strengthen coverage of the climate story.

    Archives

    May 2025
    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015

    Picture

    RSS Feed

    The Big Belch, graphic novel by Kay Wood
    Kay Wood's paintings and more
    Picture

    Categories

    All
    12/16
    350
    401K
    Abby Leedy
    Abortion
    Academy Of Natural Sciences
    Ad-lib
    Air
    Alexandra Kroger
    Andrea-anastasi
    Anthony-giancatarino
    Art
    Audi
    Author
    Bailout
    Barbara Gottlieb
    Battery
    Bee-Keeper Guild
    Beer
    Bees
    Ben Kalina
    Betsy Teutsch
    Bill Mckibben
    Bill Mettler
    Biophila
    BioPhilly
    Blog
    Bloomberg
    Bobby Magill
    Bob Casey
    Book
    Budget
    Cancer
    Car
    Carbon Fee And Dividend
    Carol Collier
    Cartoon
    Casey
    CCL
    Center For Social Inclusion
    Charlie Phillips
    Christina Catanese
    Christina Simeone
    Christine Dolle
    Christine Knapp
    Christmas Music
    Citizens' Climate Lobby
    Civilization
    Clean Energy Revolution
    Clean Power
    Clean Power Plan
    Climate
    Climate Change
    Climate Crisis
    Climate Justice
    Climate-related Financial Disclosures
    Coal
    Conference
    Congress
    Coryn Wolk
    Court
    CSI
    Curtis Ravenel
    Cuts
    Cyane Gresham
    Dakota Access Pipeline
    Daniel Crawford
    David W. Titley
    Deer
    Delaware
    Delaware River Watershed
    Democratic
    DEP
    Detroit Auto Show
    DOE
    Dominic Renfrey
    Doug Tallamy
    Doug Wechsler
    Dr. Alison LaBonte
    Drexel
    Dr John Goodenough
    Dr. Stefanie Kroll
    Earth Day
    Earth Day Activities
    Editorial
    Ed Rendel
    Eileen Flanagan
    EJ
    Election
    Electronic
    Employment
    Energy
    Energy Future
    Energy Hub
    Environment
    EPA
    EQAR
    EQAT
    Evangelical Environmental Network
    Eve Andrews
    Eve Mosher
    Exxon
    Fed
    Feminism
    FERC
    Finance
    Financial Stability Board
    Fossil Fuel
    Fracking
    Friends
    FSB
    Fuel Cell
    Fuel Cell And Hydrogen Energy Assoc
    Future
    Gardening
    Gardens
    Gas
    General Motors
    George Lakey
    GND
    Going Up
    Graphic Novel
    Green
    Green Jobs
    Green New Deal
    Greensgrow
    Greenworks
    GRinCH
    G-Town Radio
    Gtown Radio
    Habitat
    Harrisburg
    Health
    Heat
    Helena Van Vliet
    Hidden Life Of A Toad
    Honda
    Honesty
    Horticultural
    House
    Hydricity
    Hydrogen
    Hyundai
    IEA
    Infant
    Inhofe
    Insurance
    Interview
    Investment
    Islands
    Jacqueline Patterson
    Jill Pelto
    Jim Frazer
    Jim Wiley
    Jobs
    John Heron
    Jordan Yeager
    Judson
    Judy Wicks
    Julie Greenberg
    Justice
    Just Transition
    Karen Melton
    Karl Hausker
    Kathy May
    Kay Wood
    Kia
    Kleinman Center
    Klienman
    Law
    Lawsuit
    Lead
    Lead Paint
    Lin B. Perez
    Linda Rosenwein
    Lindsay Meiman
    Links
    Live
    Live Radio
    Liz Robinson
    Lobbying
    Lorrie Fredette
    March
    Mary Robison
    Mary-Rose De Valladares
    Maura McCarthy
    Maya Van Rossum
    Merián Soto
    Michael Nairn
    Michael Silverstein
    Miriam Fisher Schaefer
    Momscleanairforce
    Morry Markowitz
    Music
    NAACP
    Nate Bellinger
    Native Plants
    Nature
    Neo-liberal
    New
    News
    NIRS
    Nobel Prize
    Nuclear
    Oak Lane
    Ocean Acidification
    Oil
    Oil Trains
    Our Children's Trust
    PA
    PA IPL
    PA Moms Clean Air Force
    Paris
    Party
    Patty Brotman
    Paula Paul
    PECO
    PennEnvironment
    Pennsylvania
    PES
    Peter Handler
    Peter Winslow
    Philadelphia
    Philadelphia Business Journal
    Phil Rinaldi
    Physicians For Social Responsibility
    Piepleine
    Pipelines
    Plan
    Planet
    Planet Philadelphia
    Planet Philadelphia
    Play
    Podcast
    Poison
    Policy
    Politcs
    Pollination Project
    Pollution
    POWER
    PowerPoint
    Prize
    Prof Benjamin Horton
    Professor Rakesh Agrawal
    Protest
    PSR
    Rabbi
    Rabbi Julie Greenberg
    Rabbi Malkah Binah Klein
    Radio
    Radio Show
    Rebekah Driscoll
    Recycling
    Report
    Representative Donna Bullock
    Reproductive Rights
    Research
    Restoration
    Reverend Alison Cornish
    Rev Mitchell C. Hescox
    Revolution
    Richard Whiteford
    Risk
    River
    Robert Hartwig
    Russell Greene
    Rutgers
    Science
    Scott Pruit
    Sculpture
    Sea Level
    Senate
    Senator
    Senator Art Haywood
    SEPTA
    Show
    Sierra Club
    Silverstein
    Solar
    Solstice
    Solutions
    Solutions Project
    Splitting Water
    Standard-oil
    Streaming
    Sue-caskey
    Sunita-satyapal
    Sunrise Movement
    Supremem Court
    Sustainability Director
    Sustainable
    Sustainable Business
    Sustainable Transportation
    Talk Radio
    Technology
    Tender
    The Big Belch
    Today
    Todd Rogers
    Toilet Turbines
    Toomey
    Toxic
    Toyota
    Tracy Carluccio
    Trails
    Training
    Tree
    Trees
    Tree Tenders
    Trump
    Tyler Nickerson
    UN
    University
    U Of P
    U Penn
    Urban Farming
    Urban Garden
    Volkswagon
    Volunteer
    Water
    Wave Energy
    Wave Energy Prize
    Wave Enrgy
    Weather
    Weaver's Way
    Weaver’s Way
    Weird-waste
    Wellbeing
    William-penn-foundation
    Wissahickon
    Women
    Women's March
    Work
    Xavier Thomas
    Zero Carbon
    ZEV
    Zoë Cina Sklar
    Zoë Cina-Sklar

Proudly powered by Weebly
  • Home
  • Show Archives
  • Sound For The Planet
  • About
  • Resources
  • Contact