[CRNMC] fracking emits 1000 times more methane than EPA predicted

[Shannon Biggs]

Just a reminder that most of the fracking here in CA is for OIL not gas, so
methane levels are different. Fracking for oil is far more GGH-producing
than natural gas, but methane levels will be far lower in oil extraction
than Nat Gas. 


On 5/5/14 1:52 PM, "edward Oberweiser" <edoberweiser at gmail.com> wrote:

> hi folks,
> 
> I thought this L.A. Times article might give us some more ammunition for our
> campaign.
> 
> Ed O.
> 
>    
>     By Neela Banerjee    This post has been updated. See the note below for
> details.         
> 
> April 14, 2014, 5:44 p.m.
>    
>                
> 
> Drilling operations at several natural gas wells in southwestern Pennsylvania
> released methane into the atmosphere at rates that were 100 to 1,000 times
> greater than federal regulators had estimated, new research shows.
> 
> Using a plane that was specially equipped to measure greenhouse gas emissions
> in the air, scientists found that drilling activities at seven well pads in
> the booming Marcellus shale formation emitted 34 grams of methane per second,
> on average. The Environmental Protection Agency
> <http://www.latimes.com/topic/environmental-issues/u.s.-environmental-protecti
> on-agency-ORGOV000048.topic>  has estimated that such drilling releases
> between 0.04 grams and 0.30 grams of methane per second.
> 
> The study <http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2014/04/10/1316546111> ,
> published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, adds
> to a growing body of research that suggests the EPA is gravely underestimating
> methane emissions from oil and gas operations. The agency is expected to issue
> its own analysis of methane emissions from the oil and gas sector as early as
> Tuesday, which will give outside experts a chance to assess how well
> regulators understand the problem.
>     
> 
> Carbon dioxide released by the combustion of fossil fuels is the biggest
> contributor to climate change, but methane ‹ the chief component of natural
> gas ‹ is about 20 to 30 times more potent when it comes to trapping heat in
> the atmosphere. Methane emissions make up 9% of the country's greenhouse gas
> emissions and are on track to increase, according to the White House.
> 
> The Pennsylvania study was launched in an effort to understand whether the
> measurements of airborne methane matched up with emissions estimates based on
> readings taken at ground level, the approach the EPA and state regulators have
> historically used.
> 
> Researchers flew their plane
> <http://science.purdue.edu/shepson/research/bai/alar.html>  about a kilometer
> above a 2,800 square kilometer area in southwestern Pennsylvania that included
> several active natural gas wells. Over a two-day period in June 2012, they
> detected 2 grams to 14 grams of methane per second per square kilometer over
> the entire area. The EPA¹s estimate for the area is 2.3 grams to 4.6 grams of
> methane per second per square kilometer.
> 
> Since their upper-end measurements were so much higher than the EPA¹s
> estimates, the researchers attempted to follow the methane plumes back to
> their sources, said Paul Shepson, an atmospheric chemist at Purdue University
> <http://www.latimes.com/topic/education/colleges-universities/purdue-universit
> y-OREDU0000050.topic>  who helped lead the study. In some cases, they were
> able to quantify emissions from individual wells.
> 
> The researchers determined that the wells leaking the most methane were in the
> drilling phase, a period that has not been known for high emissions. Experts
> had thought that methane was more likely to be released during subsequent
> phases of production, including hydraulic fracturing, well completion or
> transport through pipelines.
> 
> The airborne readings were a snapshot over two days, Shepson cautioned, and
> further research over a longer period and at other sites are needed to know
> whether the Pennsylvania measurements are typical.
> 
> Much of the natural gas drilling in southwestern Pennsylvania goes through
> coal beds, which contain methane that might be leaking out, according to the
> study. The researchers speculated that underbalanced drilling methods ‹ in
> which the pressure in the well-bore is lower than the surrounding geology ‹
> allows fluids and gases to enter the well-bore and travel to the surface.
> Energy producers use underbalanced drilling because it allows them to capture
> valuable supplies of ethane and butane, Shepson said.
> 
> The disparity between the researchers¹ measurements and the EPA¹s data
> illustrates the limits of the methods used by regulators, Shepson said. The
> EPA¹s approach puts regulators at the mercy of energy companies, which control
> access to the wells, pipelines, processing plants and compressor stations
> where methane measurements should be made.
> 
> ³It¹s tough,² Shepson said.
> 
> Last year, researchers from Stanford, Harvard and elsewhere reported in PNAS
> that methane emissions in the continental U.S. might be 50% greater
> <http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-methane-emissions-higher-
> than-estimated-epa-20131127,0,320051.story>  than the EPA's official
> estimates. Another study by Stanford researchers, published in February in the
> journal Science, also concluded that the EPA underestimates methane leakage
> <http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-methane-leaks-20140213,0,
> 359951.story>  from the natural gas industry and other sources.
> 
> [Updated 10 a.m. PDT, April 15: The EPA said it was aware that non-government
> scientists had come to ³different conclusions about the level of methane
> emissions from the oil and gas sector.² Some of those estimates are higher
> than the EPA¹s and some are lower, the agency said in a statement.
> 
> A slew of new data about methane and drilling is expected over the next few
> years, and EPA officials will be reviewing all of it and updating its
> emissions estimates as necessary, according to the statement.]
> 
> The new study comes two weeks after the White House ordered the EPA to
> identify ways to cut methane from oil and gas production. If the agency
> decides to issue new rules, they must be in place by the end of 2016.
> 
> In February, Colorado became the first state to regulate methane emissions
> from the oil and gas sector, requiring the industry to detect and fix leaks
> and install equipment to capture 95% of methane emissions. Last week, Ohio
> adopted rules to get companies to reduce methane leakage from above-ground
> equipment used in natural gas development, like valves and pipelines. Those
> rules do not appear to address leaks during drilling.
> 
> 
> 
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