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TO ENERGY, ENVIRONMENTAL, AND NATIONAL EDITORS:
Cost-Effective Methane Emissions Reductions from U.S. Oil and Gas
WASHINGTON, March 3, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- An independent
analysis conducted by ICF International (ICF) has determined that the
onshore segment of the U.S. oil and gas sector can significantly
reduce emissions of methane - a highly potent greenhouse gas and the
primary ingredient in natural gas - using currently available
technologies and at a low annualized cost. Released today, the new
report reveals that by adopting proven emissions-control technologies,
industry could cut methane emissions by 40 percent below projected
2018 levels at a cost of less than one cent per thousand cubic feet of
produced natural gas. Some of these measures pay for themselves over
time through the sale of captured natural gas, according to the
report, which was commissioned by Environmental Defense Fund (EDF).
"We participated in this study because knowing the facts is
essential," said Southwestern Energy Company (SWN) CEO Steve Mueller.
"And one of the key takeaways is that there clearly are ways to reduce
methane emissions at low cost and sometimes even positive financial
payback to companies. At Southwestern Energy, for example, we have
already demonstrated that capturing emissions through reduced emission
completions can be accomplished for the same cost as venting the gas
into the atmosphere."
ICF's analysis uses data and commentary from numerous organizations,
including oil and gas producers, pipeline operators, equipment
vendors, service providers and a trade association. Achieving the 40
percent in reductions would require industry to adopt fewer than a
dozen viable emissions control strategies across 19 different sources
within a five-year timespan, including such measures as shifting to
lower-emitting valves, or pneumatics, that control routine operations,
and improving leak detection and repair to reduce unintended methane
leaks from equipment, also known as "fugitives." The most economical
of these measures would save industry a combined $164 million per
year.
"ICF's in-depth analysis points out the vast potential this nation has
to address one of the key environmental issues confronting U.S. oil
and gas development," said Fred Krupp, President of Environmental
Defense Fund. "We now have a clear path to protecting American
communities and the global climate from methane pollution - and it
turns out to be an extremely low-cost path. This report is a call to
action for commonsense policymaking and accelerated industry
leadership starting now."
Why Methane Matters The ICF report comes at time of heightened
awareness of methane's role in global climate change. More than
one-third of today's human-caused global warming comes from highly
potent, short-lived climate pollutants, including methane, black
carbon, tropospheric ozone, and hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), according
to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Also known as
short-term forcers, this special class of greenhouse gas and aerosol
pollution contributes to extreme weather events such as heat waves,
droughts and more intense storms. And these emissions are on the rise.
IPCC data suggests that more than 50 percent of the warming over the
next two decades, due to today's greenhouse gas and aerosol emissions
will come from these short-lived pollutants.
That rising awareness has helped drive momentum on the issue.
President Obama asserted in his June 2013 Climate Action Plan that
reducing methane emissions is "critical" to tackling the problem of
climate change. Capturing the immediate potential to minimize methane
emissions from U.S. onshore oil and gas operations by 40 percent,
along with continued reductions in emissions of carbon dioxide - the
principal contributor to climate change - is one of the most cost
effective steps the U.S. can take to meet its climate goals.
Currently, there are no federal limits on the amount of methane
pollution that oil and gas operations can emit, and no federal air
regulation of existing oil or natural gas infrastructure. New natural
gas wells are required to control emissions during well completions
(when a well is cleared from sands and liquids to make way for
production) under current U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
requirements but the regulations do not generally cover
oil-and-gas-producing hybrid wells, which are common as the price of
oil remains high relative to natural gas. ICF expects all existing
onshore oil and gas sources will account for almost 90 percent of the
U.S. onshore industry's methane emissions in 2018.
"The environmental benefit of reducing methane emissions is clear, and
we must stop wasting the natural gas that is so essential to our
national energy security," said former Secretary of State George
Shultz, who has served in the cabinets of Presidents Reagan and Nixon.
ICF's report, "Economic Analysis of Methane Emission Reduction
Opportunities in the U.S. Onshore Oil and Natural Gas Industries," is
available here. This new analysis complements other research EDF is
engaged in to help advance methane science and provide deeper
understanding of methane emissions from the natural gas supply chain,
in order to inform policymakers about opportunities to reduce methane
emissions. Learn more about EDF's methane research series here.
Environmental Defense Fund , a leading national nonprofit
organization, creates transformational solutions to the most serious
environmental problems. EDF links science, economics, law and
innovative private-sector partnerships. Connect with us on Twitter ,
Facebook and our Energy Exchange Blog .
Contact: Lauren Whittenberg, (512) 691-3437, lwhittenberg@edf.org
Alison Omens, (202) 507-4843, aomens@outreachstrategies.com
SOURCE Environmental Defense Fund
-0- 03/03/2014
/Web Site: http://www.edf.org/
CO: Environmental Defense Fund
ST: District of Columbia
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PRN
-- DC75289 --
0000 03/03/2014 13:32:00 EDT http://www.prnewswire.com
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