Oil Well Emissions

Oil and natural gas wells can emit pollutants (e.g. hydrocarbons, carbon dioxide, and hydrogen sulfide) into the atmosphere. This can be an economic waste (e.g. a missed opportunity to capture value), a direct harm to the neighborhood (causing noxious smells, headaches, or worse), and can contribute to global climate change (by releasing greenhouse gases such as methane or carbon dioxide).

Similarly, natural gas pipelines can emit methane unintentionally.

Approaches to addressing these problems have included voluntary standards, regulation, monitoring, and taxation.

Related Reading

Overview

Pressure to Reduce Methane Emissions Highlights the Need for Better Monitoring -- Journal of Petroleum Technology, March 2015
Oil And Gas Wells Are Leaking Huge Amounts Of Methane, And It's Costing Taxpayers Millions -- Climate Progress, May 2015
Why the Scientific Case Against Fracking Keeps Getting Stronger -- Mother Jones, August 2014
Big Oil, Bad Air: Fracking the Eagle Ford Shale of South Texas -- Center for Public Integrity, March 2014
Methane Gets its Day in the Los Angeles Spotlight -- EDF, March 2015

Measurement

Delaware-size gas plume over West illustrates the cost of leaking methane -- Washington Post, December 2014
Scientists probe methane emission mystery in Four Corners region -- Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, April 2015 (for more, see Four Corners Air Quality Group)
L.A. Basin methane emissions found up to 61% higher than estimates -- Los Angeles Times, January 2015
EDF natural gas leak map for Pasadena and Inglewood
SoCalGas leak map
Natural Gas Methane Study - Emissions from Local Distribution Systems -- Washington State Univeristy
The Megacities Carbon Project -- JPL, ongoing
EnvironmentLA city activities -- mentioned comprehensive GHG inventory for the entire community of Los Angeles; page not updated since 2008, was such an inventory ever done?

Waste Prevention

Generating power from waste gas -- Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, February 2015
OFFGASES Project: Oil-Field Flare Gas Electricity Systems -- California Energy Commission, December, 2008

Regulation

Colorado First State to Limit Methane Pollution from Oil and Gas Wells -- Scientific American, February 2014
Colorado Emissions requirements for oil and gas industry -- Colorado Department of Public Heath and Environment
While Most Wait for the Federal Government, California May Have Just Broken the Methane Puzzle Wide Open -- EDF, April 2015
Draft California Greenhouse Gas Emission Standards for Crude Oil and Natural Gas Facilities -- California Air Resources Board, April 2015
Obama Administration Reveals Plan To Slash Methane Emissions In Oil And Gas Sector -- ClimateProgress, January 2015

Taxation

An Economic Argument for a Tax on Methane -- The Energy Collective, January 2015
A Carbon Tax may Curb the Rise in Natural Gas Flaring -- OilPrice.com, February 2013

Vendors of Emission Monitoring Systems and Services

Rebellion Photonics - Gas Cloud Imaging camera and services
An Industry You've Never Heard Of Is Trying To Cut Over $1.8 Billion In Wasted Natural Gas - ClimateProgress, October 2014

June 2015
[Back to www.kegel.com]
Dan Kegel