Mon, January 24, 2022
Large Permian Basin Methane Leaks
Are Causing As Much Climate Pollution as 500,000 Cars
![](images/images_01_26_2022/pic2.jpg)
A pumpjack near Andrews, Texas.
Zorin09 via Wikipedia
A survey of oil and gas facilities in
Texas and New Mexico revealed 30 so-called “super-emitters,” which are
leaking as much heat-trapping pollution as roughly half a million
cars, according to a
new report from Carbon Mapper and the Environmental Defense Fund.
The findings are the result of three
years of aerial surveys that spotted natural gas leaking from wells,
pipelines, compressor stations, and processing facilities across the
Permian Basin. Natural gas is comprised largely of methane, which
traps around 80 times as much heat as carbon dioxide in the short
term. The 30 super-emitters identified in the report account for just
.001 percent of the region’s oil and gas infrastructure, and yet they
release around 100,000 metric tons of methane each year.
Gas leaks are notable both for their
outsized impact on the climate and for being a relatively inexpensive
problem to solve. Plugging leaks in oil and gas infrastructure allows
firms to conserve valuable natural gas, which they can later sell,
enabling them to recoup some or all of the repair cost. Fixing leaks
at the 30 Permian Basin super-emitters would save $26 million worth of
natural gas each year, according to the report.
Last year, the Environmental Protection
Agency proposed the
first rule to cut methane emissions from existing oil and gas
sites, which will help the U.S. meet its international climate goals.
The U.S. has joined more than 100 other countries in pledging to cut
methane emissions by
30 percent by 2030.
“The magnitude of emissions coming from a
handful of methane sources in one of the top oil- and gas-producing
regions illustrates the opportunity to make significant near-term
progress toward the stated methane reduction goals of the U.S., other
countries, and companies around the world,” said Riley Duren, CEO of
Carbon Mapper and a research scientist at the University of Arizona.
“In this decisive decade for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, every
molecule matters, and the fact that some facilities are persistently
leaking methane for years without detection or repair highlights the
urgent need for comprehensive and transparent methane monitoring.”
ALSO ON YALE E360
In Push to Find Methane Leaks, Satellites Gear Up for the
Hunt
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