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The War Against Methane Leaks Gets a New Data Tool
More than 2% of all natural gas from the US supply chain is released
into the atmosphere as methane, according to a new index
June 8,
2023
By
Jennifer A Dlouhy and
Eric Roston
![](images/images_06_08_2023/-1x-1_BIG.jpg)
A methane gas flare near Carlsbad, New Mexico
Photographer: Steven St John/Bloomberg
Analysts have a more precise measurement of how much US
natural gas goes directly into the atmosphere, worsening climate
change far more than if it was first sold in the marketplace for
energy. About 2.2% of all methane extracted in the US ends up escaping
across the natural gas supply chain, according to a new index that
combines estimates with data collected in aerial
flyovers to document the scale of the
problem.
The new finding comes from a methane-intensity index set to
be announced Thursday by MiQ and Highwood Emissions Management, which
is aimed at spurring market implications for companies that produce
and transport natural gas. By establishing a national baseline, the
index could ward off natural gas buyers and investors from producers
whose methane emissions run high.
“There's nowhere for the laggards to hide,” said Lara Owens, science
and technology director at MiQ, an independent certification nonprofit
behind the index. “Their gas should be sold at a discount, their gas
should get less favorable contracting terms.” The idea is not just
that cleaner gas could command a premium, she said, but that “there’s
also a penalty for not being transparent about your emissions or not
doing something about them.” Highwood Emissions Management, the other
group backing the index, is a Calgary-based management software and
consulting firm.
Lost Gas
Methane loss rates from key US oil-and-gas basins.
![](images/images_06_08_2023/Chart1.jpg)
Source: Sherwin et al. "Quantifying oil and natural gas system
emissions using one million aerial site measurements." Jan. 16, 2023
preprint. Measurements conducted by Carbon Mapper or Kairos (Fort
Worth).
The new methane-intensity index arrives at a time of increasing
scrutiny of the leaks across the US natural gas supply chain, which
has challenged the fuel’s credibility as a cleaner alternative. In
coming weeks the US Environmental Protection Agency is expected to
propose its plan for implementing a new fee on methane emissions
mandated by the Inflation Reduction Act.
Methane — the main component of natural gas — traps more than 80 times
the heat of carbon dioxide during its first two decades in the
atmosphere. That potency makes stifling methane leaks an
urgent short-term target in the fight against climate change. But it’s
been difficult to measure leaking methane. Better data on what escapes
from valves, pipelines and wells could reveal that some natural gas
rivals the planet-warming impact of coal. Researchers say that tipping
point comes once 3% to 4% of produced natural gas escapes into the
atmosphere.
The new index stitches together so-called “bottom-up” estimates of
emissions from sample equipment with “top-down” measurements collected
in 2021 by aerial surveys of key gas-producing areas in the US. Both
types of data are important.
A report
last month from the Clean Air Task Force,
Ceres and ERM Group Inc. using bottom-up estimates filed with the EPA
found the intensity of methane emissions from oil and gas production
dropped 28% between 2019 and 2021. Preliminary
research using aerial measurements from
Kairos Aerospace and Carbon Mapper — and incorporated into the new
index — showed wide variation in methane emissions as a share of
natural gas production, ranging from 0.75% to 9.63%.
Studies have consistently found that government estimates lowball the
scale of methane leaks, and the new index underscores just how big
that gap can be. Across the natural gas supply chain, MiQ and
Highwood’s analysis points to emissions and leakage rates that are
roughly double the estimates by the US government. For natural gas
production operations — just the wells, tanks and equipment at a
production site — the national average methane-emission intensity
from the index is 1%, which is far higher than EPA estimates. The
index identifies more emissions from pipelines and the rest of the
supply chain. (A report detailing the methodology used in the index
is expected to be released next week.)
Georges Tijbosch, MiQ’s chief executive officer, said the initiative
could help drive regulatory and financial benchmarks for methane
intensity in the US natural gas market — along with deeper emission
reductions. Operators whose leaks exceed the 1% average will face
questions.
“If you can’t prove that you’re way below that number,” Tijbosch
said, “then I think in a year or two or three the position for many
operators is going to become very tough.”
Green Play Ammonia™, Yielder® NFuel Energy.
Spokane, Washington. 99212
www.exactrix.com
509 995 1879 cell, Pacific.
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