Study: U.S. emitting methane at 4 times rates estimated by EPA

A specially equipped jet aircraft measured 70% of the nation’s sites of onshore oil and gas production to detect the level of methane emissions — a supercharged pollutant with harmful health implications and a costly waste for industry.

The Environmental Defense Fund’s MethaneAir research jet found producers across the U.S. are emitting methane into the atmosphere at over four times the rates estimated by the Environmental Protection Agency for those same areas, based on industry-reported data. The results also show that operators are exceeding their own emissions goals by as much as eightfold.

The remote sensing tools make it possible to weigh the accuracy of reported methane emissions at the basin and sub-basin levels, from a diversity of oil and gas producing regions, for the first time. This in turn will help inform key policy and regulatory developments, including emissions reporting and state and federal implementation of EPA standards to cut oil and gas methane pollution.

The data compiled from over 30 flights from June to October last year showed the aggregate emission rate observed across large portions of the country’s 12 major production basins would amount to 7.5 million metric tons per year (or about 860 metric tons of methane pollution every hour). The EDF says that’s enough wasted gas to meet the annual energy needs of over half of U.S. homes. And the Uinta Basin in eastern Utah has the country’s highest loss rate of 7.8%, per the analysis.

“Utah must work with oil and gas companies to reduce methane waste. Wasted methane not only adversely affects those living in the basin but is also an economic loss for companies and taxpayers,” said Nini Gu, a regulatory and legislative manager at EDF. “We applaud the state for its Beehive Emission Reduction Plan and hope that, along with a strong state plan for new oil and gas methane standards, will make Utah and the Uinta Basin a safer and healthier place to live.”

Utah’s methane struggles are nothing new

A 2021 study conducted by Utah researchers concluded the basin has a high leakage rate of 6% to 8% in that region — much higher than what was reported as 2.3% for the national average. Part of that is due to an abundance of low-producing wells.

This EDF probe discovered data that shows:

• Highest total emissions were seen in the Permian Basin, followed by Appalachian and Haynesville basins, in terms of absolute emissions.
• Gas-dominant basins with high well-site productivity (Appalachian, Haynesville) have comparatively lower, though still unacceptably high, methane loss rates.
• Relatively mature basins where oil/gas production and infrastructure is dominated by aging, leak-prone, low producing wells — such as Uinta — have extremely high methane loss rates possibly due in part to fugitive methane emissions that continue to go unaddressed even as production declines.

Rikki Hrenko-Browning, president of the Utah Petroleum Association, said her organization has not had a chance to review the data and the methodology, so she could not comment directly on the EDF findings.

She did stress the industry is constantly acting to contain emissions.

“As an industry, we evolve perpetually to optimize our operations to prevent fugitive methane emissions. The reasons for this are twofold: 1) The thousands of employees who work in our industry are stewards of the environment as they work to provide the power we need for our daily lives,” she said. “They work diligently to protect the environment at every step of the oil and gas development process and adhere to all local and federal regulations; and 2) Methane is one of the saleable products we produce, and keeping it in our tanks and pipes simply makes good business sense.”

Utah producers have taken a host of voluntary actions to reduce emissions, such as installation of solar pumps, tank isolation valves and its own flyovers, she said. Information on those efforts can be found here.

The EDF research says not only does the methane pose pollution and health implications for the United States but has the potential for global implications.

U.S. operators may face new emissions standards to be developed for gas shipped into the European Union, the world’s largest market for imported gas. It adds that mitigation of supply chain methane footprints are also under discussion in South Korea and Japan, both major markets for internationally traded gas. The financial losses are huge, according to EDF, which says the wasted natural gas is worth an estimated $48 million every year, which costs Utah taxpayers about $6.7 million in lost potential tax revenue.

Addressing the problem

The Utah Legislature has provided funding for the ULend program in which infrared cameras, valued at $100,000, are lent to small oil and gas producers to detect leaks.

State regulators say the program accomplishes a couple of different wins — helping producers stop leaks and recover a marketable product, and of course the resulting pollution reductions.

Logan Mitchell, an atmospheric scientist who helped conduct the 2021 study and now works as climate scientist and air quality scientist for Utah Clean Energy, said there needs to be greater emphasis on capturing methane.

“I mean, we have the technology to find and capture this wasted gas, this wasted energy, and by doing that, we’ll not only be better stewards of the environment, but we’re going to be more economically competitive as we’re moving into a future where we’re trying to reduce pollution,” he said. “And, you know, I want the United States to be a leader in developing that technology and that capability.”

Mitchell added that pending federal incentives will offer ways to act in a bipartisan fashion and employ common sense to combat methane pollution.

“So this is this really a golden opportunity for Utah if we can understand our leakage better, where the leaks are occurring, why they’re occurring, then we can better take advantage of the incentives.”