Oil and gas methane leaks 'could be drastically reduced'

The amount of methane leaks that occur within the oil and gas industry could be cut by implementing existing technologies, according to research. A study has found that technologies that are already available on the market could be used to almost halve methane leaks, while costing very little.

Analyst group ICF International was commissioned to perform research into the methane leaks that occur within oil and gas production, storage and transportation by the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF). The research was aimed at finding ways in which companies within the industry could reduce the amount of methane that is released into the atmosphere.

Methane is more than 20-times more damaging than carbon dioxide in terms of climate change in its uncombusted form. This means that by finding ways that uncombusted methane leaks can be reduced within oil and gas processes - one of the largest man-made causes of methane leaks - the effects of global warming could be abated somewhat.

According to the research, emissions-control technologies that are currently available on the market could cut methane leaks within the industry by around 40 per cent below the predicted levels for 2018. Costs would be less than one per cent per thousand cubic feet of produced natural gas and could ultimately mean that improvements to the system pay for themselves in the end due to the amount of natural gas captured.

Steve Mueller, chief executive of the Southwestern Energy Company (SWN), US, said: We participated in this study because knowing the facts is essential. 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.” 

Methane leaks throughout the oil and gas industry have become a growing problem, leading to the continued release of damaging emissions, especially due to the fact that natural shale gas extraction has become more widespread.