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EPA Data Shows Reduced Methane Emissions
Design Team • November 10, 2015
New EPA data has shown a 13% decline in methane emissions from 2011 to 2014 , showing that greenhouse emissions are being successfully reduced within the oil and gas sectors. The oil and gas industry has often come under fire for methane emissions across the globe, but there have been significant strides in technology.
HYDRAULIC FRACTURING THE BEST FOR GREENHOUSE IMPROVEMENT
The greenhouse gas emissions of hydraulic fracturing have decreased by 81% over the same term, a greater decrease than for any other technique used throughout the oil and gas industry. Though methane missions have been considered to be one of the faults of the fracking industry, it's actually incredibly insignificant in relation to the fracking itself. Methane leakage ranges from 1.2% to 1.6% according to the EPA, and oil and gas companies have been working hard to further reduce these numbers. In terms of greenhouse gases, the fracking industry is one of the least wasteful.
RELEASED DATA THROUGH EPA
The Environmental Protection Agency releases information regarding methane emissions every year in order to track the emissions regarding many industries, including the oil and gas. Fracking operations often utilize flaring, which is a method that involves burning off excess natural gas. Burning off natural gas is an important part of the process but it doesn't require a lot of waste. Natural gas operations are actively decreasing the amount of methane emissions as natural gas is a preferable fuel source to many alternatives such as coal. The EPA has seen that the emissions are going down every year, which indicates that the industry will likely continue to improve. Moreover, the actual increases that have been seen within the industry have remained static and are not slowing down year over year, showing an optimistic picture.
METHANE EMISSIONS AND OIL AND GAS
Natural gas is a better fuel source than many other alternatives. Oil and gas companies are finding that more companies are moving towards the utilization of natural gas as natural gas prices have gone down and natural gas has become more common. Companies that utilize more natural gas will naturally use less coal, which is a significant improvement within the industry. Furthermore, many companies constructing natural gas utilities such as natural gas vehicles have found ways to make them more energy efficient.
The EPA's methane emissions reports show that the oil and gas industry has made great strides in improving the environmental safety of its methods. Furthermore, the oil and gas industry is moving more towards hydraulic fracturing, which is likely the least pollutant method of oil and gas recovery. It is to be expected that this will only improve with time and that the industry will continue moving away from methane emissions.
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