A recent analysis of satellite data showed a substantial decline in methane emissions associated with oil and gas development in Colorado. The reduction correlated closely in time with the implementation of strong, new emission-control requirements adopted in 2014. Researchers attribute the reduction to the aggressive efforts to plugs leaks throughout the life cycle of natural gas production.
Methane, the principal component of natural gas, is a potent greenhouse gas pollutant that traps heat in the atmosphere more than 80 times as much as carbon dioxide. Hence the focus on reducing methane emissions during the extraction of natural gas.
The significant drop in methane releases from the oil and gas industry in Colorado is a remarkable example of a win-win, all the more so because the notable reductions in unwanted methane emissions came about at the same time as a robust increase in natural gas production across the state.
Advocates for addressing climate change point to the real-world benefits of the various methane-pollution regulation efforts undertaken over the years. These included aggressive efforts beginning in 2014 with a focus to identify and repair leaks and thereby eliminate emissions from pipelines, storage tanks and other sources.
State air-quality and oil and gas permitting agencies appreciate the effective implementation of its rules in the field, with its efforts rewarded by emissions reductions as predicted.
And the oil and gas industry wins as well, by demonstrating its ability to continue and even increase production while at the same time substantially cutting pollution levels. A Colorado Sun article in December quoted industry representatives as welcoming this evidence that investing in new technologies and improving practices can reduce methane emissions without impacting production. That emphasizes a point argued by climate change advocates: It is also in the industry’s best interest to capture as much methane as possible since methane is the economically valuable product being extracted.
The analysis conducted for Environmental Defense Fund looked at data from the Japanese Greenhouse Gases Observing Satellite that was launched in 2009. The observations indicated a 70% drop in methane emissions across Colorado from 2010 to 2019, while natural gas production increased by 25% or more. In contrast, methane emissions in Texas increased by 30% over the same period, where methane pollution rules are much less restrictive.
Reductions in unwanted methane emissions bring the added benefit of improved air quality and lessened health impacts, since leaks allow not only methane to escape into the atmosphere but also associated hazardous air pollutants like benzene and toluene.
The success of Colorado’s regulations is all the more important given the Trump Administration’s hostility toward national environmental regulations. The Environmental Protection Agency is delaying rules to cut back on methane pollution from existing oil and gas wells, and the Bureau of Land Management is rescinding its requirements to cut methane emissions from newly drilled wells on federal land.
Colorado’s rules aimed at reducing methane pollution during natural gas extraction could be all the more relevant locally in Southwest Colorado if a purported new boom in natural gas production from the Mancos Shale formation becomes a reality. Industry has targeted the Mancos Shale as a largely untapped source of natural gas, with expanded drilling happening along the Colorado-New Mexico state line south of Ignacio.
The analysis of satellite data is available via the Environmental Defense Fund here.
Mark Pearson is Executive Director at San Juan Citizens Alliance. Reach him at mark@sanjuancitizens.org.
