UT methane study helps on gas well issues
The significance of a new study from University of Texas at Austin researchers can be measured in a simple statement: Both sides in the continuing debate over emissions from natural gas wells can learn from the report.
UT researchers, with unprecedented access to well sites across the U.S. and determined to take real-time measurements of methane emissions, not just estimates used in previous studies, turned up significant findings.
The results were published in the Environmental Science & Technology journal.
Methane is a potent greenhouse gas. Good information about emissions from wells and their surrounding equipment is essential to determine the “environmental footprint” of natural gas, whether over the entire cycle from extraction to end use it is more efficient and pollutes less than other fuels.
Solid science on this point is important to the industry and to environmental activists. It’s also crucial in areas like North Texas, where natural gas production in the Barnett Shale contributes greatly to the local economy but also is a source of environmental concern.
The UT researchers looked closely at pneumatic controllers, a piece of equipment on well sites long known to release methane into the air.
The controllers use gas pressure to automatically open and close valves, releasing gas as they operate. The question has been how much.
The UT study found more controllers in use than projected by the Environmental Protection Agency, with average emissions 17 percent higher than estimated in a 2012 EPA study.
The researchers also examined a process called liquid uploading, which removes liquids that naturally build up underground and impede gas production.
The study found liquid uploading to be more of a methane emission problem in the Rocky Mountain region than in other areas.
Both aspects of the study showed that most of emissions come from a relative handful of wells.
And the amount of gas emitted compared to what is produced (a leakage rate of 0.38 percent) was down from a previous UT study. That led industry spokesman Ed Ireland of Fort Worth to say the methane emissions issue is “on the right trajectory.”
This story was originally published December 10, 2014 at 5:46 PM with the headline "UT methane study helps on gas well issues."