Industry study backs green natural gas

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WASHINGTON, Oct. 26 (UPI) -- A survey prepared for two U.S. natural gas trade groups claims greenhouse gas emissions from gas production are lower than expected.

A 57-page report prepared by engineering company URS Corp. and environmental consultancy The Levon Group for the American Petroleum Institute and America's Natural Gas alliance says greenhouse gas emissions from natural gas production are lower than previous estimates.

ANGA Executive Vice President Tom Amontree said the scientific study was drafted to reinforce a position that natural gas is a clean energy option for the United States.

The study says methane emissions from natural gas production are at least 53 percent lower than estimates provided by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The URS-Levon study examined 91,000 wells from 20 different companies, compared to the 8,800 in an EPA survey.

"Industry has led efforts to reduce emissions of methane by developing new technologies and equipment, and these efforts are paying off," Howard Feldman, API director of regulatory and scientific affairs, said in a statement.

API has described as unscientific recent EPA findings that chemicals associated with natural gas production in underground shale formations were detectable in groundwater monitoring wells.

There was no public comment available from the EPA on the emissions report.