Natural gas, composed primarily of the potent greenhouse gas methane, can be burned off by oil producers if they lack the infrastructure necessary to capture, creating an atmospheric problem as a result. A proposal from the U.S. EPA aims to curb those emissions. File photo by Maryam Rahmanian/UPI. |
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Nov. 11 (UPI) -- Methane emissions from the production of crude oil and natural gas could be cut by 90% under a proposal unveiled Friday from the sidelines of the COP27 summit in Egypt by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
The EPA said it wanted to strengthen proposed standards on methane abatement that, if finalized, would eliminate harmful emissions and thereby protect the environment while at the same time possibly catching some of the methane emitted from oil and gas installations.
The agency said that, if finalized, the rules would cut methane emissions associated with oil and gas production by 87% from their 2005 levels by 2030. The proposal already has tacit support from the American Petroleum Institute, a trade group representing the interests of roughly 600 members from the industry.
"API looks forward to reviewing the proposed rule in its entirety and will continue to work with EPA in support of a final rule that is cost-effective, promotes innovation, and creates the regulatory certainty needed for long-term planning," said API Senior Vice President of Policy, Economics and Regulatory Affairs Frank Macchiarola. "Federal regulation of methane crafted to build on industry's progress can help accelerate emissions reductions while developing reliable American energy."
The EPA estimates that methane traps about 80 times as much heat in the atmosphere as carbon dioxide. If passed, the measure could abate around 36 million tons of methane between 2023 and 2035, the rough equivalent of all the greenhouse gas emissions from coal-fired power generated in the U.S. economy in 2020.
A team from NASA recently uncovered a methane plume stretching some 20 miles from oil and gas infrastructure in Turkmenistan. It's leaking methane at about 11,000 pounds an hour, which makes it as severe as the 2015 leak at Aliso Canyon in California, the worst-ever methane lake in the United States.
The EPA's proposal was followed by a joint declaration from Canada, the European Union, Japan, Norway, Singapore, the United Kingdom and the United States to address emissions emanating from the oil and gas sector.
"We commit to taking immediate action to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions associated with fossil energy production and consumption, particularly to reduce methane emissions," they said in a joint statement. "We emphasize that reducing methane and other greenhouse gas emissions from the fossil energy sector enhances energy security by reducing avoidable routine flaring, venting, and leakage that wastes natural gas."
Methane is a main component of raw natural gas. Much of the natural gas associated with oil deposits is burned off, or flared, because of a lack of infrastructure needed to utilize the resource.
