ALJAZEERA: …The EPA has become increasingly concerned with reducing the methane emissions inherent in the oil and gas production and distribution process. In 2012 the agency announced that by 2015, drillers would be required to use green completion technology to capture methane during the drilling completion process — the stage after drilling, when oil and gas starts to flow out of the well. Vapor recovery systems turn methane into liquid that can be sold, providing an economic incentive.
On Sept. 30 the EPA announced that its new requirements appeared to be making a difference even before they become law on Jan 1. Through its greenhouse gas reporting program, which keeps track of the self-reported emissions of the country’s biggest emitters — mainly factories and oil and gas production infrastructure — the agency found that greenhouse gas emissions from petroleum and natural gas facilities fell 12 percent from 2011 to 2013. The most significant reductions came from hydraulically fractured wells, which saw a 73 percent reduction in methane emissions in that period…
In a report that was otherwise characterized by very slight reductions in other sectors and by an overall increase in emissions nationwide, the 73 percent drop provided a rare bright spot for an agency under pressure from the Obama administration to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions over the coming decades… (more)
