Natural gas is made of up to 90% methane, a powerful greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change. When natural gas is extracted, significant amounts of methane are wasted: from wells, processing equipment or during transportation. As much as 2 to 3 percent of the gas all natural gas produced by the U.S. oil and gas industry each year is wasted: leaked or vented into the atmosphere. As a result, the oil and gas industry is currently the largest industrial source of methane pollution, and their contribution is projected to grow.
Oil and gas facilities in Ohio wasted enough methane in 2014 to heat nearly 8,500 Ohio homes! This is a significant climate threat and a waste of valuable American energy. The effects of pollution from the oil and gas sector significantly impact rural communities in Ohio. Reducing leaks and venting emissions will also reduce the release of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) that cause asthma attacks and other health and environmental harms.
Leaking methane is leaking profit.
Reducing waste of valuable energy at every stage of production makes business sense. Implementing these technologies can result in capture of more than 80 percent of the gas currently going to waste.
The technology to identify and prevent leaks at all stages of the process is available. Ten commercially available, proven and profitable methane emission control technologies (PDF: Leaking-Profits-FS)when used together can capture more than 80 percent of the gas currently going to waste. The industry can afford these technologies. In fact capturing the gas currently being wasted could result additional revenue of $2 billion each year.
The new and modified source standards the EPA proposed in August are a good beginning, and will be beneficial in terms of slowing the rate of growth in methane pollution from the oil and gas sector. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), other federal agencies, and the states should move forward with regulations that require use of these technologies for methane control for new and existing sources. While the benefits of capturing fugitive methane will benefit the industry voluntary programs have achieved limited success in controlling methane emissions, state and federal regulation is necessary to secure greater industry-wide emission reductions.
Methane control means green jobs
Cost-effective solutions to reduce methane can be built here in Ohio. Ohio has over a dozen companies operating 16 facilities across the state, producing leak reduction technologies that can make these energy activities safer and more efficient. In fact, Ohio ranks 9th among states in the methane mitigation industry.
Ohio’s economy has benefited from the surge in domestic energy production in recent years, both from low energy prices and in manufacturing the equipment for production. We can also benefit from the effort to reduce methane emissions in the industry.
Tackling climate change is a smart business strategy. Whether through growing clean energy or energy efficiency, or through reducing methane waste It will grow quality jobs in Ohio and help build our economy.
Update: On May 12, 2016, the Environmental Protection Agency announced that they had finalized the first‐ever national limits on new sources of methane pollution from the oil and gas industry. At the press call, OSBC’s executive director, made the business case in support of strong standards. More work is still needed to encourage the industry to reduce wasted energy from existing sources of pollution and recapture the energy to fuel our economy.
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