{"id":1786,"date":"2022-10-04T18:12:39","date_gmt":"2022-10-04T18:12:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/roydadnaft.ir\/English\/?p=1786"},"modified":"2022-10-04T18:12:42","modified_gmt":"2022-10-04T18:12:42","slug":"study-oil-gas-site-flaring-releases-much-more-methane-than-previously-estimated","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/roydadnaft.ir\/English\/1786\/","title":{"rendered":"Study: Oil, Gas Site Flaring Releases Much More Methane Than Previously Estimated"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A new study by University of Michigan researchers published in the academic journal Science<\/em> suggests that flaring at U.S. oil and gas facilities releases five times more methane than previously estimated\u2014with unburned, escaped gas making up as much as 10% of the country\u2019s petroleum-based emissions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\u00a0results, based on research in three major U.S. natural gas producing regions, examined longstanding industry and regulatory assumptions that flares are lit consistently and that they burn off 98% of methane when in operation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Methane, a greenhouse gas, could be even more pernicious than carbon dioxide, environmental advocates say. According to the Environmental Defense Fund, it contributes 80 times more to global warming than CO2 for the first 20 years after its release into the atmosphere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The assessments were conducted using aircraft equipped with air-monitoring equipment that measured the volume of methane released from facilities during 13 flights in the Permian and Eagle Ford oil and gas fields in Texas and in the Bakken oil and gas field in North Dakota\u2014where more than 80% of U.S. flaring operations are located.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the researchers, the flares were unlit about 3% to 5% of the time, while those that were active were found operating at low efficiency. This resulted in an average effective flaring efficiency rate of only 91%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Planes flew downwind of flaring sites\u2014crisscrossing the direct pathways of air plumes released by flaring. Tubes and pumps drew air into onboard instrumentation, where laser scanning at a specific frequency measured the amount of CO2 and methane the air carried. Measuring both gasses simultaneously allowed researchers to estimate the destruction-removal efficiency of flaring at an individual site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWith management practices and our better understanding of what\u2019s happening to these flares, we can reduce this source of methane in a tangible way,\u201d Genevieve Plant, the study\u2019s lead author, said in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Industry Response<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The petroleum industry contends that reducing methane emissions from flaring is already a priority. A recently published report from the Environmental Partnership, made up of 100 firms representing 70% of the U.S. onshore natural gas and oil industry, found that over the past year, application of best operating practices and new technologies had reduced participating companies\u2019 flare intensity by 45%, with total flare volumes cut by 26%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The report also noted that the number of companies participating in the flare management program increased by 40% during that period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These results \u201cshow the steadfast commitment by the industry to meet energy needs while at the same time being good stewards of our environment,\u201d Todd Staples, president of the Texas Oil & Gas Association, said in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With an American Petroleum Institute executive saying that there are additional studies reflecting flare efficiency at or above 98%, \u201cresearch into the specific causes and conditions of [lower] efficiency is a valuable area of further study.\u201d  The exec added in comments to ENR, \u201cAPI member companies recognize this opportunity for improvement and support actionable data.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Environmental groups such as the Environmental Defense Fund, a partner in the University of Michigan flaring study, argue that more can be done, particularly since the United Nations has identified methane reduction as critical to slowing climate change over the next quarter century.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although the Biden administration\u2019s Methane Emissions Action Plan, announced last November, includes efforts to address venting and flaring of methane from oil and gas operations, \u201cthe U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Bureau of Land Management should implement solutions that can help end the practice of routine flaring,\u201d Jon Goldstein, EDF’s senior director of regulatory and legislative affairs, said in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, methane leaks from the Russia-operated Nord Stream 1 and 2 natural gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea appear to be dissipating following three still-unexplained Sept. 27 explosions. Flyovers on Oct. 3 by Sweden\u2019s Coast Guard, which also has dispatched a submarine rescue and diving vessel to the rupture site, reported that while the Nord Stream 1 leak was no longer visible, the smaller one from Nord Stream 2 had expanded slightly to about 30 meters in dia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Switzerland-based operator Nord Stream AG estimated the three-pipeline system, while not in operation when the explosions occurred, contained a total of 778 million standard cu m of natural gas. The Danish Energy Agency estimated a worst-case leakage of 14.6 million tons of CO2-equivalent (CO2e) greenhouse gas emissions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Such a release to the atmosphere would equal about 0.1% of the world\u2019s estimated annual methane emissions, according to the U.S. Geological Survey Gas Hydrates Project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Russia halted gas shipments through Nord Stream 1 earlier this year and has denied accusations of sabotaging the pipelines in response to European Union economic sanctions imposed on the country as a result of its invasion of Ukraine.<\/p>\n

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