Methane Is Leaking From Natural Gas Processing Plants At Much Higher Rates Than Reported

[Bill USA]

http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2015/08/18/3692660/methane-leaks-in-processing/

Natural gas gathering and processing plants leak much more methane than producers have reported, and even more than the Environmental Protection Agency has estimated, according to a study released Tuesday.

Researchers at Colorado State University found that U.S. gathering and processing facilities — where natural gas from nearby wells is consolidated for distribution through pipelines — leak 2,421,000 metric tons of methane each year. The facilities emit 100 billion cubic feet of natural gas every year, roughly eight times the amount previously estimated by the EPA.

Gathering facilities “could be responsible for something like 30 percent of emissions for all natural gas production,” the study’s lead researcher, Anthony Marchese, said on a press call Tuesday.

Methane is a greenhouse gas that is 86 times more effective at trapping heat than carbon dioxide over a 20-year time frame. It is the primary ingredient in natural gas.
(more)

[misterhighwasted]

1. Considering the huge amount of frack wells drilled in the past 6 years alone, in the Midwest

..its pretty astonishing to just imagine the amount of methane seeping into our ozone.

Good report. Sad that the O & G Companies care so little