Study Warns California About Methane Levels From New Mexico Gas Imports. ‘A study by University of Wyoming researchers and a major environmental group is warning California and other states that import natural gas from New Mexico that oil and gas drilling in the state may generate up to five times as much methane emissions than previously estimated by EPA. ‘This data shows that actual methane emissions in New Mexico may be five times higher than what EPA data reports -- which makes any gas that California imports from New Mexico a dangerous gamble that could prevent the state from reaching its climate goals,’ said Tim O’Connor, senior director of the Environmental Defense Fund’s (EDF) energy program in California, in an April 11 press release announcing the research. He added that California’s ‘commitment to combating climate change has resulted in greater transparency around the emissions impact of the fuels we burn -- including the nearly 90 percent of our natural gas supply that is imported from other states.’’ [Inside EPA, 4/25/19 (+)]
Study Finds North American Drilling Boom Is Threatening Efforts To Slow Climate Change. ‘More than half of the world’s new oil and gas pipelines are located in North America, with a boom in US oil and gas drilling set to deliver a major blow to efforts to slow climate change, a new report has found. Of a total 302 pipelines in some stage of development around the world, 51 percent are in North America, according to Global Energy Monitor, which tracks fossil fuel activity. A total of $232.5 billion in capital spending has been funneled into these North American pipeline projects, with more than $1 trillion committed towards all oil and gas infrastructure. If built, these projects would increase the global number of pipelines by nearly a third and mark out a path of several decades of substantial oil and gas use.’ [Mother Jones, 4/26/19 (+)]
A Green New Deal For Natural Gas. ‘The U.S. Senate voted against the Green New Deal, but its interlinked climate, job and social justice goals are still percolating. Among the issues supporters and opponents alike have flagged is what role the natural gas industry should play in advancing them. Natural gas long has been considered a ‘bridge fuel’ to renewables. During the Green New Deal debate, former Department of Energy leaders from both parties argued that natural gas is part of the clean energy future, because it burns cleaner than coal or oil, reduces coal use and smoothes out the variability of solar and wind generation.’ [Greenbiz, 4/25/19 (+)]
Congressman Scott Perry: Natural Gas The ‘Green New Deal Of The Last 10 To 15 Years.’ ‘Gas industry representatives, along with Congressman Scott Perry, railed against Pennsylvania’s possible nuclear power bailout as a ‘market distortion’ during a talk about the state’s natural gas energy economy with the Carlisle Area Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday. Perry and the presenters argued that the state and the federal government erred in placing any portfolio requirements on power companies, including carve-outs for wind and solar, the same carve-out that nuclear power companies seek in Pennsylvania. ‘We just continue to invest, and if you say anything against wind and solar, you’re against the environment,’ Perry said. ‘I’m not against the environment, but I don’t understand why I have to keep paying and paying.’’ [The Sentinel, 4/25/19 (-)]
Pipeline Closure Will Force Southern Utah Company To Flare Its Natural Gas, Costing It Revenue And Polluting The Air. ‘Across Utah, many oil wells produce natural gas that can’t get to market because the infrastructure is not in place to gather it. This so-called ‘residue’ gas is often flared or vented into the atmosphere, thus wasting a valuable resource, erasing tax revenue for rural areas and polluting the air. To curtail such waste, Fidelity Exploration and Production Co. laid miles of pipe across Big Flat, a recreation hot spot outside Utah’s Dead Horse Point State Park in 2014, and built the Blue Hills gas processing plant near the Canyonlands Field airport. The project cost the company up to $70 million and left an extensive industrial footprint on public lands used for mountain biking and camping. At least the flaring stopped at the many wellheads, now operated by Fidelity’s successor, Kirkwood Oil & Gas, in Grand County’s most productive oil field.’ [Salt Lake Tribune, 4/25/19 (=)]
EIA Reports U.S. Natural-Gas Supplies Up 92 Billion Cubic Feet Last Week. ‘The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported Thursday that domestic supplies of natural gas rose by 92 billion cubic feet for the week ended April 19. Analysts polled by S&P Global Platts had expected an increase of 90 billion cubic feet for the latest week. Total stocks now stand at 1.339 trillion cubic feet, up 55 billion cubic feet from a year ago, but 369 billion below the five-year average, the government said. May natural gas NGK19, -0.91% traded at $2.468 per million British thermal units, up less than a cent, or 0.2%, from Wednesday’s settlement.’ [Market Watch, 4/25/19 (=)]
EPA Exemption For Oil, Gas Wastes To Remain In Hazardous Waste Law. ‘The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said it will continue to exempt wastes from oil and natural gas operations from the law governing hazardous wastes after concluding that state programs to manage them were sufficient and spills were rare. In a 279-page determination issued by the Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery, EPA concluded that changes to the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) ‘are not necessary at this time...The oil and gas industry has undergone a significant transformation in recent years from the use of directional drilling and hydraulic fracturing to access unconventional formations, but states have also revised their regulatory programs to adapt to the challenges posed by these technological advancements; some within the last year.’’ [National Gas Intel, 4/25/19 (=)]
Emissions Down In The Permian Basin? State Of New Mexico Inspects 98 Oil And Gas Facilities. ‘Air pollution could be on the decline in the Permian Basin – one of the most active oil and gas plays in the world situated in southeast New Mexico and West Texas. Methane is a primary component of the natural gas extracted in the Permian and is often released when the infrastructure is not present to get the gas to market. Environmentalist have long criticized the oil and gas industry for the release of methane and other volatile organic compounds (VOCs) through the process of venting the gas or burning it off during flaring. But new research published this week by Energy in Depth – a project devised by the Independent Petroleum Association of America showed declines in two of the most active oil and gas basins in America.’ [Carslbad Current Argus, 4/25/19 (+)]
North Dakota Bill Promotes Carbon Capture For Oil Extraction. ‘Oil producers in North Dakota using carbon dioxide from coal-fired power plants to extract oil from older oil fields will get expanded tax breaks under a bill signed by Gov. Douglas Burgum (R). The bill, H.B. 1439, helps clear that way for a proposed carbon-capture project at the Milton R. Young power station in Center, N.D., a coal-fired power plant operated by Minnkota Power Cooperative.’ [Bloomberg Environment, 4/25/19 (=)]
Companies Slash Lobbying As Trump Rolls Back Regulations. ‘Major oil companies and associations scaled back their efforts to influence federal policy during the first three months of the year. Lobbying disclosures filed with Congress, which were due Monday for the first quarter of 2019, show numerous groups and big oil and natural gas firms spent less money lobbying lawmakers and the Trump administration. The scale back came as agencies continued to work on regulatory repeals or rollbacks the industry sought, and as the new House Democratic majority started to figure out its agenda. Big decreases in spending came from groups like the American Petroleum Institute, which spent $1,450,000, down 20% from the same quarter in 2018, and the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America, whose $125,000 first-quarter spending was down 68% from the prior year’s quarter.’ [EE News, 4/26/19 (=)]
BLM Plans To Restart Calif. Oil And Gas Leasing. ‘Federal regulators took a first step yesterday toward ending a five-year hold on oil and gas leasing in California. The Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management offered an early version of a court-ordered National Environmental Policy Act review of hydraulic fracturing operations in the Golden State. The draft supplemental environmental impact statement (SEIS) proposes to open more than 1 million acres in Fresno, Kern, Kings, Madera, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Tulare and Ventura counties to drilling.’ [EE News, 4/26/19 (=)]
N.M. Regulators Sweep Oil Fields After Lawmakers Visit. ‘New Mexico regulators conducted nearly 100 inspections at oil and gas sites in the Permian Basin, less than two weeks after a congressional hearing that focused on the industry’s air pollution. Inspectors from the state Environment Department and U.S. EPA used infrared gas imaging cameras and interviewed employees at the sites, looking for emissions of volatile organic compounds. ‘Holding the oil and natural gas industry accountable to these rules and their permits ensures the environment is protected and there is a level playing field among operators,’ Environment Secretary James Kenny said in a statement.’ [EE News, 4/26/19 (=)]
O’Rourke Might Halt New Oil And Gas Drilling On Federal Land. “Former Texas Congressman Beto O’Rourke said Thursday he’s willing to consider a moratorium on new leases to drill for oil and gas on federal lands as a way to help combat climate change. The Democratic presidential hopeful told reporters while campaigning in Nevada on Thursday the nation needs to rethink how it protects its public lands and ‘keep them from being diminished in size as has happened under’ the Trump administration. O’Rourke said that concern, combined with the need to reduce total greenhouse emissions, makes it especially important that U.S. taxpayers don’t allow oil and gas companies ‘to contribute more to the problem.’” [Associated Press, 4/25/19 (=)]