Methane Clips: November 3, 2023

 

Shapiro Orders New Controls On The Oil And Gas Industry In Pennsylvania, Targeting Methane Emissions And Drilling Chemicals. According to Inside Climate News, “Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro announced on Thursday that the state Department of Environmental Protection would take part in a ‘groundbreaking collaboration’ with a natural gas driller and more broadly impose new requirements on the oil and gas industry for ‘controlling’ methane emissions and compelling disclosure of all chemicals used to drill for fossil fuels.  The new requirements stem from the findings of a grand jury investigation, completed in 2020, which concluded that state agencies failed to protect Pennsylvanians from the ‘inherent risks’ of unconventional gas drilling using hydraulic fracturing technology, or fracking. Shapiro, a Democrat elected governor in 2022, oversaw the grand jury in his previous role as the state’s attorney general.” [Inside Climate News, 11/3/23 (=)]

 

Maryland Company Develops Innovative Technology To Tackle Abandoned Oil Well Methane Leaks. According to Maryland Business Journal, “Machfu, a TEDCO portfolio company offering integrated, automatic industrial monitoring solutions, has developed a new technology to address a major contributor to climate change – methane gas emissions from orphaned or abandoned oil and gas wells. Over the past 100 years there has been a growing number of wells abandoned or orphaned, mostly due to low production output. Even though these wells are inactive, they still release harmful methane that is 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide as a greenhouse gas; plus, these methane emissions are known to cause health problems for nearby communities, including respiratory, cardiovascular and neurological issues.” [Maryland Business Journal, 11/2/23 (=)]