Methane Clips: December 14, 2023

Report Finds Texas Methane Emissions Hit Record Low In 2022. According to Midland Reporter-Telegram, “A new report indicates Permian Basin oil and natural gas producers are succeeding in driving methane emissions lower even as oil and natural gas output rises to record highs. Texans for Natural Gas, an educational campaign of the Texas Independent Producers and Royalty Owners Association, released its new report indicating Texas producers drove methane intensity to a record low 0.12% in 2022 even as output reached record levels. The report emphasized the decade-long downward trend in methane intensity.” [Midland Reporter-Telegram, 12/13/23 (=)]

 

In EPA’s New Methane Rule, An Innovative Way To Stop ‘Super Emitters’. According to Grist, “Scientists with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory were flying a plane equipped with a visible-infrared imaging spectrometer over an oil field in California’s San Joaquin Valley when they made a worrisome discovery. Images produced by the device revealed a large plume of methane lingering in the air. The plane made flights over the field for several more weeks, and while the plume shifted and changed shape with the blowing wind, its presence persisted. Believing the source could be a leak at the oil well, the scientists notified the operator. Soon, the plume disappeared. The leak, coming from a small fuel line, had been repaired.” [Grist, 12/13/23 (=)]