According to new research by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), scientists have made significant methane emission overestimations from oil and gas production in the United States. A new study that monitored twenty long-term methane sampling around the U.S. and found little difference between U.S. methane emissions compared to global methane emissions. The underlying reason for these overestimations was the reliance on incorrect measurements.How were they overestimated? Scientists relied on shortcut measurement. They used ethane, which is an additional gas emitted by oil and gas drilling. Ethane was used as an “invariable tracer” for methane emission recordings. Methane and ethane emissions ratios are not constant. The inconstant ratio can vary due to the locations where the measurement is taken. This new research released estimates that past data have overestimated methane volume emissions as much as ten times. Findings Revealed After reanalyzing, methane emissions have only had a modest increase, even with a 46% increase in oil and gas production since 2006. There is not a statistically significant trend in total U.S. methane emissions. CIRES scientist, Xian Lan, says methane spikes are more likely to be caused by natural causes. Natural causes of methane emissions can be found through rotting vegetable matter, termite activity, and even cow’s digestive excretions. The past assumption that increased oil and gas operations cause significantly higher methane emissions. Moving forward, the only fundamental way to trace methane emissions is to measure methane.Why is this important for the oil & gas industry? This recent revelation is very favorable towards the oil and gas industry. Methane emissions are the second most potent source of greenhouse gases contributing to global warming. Methane is twenty-eight times more potent than carbon dioxide in trapping heat in the atmosphere over a century. Oil and gas production within the United States is reaching unparalleled levels, and the demand is increasing daily. This new data makes naysayers take a second look at the side-effects of oil and gas production while upholding future scientists/studies to correct findings.
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