Recent international developments have redoubled focus on methane emissions. On October 11, the Biden administration announced that 32 countries had signed onto the Global Methane Pledge. The pledge aims to reduce methane emissions by at least 30% of 2020 levels by the year 2030. What might these commitments, and other efforts to control methane emissions, portend for the United States’ ability to combat climate change?

And What Is It About Methane?

For those who would hope to limit climate change, methane emission reductions constitute a promising path forward. This is so because, while estimates vary, methane is somewhere between 25 and 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide in its capacity for trapping heat within the earth’s atmosphere. Moreover, one study estimates that reducing methane emissions by all possible methods now could reduce the global warming experienced this decade by 30%. As methane is the primary component of natural gas, methane emissions occur during the production of natural gas and the production of oil. Methane emissions are also produced by landfills, the thawing of permafrost, and livestock.

What Is Anyone Doing About Methane?

For years, methane has been burned off as a less desirable byproduct of drilling for oil. When burned off, methane converts to less potent carbon dioxide. This is what occurs when flares constructed for that purpose function properly. However, when the flares do not function properly, the odorless and invisible methane is simply released into the atmosphere.

While the US government has endeavored to measure such emissions, research demonstrates these measurements are incomplete and that actual emissions could be as much as twice the amount measured by the government. As reported by Bloomberg, in 2012 the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) began a study of the Permian Basin, an oil field that extends across the Texas-New Mexico border. Using new technology, the study found that, during oil and gas production on the Permian, 2.3% of natural gas is lost. In addition, the study’s researchers concluded that, of the flare stacks (tall pipes topped with gas combustion devices) on the Permian, 6% were only partially burning and 5% had gas flowing through them but were unlit. EDF is continuing to measure methane emissions on the Permian and reports them on its Permian Methane Analysis Project website (permianmap.org).

In the meantime, oil and gas producers have initiated their own efforts to detect and address methane emissions. Bp p.l.c. (BP), the former British Petroleum, acquired assets in the Permian Basin in 2018. BP calculated that its oil production operations on the Permian were flaring about 16% of the gas they produced. As a result, BP endeavored to modify its operations to eliminate the need to flare. BP now gathers more of the gas produced by its Permian oil wells and flares only 2% of that gas. In addition, the company installed equipment last year on the Permian to alert it to malfunctioning flares. While smaller companies are not making similar improvements to their operations (often citing cost), other large companies, such as Exxon Mobil Corp., are increasing their efforts on methane leak detection.

On the northern US border, the Well Done Foundation began its efforts (as reported by The Washington Post) in Montana in 2019 with a focus on remediation. The Foundation’s mission is to plug abandoned oil and gas wells, and to date it has plugged 10 wells in Montana with the cost for each being about $30,000. Well Done’s founder estimates there are hundreds of abandoned wells in Montana. Nationally, according to US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates, there could be over 3 million such wells. The Well Done Foundation has expanded its operations to include Pennsylvania and has plans to plug wells in several other states. Thus the Well Done Foundation has established itself within the ranks of nonprofits eager to reduce methane emissions and, in the process, make progress on climate change.

What Role for Governments?

While private entities are taking action on methane emissions, governments have also assumed a role in this effort. For example, Montana presently budgets $650,000 over the course of two years to address the issue of abandoned wells, and similar programs exist in other states. New Mexico, where a portion of the Permian Basin is located, is phasing in limits on methane and flaring. On the federal level, in August of 2020, the last administration eliminated methane leak limits that applied to newer oil and gas wells. However, in June of this year Congress voted to reinstate those limits, and the president signed that legislation into law. Moreover, the EPA is expected to initiate a rulemaking soon for methane leak limits that would also apply to older existing oil and gas wells. The rulemaking process may take as long as 12 months to complete.

In the meantime, consensus has begun to form internationally on the subject of methane emissions. Over 30 countries have signed onto the Global Methane Pledge. The pledge, crafted by the US and EU, aims to reduce methane emissions by at least 30% of 2020 levels by the year 2030. It is expected that the pledge will be formally announced at the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) taking place in Glasgow, Scotland during November. Earlier this year, the United Nations Environment Programme and the Climate and Clean Air Coalition, an international partnership, released their Global Methane Assessment. The assessment calls for the sort of international cooperation reflected in the Global Methane Pledge.

Prospects for the Future

Presently controlling methane emissions holds much promise as a course of action for controlling climate change. With methane being 25 to 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide, researchers have estimated 30% of global warming expected in the next ten years could be avoided by making aggressive cuts in methane emissions now. Oil and gas producers, as well as nonprofits, are identifying and addressing leaks, and some are plugging abandoned wells. Federal and state legislatures and regulatory agencies are enacting additional controls. International organizations are endeavoring to foster cooperation among nations regarding methane. The formation of consensus around the need to control methane emissions and actions pursuant to this consensus present a highly effective approach to reducing the climate change that the planet, and we, experience.

SOURCES 

Clean Air Coalition & United Nations Environment Programme. (2021, May). Global Methane Assessment: Benefits and Costs of Mitigating Methane Emissions. Retrieved from https://www.unep.org/resources/report/global-methane-assessment-benefits-and-costs-mitigating-methane-emissions

Daly, M. (2021, June 25). Congress votes to reinstate methane rules loosened by Trump. AP. Retrieved from https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-climate-change-business-environment-and-nature-government-and-politics-5bb7bb2de2f8ecdfe90f40762297ddda

Dennis, B., Birnbaum, M., & Mufson, S. (2021, September 14). U.S., Europe plan joint push to cut methane–and convince other nations to follow suit. The Washington Post. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2021/09/14/us-europe-plan-joint-push-cut-methane-convince-other-nations-follow-suit/

Dennis, B. & Mufson, S. (2021, April 27). Swift action to cut methane emissions could slow Earth’s warming by 30 percent, study finds. The Washington Post. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2021/04/27/cut-methane-emissions-30-percent/

Ehli, N. (2021, July 1). Capping methane-spewing oil wells, one hole at a time. The Washington Post. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-solutions/2021/07/01/capping-methane-spewing-oil-wells-one-hole-time/

Friedman, L. (2021, October 11). More Than 30 Countries Join U.S. Pledge to Slash Methane Emissions. The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/11/climate/methane-global-climate.html

Groten, E., Nettles, L., Snow, C., Traylor, P., & Wilkinson, G., Jr. (2021, September 27). What you need to know: EPA to propose new methane regulations for oil and gas sector. Retrieved from JD Supra website https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/what-you-need-to-know-epa-to-propose-8210786/

Mider, Zachary R. (2021, August 20). The methane hunters. Bloomberg. Retrieved from https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2021-methane-hunters-climate-change/

Mufson, S. (2020, August 13). Trump administration scraps limits on methane leaks at oil and gas sites. The Washington Post. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2020/08/13/trump-administration-scrap-limits-methane-leaks-oil-gas-sites/

Ocko, I. B., Sun, T., Shindell, D., Oppenheimer, M., Hristov, A. N., Pacala, S. W., …Hamburg, S. P. (2021). Acting rapidly to deploy readily available methane mitigation measures by sector can immediately slow global warming. Environmental Research Letters. Retrieved from https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/abf9c8

Pager, T. & Wagner, J. (2021, September 17). Biden convenes virtual meeting of world leaders to push climate actions, including methane emissions reductions. The Washington Post. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/biden-climate-methane/2021/09/17/6391e5fa-17a2-11ec-a5e5-ceecb895922f_story.html