CEAC-2020-04-April

News
Widespread flaring in the Permian Basin and other oil fields
has been an ongoing problem. Gas flaring activity in the U.S.
increased 48 percent from 2017 to 2018, reaching 1.4 billion
cubic feet per day, which is roughly the same amount as the
total gas consumption of a medium-sized European country
such as Belgium or Romania, according to the World Bank.
The surge in flaring happened as natural gas prices fell so
low, and pipeline capacity was so constrained, that some producers
were paying to have it carted away instead of selling
it.
Exxon released its methane document as regulators in the
European Union, Nigeria, Argentina, New Mexico and elsewhere
are writing methane policies.
The European Union is a major natural gas importer, giving
it leverage to demand much cleaner natural gas, Ratner said.
For example, the EU could say that it will only import natural
gas with a methane intensity — which measures the amount
of methane emissions compared to the total amount of natural
gas produced — of 0.2 percent or lower, Ratner said.
Exxon was also responsible for a major methane leak in
February 2018 from a blowout at a gas well in Ohio. The
methane released during the incident was reported to all
regulatory agencies, a spokesman said.
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| Chief Engineer