Key Greenhouse Gas Study May Have "Systematically Understated" Methane Leaks, New Research Shows

[marmar]

Key Greenhouse Gas Study May Have "Systematically Understated" Methane Leaks, New Research Shows

Sunday, 09 August 2015 00:00
By Sharon Kelly, DeSmogBlog | Report


A widely cited study on the amount of methane leaking from oil and gas sites, including fracked wells, shows signs of a major flaw, a newly published peer-reviewed paper concludes.

"The University of Texas reported on a campaign to measure methane emissions from United States natural gas production sites as part of an improved national inventory," researcher Touché Howard wrote in a paper published today in the journal Energy Science & Engineering. "Unfortunately, their study appears to have systematically underestimated emissions."

The University of Texas study, the first in a 16-part research series backed by the oil and gas industry and the Environmental Defense Fund, had been hailed as "unprecedented" when it was published in October 2013. The drilling industry and its supporters cited it as clear-cut evidence that methane leaks were lower than previously believed and falling further due to new technology.

The study's key contribution to the science on methane leaks was that researchers were allowed to access to oil and gas wells, including 27 wells where fracking was underway, and test individual pieces of equipment. "This is actual data, and it’s the first time we’ve had the opportunity to get actual data from unconventional natural gas development," Mark Brownstein, an Environmental Defense Fund associate vice president, told FuelFix when the UT study was published. ..............(more)

http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/32272-key-greenhouse-gas-study-may-have-systematically-understated-methane-leaks-new-research-shows

[joshcryer]

1. Sea ice then clathrates.

Should be a fun few decades.

[Wellstone ruled]

2. Well duh!!

How many years for this to be published? And they say there is no suppression of facts. What happened to the report out of the U of Minnesota about the Green House Gas Effect from Corn and Soy Beans? One day in the Media and Bam it's gone. Got a hunch Big Ag and the Oil Lobby killed it big time.