The report drew negative marks from the Marcellus Shale Coalition president David Spigelmyer, who said in an emailed statement that it was an “activist report” meant to “drive a political agenda.” Those new permits are due to be finalized this spring, and would require companies developing new unconventional gas wells and compressor stations to conduct periodic monitoring for methane leaks.Īnalysis consistent with previous studies DEP is nearing finalization of new permits that will establish thresholds for methane for new unconventional well sites and compressor stations.” The state DEP is crafting methane regulations for Marcellus shale operations, but has no such plans for conventional gas wells.ĭEP spokesman Neil Shader said in an email: “DEP is reviewing the findings, but as the report notes, addressing methane pollution is key priority for the Wolf administration. “It highlights the extreme necessity to implement readily-available, cost-effective controls we know work - they’re proven in other states - that can more easily control methane emissions than we are now,” said Andrew Williams, director of regulatory and legislative affairs for EDF. The group is using the report to say that the state needs to tighten rules on emissions from the natural gas industry. “It can be really hard to find all the leaking components on a site, and if there are any really large emissions - caused by ‘super-emitters’ - they can be very difficult to measure,” Lyon said. He said EDF’s analysis, which is based on in-the-field measurements, account for those faulty wells - so-called ‘ super-emitters’ - which he said are responsible for most of the industry’s methane emissions. These formulas estimate how much gas a well will leak based on what kind of equipment the company is using.īut the formulas don’t account for abnormally leaky wells, Lyon said. He said part of the reason for why the group found the state is underestimating the industry’s emissions is because companies report their emissions based on formulas created by the EPA. “One of the main reasons is a lack of maintenance, or less attention being paid to these wells, that are more common and produce a lot less oil and gas than some of the newer (unconventional) wells,” Lyon said. 3 percent for larger unconventional wells in the Marcellus shale region.ĭavid Lyon, EDF’s lead scientist on the report, said the conventional wells probably lose so much gas because of their age. One study cited by EDF found conventional wells were losing about 23 percent of their gas, compared to. They are mostly vertical wells drilled into shallow formations, not into deep shale formations like the Marcellus. The group’s analysis showed that about half of the industry’s methane emissions are from the state’s 70,000 conventional gas wells. But the state’s older, conventional drilling industry may also be a significant source of methane pollution, according to the EDF. It has also brought attention to how much methane the wells are leaking into the atmosphere. 2 gas-producing state in the country, behind Texas. The fracking boom in Pennsylvania has made the state the No. Emissions from methane are larger than state inventories, according to an analysis from the Environmental Defense Fund.
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