methane

The Texas Railroad Commission’s chairman has said the commission will look into policies to “drastically reduce” natural gas flaring from the state’s shale patch as investors become increasingly sensitive to climate-change concerns.

A billion-dollar fund will be available for innovations in flare minimization, venting elimination, fugitive-emissions reduction, and complete combustion.

After years of negotiations, the province announced that it had reached a preliminary agreement with the federal government that it calls a “major step toward providing Alberta’s oil and gas industry a single set of strong rules to reduce methane emissions and protect the environment.”

A preliminary estimate from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration finds that levels of atmospheric methane, a potent heat-trapping gas, have hit an all-time high.

As studies point to increased emissions, ExxonMobil is stepping up efforts to detect and mitigate methane release.

Instead of burning money, why not make electricity? This is the big pitch being made by a growing number of technology companies who see green every time they see a red-hot flare burning associated gas.

Remote sensing technologies can be applied for a wide range of gas-leak flow rates in three main cases—major leaks in crisis management, medium-size leaks in safety monitoring, and small leaks in environmental monitoring.

The signed framework agreement would have GHGSat use its satellite-based sensors to monitor greenhouse gases coming from select Shell facilities.

Oil and gas producers might have been expected to welcome a decision to loosen regulations affecting their business. But, their reaction to the Trump administration’s move to roll back methane-emissions rules revealed at least tactical divisions on climate policy.

An EPA plan would end oversight of methane leaks at oil wells, a move that risks undermining the climate sales pitch for natural gas.