Climate Change and Methane: Causes, Consequences and Solutions for Public Lands Significant amounts of methane wasted by natural gas and coal producers on public lands across the country are greatly contributing to greenhouse gases that cause climate change, according to a new report commissioned by The Wilderness Society and the Center for American Progress. Reducing methane emissions is a key plank in President Obama s Climate Action Plan, and the public lands agencies have the opportunity to address climate change by acting swiftly to reduce methane emissions from energy production on public lands. Not only do they have the opportunity, but the Department of Interior (DOI) and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), have the duty to do so. Under existing statute, including the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA), land management agencies are responsible for ensuring that the taxpayer-owned oil and gas that comes from public lands is not wasted. Right now, cost-effective technology exists to reduce the waste of a valuable fuel source and BLM should put standards in place to do so. America s public lands have long been a place of energy development and all of the consequences that come with it. With more than 100,000 oil and gas wells and 300 coal mines on our federal lands, and leases covering more than 37 million acres across the West and Alaska, those living in the West and our wildlife, water and wild lands have felt the impacts of development. Public lands supply the nation with 16% of natural gas and 40% of coal. i As the United States becomes more focused on the causes and consequences of climate change, the significance of our nation s public lands as a source of climate change pollution should be better understood and addressed. Public Lands Matter When it Comes to Methane Pollution Significant amounts of methane are released from different practices during production and processing of natural gas. Sometimes the processes are deliberate, often referred to as venting (direct release of natural gas into the atmosphere) and flaring (releasing and burning natural gas). In some cases, venting and flaring are necessary to ensure that equipment is not damaged and it is also done for safety reasons. However, it is done far more frequently than necessary and some of it occurs due to outdated technologies. Estimates show that upwards of 4% of natural gas produced on onshore federal lands is emitted through venting and flaring. ii Methane is also released inadvertently (referred to as fugitive emissions or indirect Key Facts 1. Methane is the 2 nd most prevalent climate change causing pollutant behind carbon dioxide, and is proving to be much more potent and dangerous in the short term for the climate 2. 29% of methane emissions in the United States are from natural gas production and delivery, while 10% comes from coal mines, according to the Environmental Protection Agency 3. Energy development on public lands is a key source of methane emissions, in particular deliberate venting and flaring associated with development and transport losses (so-called fugitive emissions ) 4. Federal land management agencies are currently working on revised policies and best management practices to reduce methane waste and emissions from public lands energy development as part of the President s 2012 Climate Action Plan
emissions) through leaks during production, processing and transportation of natural gas. Reliable data does not exist that accounts for all methane released from energy production on public lands. However, two data sets from the Department of the Interior s Office of Natural Resources Revenue presented in a new report from Stratus Consulting Inc. frames the true picture. The first data set contains company-reported royalties paid to the federal government from vented and flared natural gas (methane), and the second contains operator-reported volumes released through venting and flaring from operations on federal and some non-federal lands, including state and tribal areas. Neither provides an accurate snapshot of venting and flaring emissions, but when taken together these data sets represent a floor and ceiling of potential emissions. Based on the amount of royalties paid to the federal government, approximately 52,000 metric tons of methane iii was released through venting on public lands and waters in 2012. That is known to be an underestimate of actual emissions because it only captures company-reported volumes for which royalties are paid, a small subset of the likely total according to congressional auditors. iv Data collected in annual Oil and Gas Operations Reports (OGOR), a report designed to transparently show the amount of oil and gas being produced either on federal lands, tribal lands or with federal minerals, reveals that approximately 175,000 v metric tons of methane were emitted in 2012. That total includes operations that extend to non-federal land, therefore presenting a presumptive ceiling. That means that venting and flaring from energy development on public lands is the equivalent to the carbon dioxide that would be released in generating power for 178,000 to 600,000 homes over one year vi, approximately the number of homes in Pittsburgh vii, on the low side, and Philadelphia viii on the high side. 700,000 600,000 500,000 Homes in Philadelphia 400,000 300,000 200,000 100,000 0 Homes in Pittsburgh ONRR Data OGOR Data 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 Methane Emissions (metric tons) Number of Homes Annual Electricity Use The data above 1 on the X axis is from Office of Natural Resource Revenue. The data above 2 on the X axis is from Oil and Gas Operations Report But these totals alone belie the real scope of the problem. Indirect, or so-called fugitive, methane emissions from energy development and production on public lands mean the full total is likely even more staggering. While the exact amount of these escaped gases remains a subject of continuing
research due in part to the fact that industry does not report, or even purport to know, such data both unconventional and conventional gas operations emitted somewhere between 200,000 and 4 million metric tons of methane in 2012 in at well heads and processing plants. ix At the high point, that is the equivalent of more than 13.5 million homes electricity use over one year. x Downstream emissions, which refer to those that occur in storage, transmission, and pipelines accounted for anywhere from 29,000 metric tons to 4.2 million metric tons of methane in 2012. xi That would be equivalent to the annual electricity use of nearly 14.5 million homes. xii The Issue with Methane Many public strategies to reduce pollution that causes climate change have focused on carbon dioxide, and for good reason due to its persistence and prevalence. But methane, the second most widespread greenhouse gas behind carbon dioxide, is proving to be much more potent and dangerous in the short term for the climate. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, Pound for pound, the comparative impact of methane on climate change is over 20 times greater than carbon dioxide over a 100-year period. xiii Recently, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has increased the estimate of methane s potency to 34 times that of carbon dioxide. xiv Accordingly, many are raising alarms that methane merits more scrutiny because of its heat trapping ability once in the atmosphere. As 21 leading climate scientists recently wrote to the Administration: The climate system responds more quickly to methane with its short residence time in the atmosphere than to CO2, where climate lags are quite long. This difference means that aggressive mitigation of methane emissions is essential if the near-term pace of climate change is to be slowed. Such a slowing is essential to increase the likelihood of avoiding climatic tipping points and to moderate the intensification of current climate impacts xv Energy production and delivery is the largest contributor of methane emissions in the country. An estimated 29% of methane emissions in the United States are from natural gas production and delivery, while 10% comes from coal mines. xvi What is Being Wasted Methane emissions waste a valuable fuel resource as natural gas is made U.S. Methane Emissions, By Source. US up of nearly all methane. As a result, this waste has become the target of Environmental Protection Agency congressional auditors. The Government Accountability Office has determined that if 40% of vented and flared methane emissions were captured and accounted for as energy, that would return $23 million to the federal treasury annually. xvii Under the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920, the federal government has the responsibility to make sure that taxpayers are getting a fair return from use of resources on land owned by the American public. The Department of the Interior has begun to look at how to make sure natural gas is not being wasted and that companies pay for the gas they get out of the ground.
What Can Be Done The opportunity facing public land managers and the agencies that oversee them is how to reduce methane emissions that waste precious public energy resources and contribute greatly to the climate problem. The Bureau of Land Management has begun to consider new rules to minimize venting and flaring from natural gas and oil productions and operations. Below are a few suggested policies that should be included. - The federal government should require the energy industry to collect data in order to accurately calculate the amount of methane that is being vented, flared, and indirectly released from operations on public lands. Efficiently monitoring and measuring progress on any problem requires solid data. To date, methane emissions discussions are informed by Recommendations The federal government should require the energy industry to collect data in order to accurately calculate the amount of methane that is being vented, flared, and indirectly released from operations on public lands Standards for the industry to ensure that as little methane as possible leaks from energy production and delivery systems Land management agencies should encourage industry to convert methane released from energy production into energy estimates, not specific data, making it difficult to assess how much methane is released from where. The agencies should require anyone developing or transporting oil, gas, coal and other fossil fuel on or across public land to collect and report publicly the amount of methane that is released into the atmosphere from their activities. - Standards for the industry to ensure that as little methane as possible leaks from energy production and delivery systems. Studies have shown that at least 40% xviii of overall methane, from public land and elsewhere, can be contained cost effectively. The administration should use this statute, as well as the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920, to significantly reduce the amount of methane flared, vented, and released through fugitive emissions. Given the possibilities set forward through independent analyses, the administration should target at least a 40% reduction of methane emissions from public lands. - Land management agencies need to ensure that industry convert methane released from energy production into energy. Methane that is trapped and converted can be used for energy, instead of just released into the atmosphere. This would have the two-pronged effect of reducing methane in the air and increasing the amount of energy produced from existing development. Conclusion The Bureau of Land Management and the Department of the Interior have a chance to set an example on best practices concerning methane waste and emissions. Public lands are owned by the American people and energy development on them should be held to a high standard to protect our land, health, and climate. The Bureau of Land Management and the Department of the Interior should act quickly to
put in place rules to significantly reduce the amount of methane released from public lands and make sure the taxpayers get a fair return for the resources extracted from their land. Methane emissions from federal lands are a crucial place to make a statement about the importance of dealing with climate change on public lands. i http://www.eia.gov/analysis/requests/federallands/pdf/eia-federallandsales.pdf ii http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d1134.pdf iii http://wilderness.org/sites/default/files/stratus-report.pdf Assumes all natural gas (methane) on which royalties were paid was vented. iv http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d1134.pdf v http://wilderness.org/sites/default/files/stratus-report.pdf vi http://www.epa.gov/cleanenergy/energy-resources/calculator.html#results vii http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/42/4261000.html viii http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/42/4260000.html ix http://wilderness.org/sites/default/files/stratus-report.pdf x http://www.epa.gov/cleanenergy/energy-resources/calculator.html#results xi http://wilderness.org/sites/default/files/stratus-report.pdf xii http://www.epa.gov/cleanenergy/energy-resources/calculator.html#results xiii http://epa.gov/climatechange/ghgemissions/gases/ch4.html xiv http://cleantechnica.com/2013/10/04/ipcc-warns-methane-traps-much-heat-thought/ xv http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/programs/climate_law_institute/global_warming_what_how_why/methane/ pdfs/scientist_letter_re_methane_gwp_7-29-14.pdf xvi http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/ghgemissions/gases/ch4.html xvii http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d1134.pdf xviii http://www.edf.org/sites/default/files/methane_cost_curve_report.pdf