Study Finds Low Methane Loss

Methane losses from hydraulic fracturing wells were found to be quite low, only 0.42% of gross gas production at a well site, according to a study released last week (Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. USA 2013, DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1304880110). The peer-reviewed study was led by researchers at the University of Texas, Austin, and sponsored by nine U.S. drilling companies and the advocacy group Environmental Defense Fund. The study examines 190 U.S. natural gas drilling sites. Although the study was conducted by independent engineers, the sites were selected by the nine companies. The methane loss was slightly less than EPA’s most recent estimate of 0.47% of production, which is based on industry-supplied data, but far below other nonindustry research-based estimates ranging from 6 to 12%.