High Methane Leakage Found

Oil and natural gas drilling and fracturing operations are leaking methane, benzene, and other volatile organic compounds at levels much greater than amounts reported by industry and assumed by regulators, according to a recent study by the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration. During a two-day period in May 2012, researchers measured emissions from an oil and gas field holding 24,000 active wells in Weld County in northeastern Colorado. The researchers used aircraft to measure emissions and subtracted methane emissions from other area sources, such as landfills and animal feedlots. They found leakage levels of methane, a particularly potent greenhouse gas, to be nearly three times as high as those previously reported under a mandatory federal reporting system. Benzene levels were seven times as high as estimates.