Published
June 13, 2024
From 2015 to 2022, U.S. natural gas production increased by 40 percent, while methane emissions from natural gas extraction declined by 37 percent. These findings, detailed in a new analysis of EPA data by leading environmental organizations Ceres and the Clean Air Task Force, highlight how utilizing American natural gas provides an effective pathway to lower emissions while meeting growing energy demand here and around the world.
Specifically, the analysis notes that overall methane and GHG intensity of U.S. oil and gas declined 57% and 39%, respectively, between 2015 and 2022, driven by significant improvements in the largest producing regions. For example, the analysis estimates the Permian and Appalachian Basin now have a methane intensity of 0.08% and 0.05%, respectively, demonstrating that the emissions footprint of these resource-rich regions is clean and getting cleaner.
The report also details opportunities to make further progress on emissions reductions. For example, the analysis identifies pneumatic controllers as the largest source of methane emissions during production, and gas venting and flaring as a significant contributor to GHG emissions in oil-heavy basins.
Oil and natural gas producers are tackling these challenges. For example, in 2022 alone, more than 61,700 gas driven pneumatic controllers were removed or replaced with low-or-zero emitting devices. Moreover, according to the World Bank Global Gas Flaring Database, the U.S. has the third lowest flaring intensity among the top energy producing countries. In the case of Russia and Iran, gas flaring is respectively four and eight times higher per barrel of oil produced than in the United States. This serves as an important reminder that the obvious economic and national security benefits associated with growing the U.S. share of global oil and natural gas production are accompanied by environmental benefits as well.
The U.S. industry’s commitment to modernizing equipment through efforts like these is also helping obtain more accurate, site-level data. Cutting-edge equipment operators are already deploying drone, aerial, and satellite emissions monitoring and more, all of which are highlighted in the Ceres/CATF analysis as important solutions to improve data collection and mitigation in support of continued improvements.
The bottom line: industry operational practices and employment of advanced technologies, combined with effective federal and state policies, have made U.S. oil and gas production a model that the rest of the world should follow.
About the authors
Dan Byers
Dan Byers is vice president for policy at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Global Energy Institute with a focus on environmental and regulatory issues, Byers develops and implements strategies in support of the Institutes broader education and advocacy efforts.
