Environment Counts | Methane leaks from fracking wells 90% larger than EPA estimates :

There is uncertainty in the estimates of hydrocarbon leaks, primarily methane, from shale gas and oil wells. A new study based on data from a coordinated campaign in the Barnett Shale oil and gas-producing region of Texas has found that measured oil and gas methane emissions are 90% larger than estimates based on the US Environmental Protection Agency’s Greenhouse Gas Inventory. This represents about 1.5% of natural gas production in the fields. The study also found a wide variance in leakages from wells. Superemitters, which represent just two percent of oil and gas facilities in the Barnett, account for half of methane emissions at any given time. Reconciling divergent estimates of oil and gas methane emissions, Daniel Zavala-Araiza et al, PNAS, December 22, 2015, vol. 112, no. 51, 15599