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Lin JC, Bares R, Fasoli B, et al. Declining methane emissions and steady, high leakage rates observed over multiple years in a western US oil/gas production basin. Sci Rep. 2021;11(1):22291doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-01721-5.
Lin, J. C., Bares, R., Fasoli, B., Garcia, M., Crosman, E., & Lyman, S. (2021). Declining methane emissions and steady, high leakage rates observed over multiple years in a western US oil/gas production basin. Scientific reports, 11(1), 22291. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-01721-5
Lin, John C, et al. "Declining methane emissions and steady, high leakage rates observed over multiple years in a western US oil/gas production basin." Scientific reports vol. 11,1 (2021): 22291. doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-01721-5
Lin JC, Bares R, Fasoli B, Garcia M, Crosman E, Lyman S. Declining methane emissions and steady, high leakage rates observed over multiple years in a western US oil/gas production basin. Sci Rep. 2021 Nov 16;11(1):22291. doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-01721-5. PMID: 34785727; PMCID: PMC8595340.
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Sci Rep. 2021 Nov 16;11(1):22291. doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-01721-5.

Declining methane emissions and steady, high leakage rates observed over multiple years in a western US oil/gas production basin.

Scientific reports

John C Lin, Ryan Bares, Benjamin Fasoli, Maria Garcia, Erik Crosman, Seth Lyman

Affiliations

  1. Department of Atmospheric Sciences, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, USA. [email protected].
  2. Department of Atmospheric Sciences, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, USA.
  3. Division of Air Quality, Utah Department of Environmental Quality, Salt Lake City, USA.
  4. Department of Life, Earth and Environmental Sciences, West Texas A&M University, Canyon, USA.
  5. Bingham Research Center, Utah State University, Salt Lake City, USA.

PMID: 34785727 PMCID: PMC8595340 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-01721-5

Abstract

Methane, a potent greenhouse gas, is the main component of natural gas. Previous research has identified considerable methane emissions associated with oil and gas production, but estimates of emission trends have been inconsistent, in part due to limited in-situ methane observations spanning multiple years in oil/gas production regions. Here we present a unique analysis of one of the longest-running datasets of in-situ methane observations from an oil/gas production region in Utah's Uinta Basin. The observations indicate Uinta methane emissions approximately halved between 2015 and 2020, along with declining gas production. As a percentage of gas production, however, emissions remained steady over the same years, at ~ 6-8%, among the highest in the U.S. Addressing methane leaks and recovering more of the economically valuable natural gas is critical, as the U.S. seeks to address climate change through aggressive greenhouse emission reductions.

© 2021. The Author(s).

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