The Environmental Defense Fund Releases Nine Reports on Methane Emissions from Natural Gas Operations in the Barnett Shale Region

On July 7, 2015, the scientific journal Environmental Science & Technology published a series of nine reports analyzing the fugitive methane emissions from natural gas operations in the Barnett Shale Region, including the areas of Dallas and Fort Worth. The Environmental Defense Fund commissioned research scientists and academic researchers to draft the reports back in 2013.

The researchers assessed the Barnett Shale Region methane emissions using top-down and bottom-up estimates and concluded that small production sites were responsible for large methane emissions. The researchers point to malfunctioning wells, compressor stations and processing plants as the direct cause of methane emissions. The reports also opine that fugitive methane emissions in the Barnett Shale Region are higher than the estimates in the U.S. EPA’s greenhouse gas inventory.

Further information on the EPA greenhouse gas inventory can be found at: http://www.epa.gov/ghgreporting/.

The reports are available at:

http://pubs.acs.org/action/doSearch?field1=AllField&publication=40025991&target=default&targetTab=research&text1=barnett%2Bshale&startPage=&Earliest=[20150707%20TO%2020150714].

Written by Chloe Marie - Research Fellow

07/14/2015