A 9-10% methane leakage rate wipes out any greenhouse gas advantage in natural gas production, according to satellite observations above oil and gas fields in East Texas and North Dakota.
The new study, which measured methane emissions from the Bakken and Eagle Ford formations for 2006–2008 and 2009–2011, “found leakages rates of 10.1% and 9.1% respectively,” writes Romm, editor of the popular Climate Progress blog.
- Be among the first to read The Energy Mix Weekender
- A brand new weekly digest containing exclusive and essential climate stories from around the world.
- The Weekender:The climate news you need.
“Bottom line: fracking speeds up global warming and has no net climate benefit whatsoever in any time scale that matters to humanity. Perhaps it is time to stop squandering tens of billions of dollars on it, while rendering billions of gallons of water unfit for human consumption.”
