Natural gas’s position as a cleaner form of energy and possible bridge to renewable and alternative sources isn’t insulating it from closer environmental scrutiny. Critics say carbon consequences of producing gas need to be examined more closely, especially in the Rocky Mountains. Federal analysts and regulators apparently agree.
“We have a lot of natural gas. It is cleaner-burning than coal, but it does have carbon emissions and impacts from its production, particularly on regions and communities near where it’s produced,” said Sharon Buccino, the Natural Resources Defense Council’s Land and Wildlife Program director.
Possible groundwater contamination from hydraulic fracturing or other production processes is the biggest issue, she said during a June 24 forum on gas at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. But carbon resulting from gas exploration, development, and production shouldn’t be overlooked, she said.
“We’re reviewing the analysis of life-cycle impacts of gas production. It’s an area that hasn’t been examined closely and bears closer analysis,” said a second panelist, Michael Schaal, oil and gas division director in the US Energy Information Administration’s integrated analysis and forecasting group.
‘Built on assumptions’
“This is an issue that’s built on assumptions. We need to get our arms around real numbers,” said the panel’s third member, Frank A. Verrastro, director of CSIS’s Energy and National Security Program.
The US Environmental Protection Agency has prepared a draft assessment, which is open for public comment, of some environmental impacts associated with oil and gas E&P activity in the Mountain West.
“Among other preliminary findings, the assessment suggests an overall increase in some impacts from natural gas exploration and production. These findings suggest the need for further study regarding the environmental impacts of unconventional [gas E&P],” an EPA spokesman told me.
Such research helps EPA and others understand more about both causes and potential means to address pollution-related impacts, the spokesman said. The draft study, “An Assessment of the Environmental Implications of Oil and Gas Production: A Regional Case Study,” is online at www.epa.gov/sectors/pdf/oil-gas-report.pdf.
Producers’ early steps
Some producers already are taking steps to determine carbon impacts from their operations, according to a member of the second panel at the CSIS forum. David A. Trice, president of America’s Natural Gas Alliance, said that its member companies are each preparing sustainability reports.
Trice, who recently retired as Newfield Exploration Co.’s chief executive officer, said the Houston-based independent is trying to manage its carbon footprint already. “We know it’s going to be required and our shareholders will demand it. But we’ve only started and won’t have any answers for about a year,” he said.
Buccino said that carbon emissions management is only part of the gas production improvements that are needed. “There are ways we can get it out of the ground which minimize the impacts,” she said.
