SHIP: Carbon footprint: shale gas and the natural gas sector

Discussion on the carbon footprint of shale gas production is ongoing, with another study (Shale gas production: potential versus actual greenhouse gas emissions) published by MIT - Massachusetts Institute of Technology authors in November, 2012. Their findings reiterate what many recent studies have suggested; greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of shale gas wells are slightly, and not extensively, higher than the emissions of conventional natural gas wells (e.g.,  see Weber and Clavin, 2012 and Forster and Perks, 2012).

The MIT authors calculate that the total fugitive GHG emissions from U.S. shale gas related hydraulic fracturing in 2010 represent 3.6% of the estimated fugitive emissions from all natural gas production-related sources in that year. They state that, “… the production of shale gas and specifically, the associated hydraulic fracturing operations, have not materially altered the total GHG emissions from the natural gas sector. At the same time the authors state that, “… fugitive emissions from the overall natural gas sector are a proper concern”.

Fugitive emissions of the natural gas sector

Life-cycle GHG emissions within the whole (conventional and unconventional) natural gas system have recently received much attention in the scientific community. An editorial in Nature magazine (Methane leaks erode green credentials of natural gas) summarizes the current scientific debate on fugitive emissions. It includes reports on high methane leakage rates, measured at natural gas fields in the US, which were presented at an American Geophysical Union (AGU) meeting in December, 2012.  MORE