Oil giants, think tank will track methane
WASHINGTON — Oil companies including Exxon Mobil and Chevron are partnering with an environmental think tank to track methane emissions coming out of the Permian Basin.
The abundant flaring of natural gas in the West Texas oil field has drawn concern from climate scientists, with methane being a far more powerful greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide.
“Climate change risks posed by methane and other greenhouse gas emissions are serious and warrant action,” Bart Cahir, an Exxon senior vice president, said in a statement.
The Rocky Mountain Institute, a think tank based in Colorado, has developed a computer program to track emissions coming out of oil and gas fields, allowing companies to not only report their emissions to investor groups but to track which technologies are best at reducing methane leaks.
The moves comes as the Trump administration has rolled back methane regulations, saying companies are best equipped to manage the leaks themselves, despite criticism from some in the industry that the Obama-era regulations were fair and necessary.
According to federal estimates, about 28 percent of the 570 million metric tons of methane emitted by the U.S. into the atmosphere comes from oil and gas drilling.
Exxon and Chevron were among companies that in 2018 formed a methane emissions consortium focused on reducing greenhouse gas pollution. The Collaboratory for Advancing Methane Science focuses on scientific research and solutions to reduce methane emissions across the entire oil and gas system, from drilling rigs through refining and petrochemical plants.