by Rachel Frazin (The Hill) The Biden administration on Saturday announced new regulations that are expected to deliver significant cuts to the greenhouse gas methane in the oil and gas sector. The rule, finalized by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), tees up
methane leaks
Back TO HOMESEA-LNG Coalition Calls on IMO to Regulate All GHG Emissions on a Full Lifecycle Basis
(SEA-LNG) Clear and consistent regulation is key to driving maritime decarbonisation. With this in mind, and ahead the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) 80th Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC 80), industry association SEA-LNG calls on the IMO to regulate all greenhouse
June 29, 2023 Read Full Article
New EBA Paper Addresses Methane Slip from AD Plants
(Bioenergy International) The European Biogas Association (EBA), in collaboration with international biogas experts, has launched a white paper on methane emissions originating from anaerobic digestion (AD) plants to support and advise the industry, European policymakers, and AD operators. The EBA paper ‘Design,
May 02, 2023 Read Full Article
WFW: Biofuels Trump LNG as Most Popular Alternative for the Next 5 Years
by Jasmina Ovcina Mandra (Offshore Energy) In 2021, LNG was the most popular alternative fuel considered by shipowners for use in the (then) next five years; twice as many as those who said they were considering biofuels. That position has now
April 12, 2023 Read Full Article
When It Comes to Climate in the EU, Ships Are Neither Airplanes Nor Road Vehicles
by Philippe Marchand (Transport Energy Strategies) ... The regulation regarding air transport, as exposed in a recent post, is highly prescriptive, with mandates and sub-mandates, a limited list of eligible feedstocks, only waste and residues, a straightjacket in other terms. With
April 06, 2023 Read Full Article
EU Funds New Project that Advances Environmental Benefits of LNG as Marine Fuel
(Wärtsilä/AltFuels) Coordinated by VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, the Green Ray project has secured European Union funding to develop solutions minimizing methane slip from marine engines, advancing the environmental and climate benefits of LNG as a ship fuel. The initiative
March 03, 2023 Read Full Article
Launch of the Green Shipping Challenge at COP27
(U.S. Department of State) Greenhouse gas emissions from the shipping sector are significant, increasing, and on a trajectory that is incompatible with the goals of the Paris Agreement. Compared with country emissions, the sector would rank among the top 10 largest
November 08, 2022 Read Full Article
EPA Seeks Public Input on Inflation Reduction Act Programs to Fight Climate Change, Protect Health, and Advance Environmental Justice
(Environmental Protection Agency) Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced initial public engagement and input opportunities for a subset of new and existing programs funded by President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act. These programs, which include funding for air quality projects
November 04, 2022 Read Full Article
Oil and Gas Methane Emissions Could Be Solved This Decade, Experts Say
by Gloria Dickie (Reuters) Emissions of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, from oil and gas infrastructure could be stamped out within the next 10 years, industry experts said on Tuesday. Speaking at the Reuters IMPACT climate conference in London, they noted that technology to
October 05, 2022 Read Full Article
Considerations for the ReFuelEU Aviation Trilogue
by Chelsea Baldino and Jayant Mukhopadhaya (International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT)) This briefing paper assesses the differences between the European Commission proposal for a ReFuelEU aviation regulation and the European Parliament and the Council of European Union’s amendments. It
September 21, 2022 Read Full Article
ICCT Report on LNG Pathway Makes Flawed Assumptions Based on Outdated Data
(SEA-LNG) SEA-LNG responds to a report by the NGO International Council on Clean Transportation: Comparing the Future Demand for, Supply of, and Life-Cycle Emissions from Bio, Synthetic, and Fossil LNG Marine Fuels in the European Union -- The recent ICCT
September 20, 2022 Read Full Article
New Tech Accelerator Launched to Reduce Maritime Methane Emissions
(Hydrocarbon Processing) A coalition of shipping leaders is launching today to identify, accelerate and advocate technology solutions for the maritime industry to measure and manage methane emissions activity. In doing so, the Methane Abatement in Maritime (MAM) Innovation Initiative aims to minimise
September 08, 2022 Read Full Article
Biogas and Biomethane Supply Chains Can Leak Twice as Much Methane
by Daniela Castim (Bio Market Insights) Many countries are replacing heavily carbon-emitting sources of energy, like natural gas, coal and oil, with biomethane and biogas, which are produced from the breakdown of organic matter and release less of both CO2 and
July 06, 2022 Read Full Article
Miracle Fuel Hydrogen Can Actually Make Climate Change Worse
by David R Baker (Bloomberg) If it escapes into the air, this green fuel can contribute to global warming — which is why scientists say we need to limit leaks. -- A world desperate for a climate-friendly fuel is pinning its hopes
June 01, 2022 Read Full Article
CMA CGM, Shell Perform First Bio-LNG Bunkering in Rotterdam
by Surabhi Sahu, Piers De Wilde and Britt Russell-Webster (S&P Global) Containerships Aurora receives 44 cu m of Bio-LNG; Bio-LNG reduces GHG emissions by at least 67% on well-to-wake basis; LNG's share in global bunker fuel mix to rise to 16% in 2030:
December 03, 2021 Read Full Article
It’s Hailed as the Clean Energy of the Future. But Hydrogen Produces ‘Substantial’ Emissions, Study Shows.
by Rachel Pannett (Washington Post) New research casts doubt on the environmental credentials of ‘blue’ hydrogen produced using fossils fuels -- ... But a new study published in the journal Applied Energy found making hydrogen from fossil fuels produces “substantial” greenhouse gas emissions
November 18, 2021 Read Full Article
SEA-LNG Supports Global Methane Pledge
(SEA-LNG) ... Looking to the future, bioLNG then renewable synthetic LNG will drive decarbonization. Hydrogen, manufactured through the electrolysis of water using renewable electricity, when available at scale, will deliver a net-zero fuel for LNG powered vessels through the use of
November 10, 2021 Read Full Article
U.S. to Sharply Cut Methane Pollution that Threatens the Climate and Public Health Public Comments DEADLINE: January 31, 2022
(Environmental Protection Agency) Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) took an important step forward to advance President Biden’s commitment to action on climate change and protect people’s health by proposing comprehensive new protections to sharply reduce pollution from the oil and natural gas industry –
November 02, 2021 Read Full Article
How Feasible Are Biofuels in Marine Applications?: The Digest’s 2021 Multi-Slide Guide to Marine Biofuels
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Do biofuels have potential for the maritime sector? Should BETO implement a biofuels program for large ocean-going vessels to meet the International Maritime Organization’s carbon reduction goals (a 40% reduction relative to 2008 levels by
October 14, 2021 Read Full Article
Hydrogen Lobbyist Quits, Slams Oil Companies’ “False Claims” about Blue Hydrogen
by Tim De Chant (Ars Technica) Recent studies have questioned blue hydrogen’s low-carbon bona fides. -- The head of a hydrogen lobbying group has stepped down amid concerns that blue hydrogen made from natural gas would serve as a “lock-in” for
August 26, 2021 Read Full Article
SEA-LNG Warns against Delay in Addressing Shipping Decarbonisation
(SEA-LNG) Industry coalition stresses that LNG fuels reduce up to 23% of GHG emissions, and that bio- and synthetic LNG offer low risk, incremental pathways to net zero. Waiting for future fuels and not fully utilising LNG, which is safe, proven, competitive
April 20, 2021 Read Full Article
New Paper Shows High Potential of Biogas Production from Industrial Wastewater
(European Biogas Association) The EBA is launching today a new paper providing a comprehensive analysis of the potential of biogas production from industrial wastewater to reduce methane emissions. • The paper demonstrates that it is possible to recover around 14 Mtoe
April 19, 2021 Read Full Article
Aemetis Begins Production of Below Zero Carbon Intensity Dairy Biogas
(Aemetis) First Two Dairies and Private Pipeline Operating; Below Zero Carbon Intensity Gas Now Producing Transportation Fuel -- Aemetis, Inc.(NASDAQ: AMTX) announced today that it is producing dairy biogas from the first two dairies in a 17 dairy digester biogas project.
October 23, 2020 Read Full Article
Global Fuel Standards Are Pushing the Dirtiest Oil out of the Market
by Michael J. Coren (Quartz) Not all oil is equal. We think of petroleum as equivalent whether it comes from the ground in Saudi Arabia or Texas. But that’s not quite right. There are hundreds of grades of fuels out there,
October 13, 2020 Read Full Article
Biden Would Be Good for Oil Sector, Goldman Sachs Says
by James Osborne (Houston Chronicle) With his $2 trillion plan to cut greenhouse gas emissions, Joe Biden might seem a far from ideal president for the Texas oil and gas industry. But new analysis by Goldman Sachs says that compared with a
October 13, 2020 Read Full Article
World Biggest Oil Majors Set Collective Goal to Cut Carbon Emissions
by Charles Kennedy (OilPrice.com) Some of the biggest oil companies in the world set their first joint target to cut their collective carbon emissions from upstream operations in a move that saw Saudi Aramco and ExxonMobil joining European majors in pledging
July 17, 2020 Read Full Article
Fugitive Methane, Eating Elephants, and Brewing Quarantine Ethanol
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ... We left the discussion with a hint about the potential conversion of methane to methanol, which can serve as a powerful chemical building block or, in China most prominently, as a fuel. We’ll pick up from that
June 11, 2020 Read Full Article
Oil and Gas Firms 'Have Had Far Worse Climate Impact than Thought'
by Jonathan Watts (The Guardian) Study indicates human fossil methane emissions have been underestimated by up to 40% -- ... Although the research will add to pressure on fossil fuel companies, scientists said there was cause for hope because it showed
February 20, 2020 Read Full Article
Brightmark Energy Partners with Larson Family Farms on Florida Biogas Project
(Brightmark Energy) Project will convert 230,000 tons of manure per year into renewable natural gas, reduce methane emissions from Central Florida dairy farms -- Brightmark Energy, a San Francisco-based waste and energy development company, announced today that it has partnered
January 23, 2020 Read Full Article
Study: Fracking Responsible for Rising Methane Levels in Atmosphere
by Sergio Chapa (Houston Chronicle) Rising levels of the potent greenhouse gas methane in the atmosphere have been linked to emissions produced by the shale oil and natural gas industry, a new study from Cornell University reveals. -- In a study
August 15, 2019 Read Full Article
China Uniquely Placed to ‘Green’ Shipping
by Ned Molloy (China Dialogue Ocean) As the world’s largest exporter and shipbuilder, China could pave the way to a carbon-neutral global trading system -- The Chinese president, Xi Jinping, said last month that his country’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)
August 01, 2019 Read Full Article
How to Cut U.S. Emissions Faster? Do What These Countries Are Doing.
by Brad Plumer and Blacki Migliozzi (New York Times) ... If the United States adopted an economy-wide carbon tax similar to British Columbia’s, which started small and is set to rise to $37.50 per ton, emissions would start to fall, according to
February 18, 2019 Read Full Article
New Study Finds U.S. Oil and Gas Methane Emissions Are 60 Percent Higher Than EPA Reports
(Environmental Defense Fund) A study available today in the journal Science finds that the U.S. oil and gas industry emits 13 million metric tons of methane from its operations each year—nearly 60 percent more than currently estimated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
June 22, 2018 Read Full Article
Webinar Review: Preparing to Harmonize Methane Emission Measurements for Biogas Applications
by Michael Eggleston* (Advanced Biofuels USA) On January 18th, 2018, the Canadian Institute of Forestry hosted a webinar for the International Energy Agency (IEA) Bioenergy Task 37 which publically addressed that there is a need to harmonize methane emission measurements
January 24, 2018 Read Full Article
The Greenhouse Gas Pruitt Worries about
by Scott Waldman (E&E News) Scott Pruitt is one of the Trump administration's most aggressive critics of climate change science, but lately he's been talking about the dangers of greenhouse gas. Well, one greenhouse gas in particular: methane. ... But when it comes to
January 24, 2018 Read Full Article
INSIGHTS Anaerobic Digesters as a Tool for California’s Clean Transportation Efforts
by Cliff Gladstein (Gladstein, Neandross & Associates/ACT News) As one of the most populous states in the nation and a center of agricultural activity, California faces a waste disposal problem. Organic waste sent to municipal waste water treatment plants and landfills
January 23, 2018 Read Full Article
Abu Dhabi Works towards Cooking Oil Recycling Plan
by Anwar Ahmad (Gulf News) Abu Dhabi will open a new facility to recycle used cooking oil by the end of this year, a top official from Tadweer, the Centre of Waste Management in Abu Dhabi, said on Tuesday. The centre will also
January 12, 2018 Read Full Article
WEBINAR: IEA--Methane Emissions from Biogas Plants --- January 18, 2018
As part of the International Energy Agency (IEA) Bioenergy internal webinar series, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Bioenergy Technologies Office invites you to join a webinar on Thursday, Jan. 18, 2018, at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time. During the webinar, participants
January 04, 2018 Read Full Article
What is Renewable Methane?
by Cliff Gladstein (ACT News) ... Attitudes toward the utility of natural gas as the environmentally preferred fuel began to change when technologies to effectively extract natural gas from local shale formations—a process called hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking”—became widely used. Although the U.S.
December 14, 2017 Read Full Article
Court Tells EPA to Enforce Obama Methane Pollution Rule
by Timothy Cama (The Hill) A federal court told the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Monday that it has to enforce an Obama administration methane pollution rule. The order from Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit came after the judges
August 07, 2017 Read Full Article
Senate Unexpectedly Rejects Bid to Repeal a Key Obama-Era Environmental Regulation
by Chelsea Harvey and Juliet Eilperin (The Washington Post) The U.S. Senate narrowly voted down a resolution on Wednesday to repeal an Obama-era rule restricting methane emissions from drilling on public lands — with three Republicans joining every Democrat to
May 10, 2017 Read Full Article
Pruitt Considering Senate-Sought Ethanol Waiver
by Anthony Adragna (Politico's Morning Energy) EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt may have opened a path for Senate Republicans to appease a small bloc of their caucus seeking a year-round waiver to sell 15 percent ethanol fuel and thereby boost the chamber’s
May 09, 2017 Read Full Article
Methane Rule Repeal Hits Snag in Senate Over Ethanol
by Jennifer A Dlouhy and Ari Natter (Bloomberg Markets) Midwest Republicans didn’t get policy change in omnibus; Lawmakers now withholding support for methane rule repeal -- A top oil industry priority on Capitol Hill may fall victim to an unrelated dispute
May 03, 2017 Read Full Article
The United States of Oil and Gas
by Tim Meko and Laris Karklis (The Washington Post) There are more than 900,000 active oil and gas wells in the United States, and more than 130,000 have been drilled since 2010, according to Drillinginfo, a company that provides data and
February 15, 2017 Read Full Article
Needless Waste of American Energy Resources -- Quantifying Natural Gas Lost from Taxpayer and Tribal Owned Lands
(Environmental Defense Fund) Oil and gas operators needlessly waste hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of methane, the main component of natural gas every year through leaks and intentional venting and flaring. This lost American energy resource could be used to
January 30, 2017 Read Full Article
Big Oil Pledges $1 Billion for Gas Technologies to Fight Climate Change
by Karolin Schaps and Ron Bousso (Reuters/Yahoo! News) Some of the world's biggest oil companies, including Saudi Aramco and Royal Dutch Shell , pledged on Friday to invest $1 billion to develop climate-friendly technologies as a global deal to wean the
November 05, 2016 Read Full Article
Scientists May Have Solved a Key Mystery about the World’s Methane Emissions
by Chelsea Harvey (The Washington Post) New research has added yet another layer to a major scientific debate about our global emissions of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas that is second only to carbon dioxide when it comes to driving climate
September 19, 2016 Read Full Article
Exxon, ConocoPhillips Top List of Methane Polluters
by Katie Fehrenbacher (Fortune Magazine) This is how much methane pollution that eleven oil and gas companies emit annually. Eleven oil and gas giants in the U.S. leak so much of a potent green house gas into the atmosphere every year that
June 27, 2016 Read Full Article
'Threat Map' Aims to Highlight the Worst of Oil and Gas Air Pollution
by Zahra Hirji (Inside Climate News) Two activist groups used government data to show 12.4 million people in the U.S. live within a half-mile of an oil and gas facility—and its pollution. -- Environmentalists have launched a new mapping tool
June 22, 2016 Read Full Article
Methane Emissions Are Extremely Harmful, and the Government Might Not Know How Much There Is.
by Darryl Fears (The Washington Post) Now, after the growth of a natural gas production operation commonly known as fracking, the United States is producing more methane emissions than any country in the world. And in a complaint submitted to
June 13, 2016 Read Full Article
The Truth About Tight Oil (2016)
(Union of Concerned Scientists) Tight oil is a major source of global warming emissions. Better regulations—and an industry held accountable for its actions—would help. ... Methane is trapped in the same rock deposits as tight oil and is also freed by fracking.
May 16, 2016 Read Full Article
EPA Finalizes Stronger Methane Emission Rules
by Devin Henry (The Hill) The Obama administration on Thursday finalized a new rule designed to cut methane emissions from the oil and natural gas sector, pushing a stronger standard than one proposed last summer. The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) methane
May 13, 2016 Read Full Article
Hillary Clinton's Climate and Energy Policies, Explained
by David Roberts (Vox.com) Media coverage of the Democratic primary has not shed much light on Hillary Clinton's proposals for climate change and clean energy policy. But oh, she has proposals. Lots of them! I read the white papers. And
May 10, 2016 Read Full Article
EPA Publishes 21st Annual U.S. Greenhouse Gas Inventory
(Environmental Protection Agency) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released its 21st annual Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks (GHG Inventory), today, which presents a national-level overview of annual greenhouse gas emissions since 1990. The inventory shows a
April 25, 2016 Read Full Article
New EPA Stats Confirm: Oil & Gas Methane Emissions Far Exceed Prior Estimates
(Environmental Defense Fund) Higher Baseline Plus Year-on-Year Increase Make Sector the Top Emitter over Ag -- The oil and natural gas industry has moved into first place as the highest sources of U.S. methane emissions, according to a long-awaited inventory
April 18, 2016 Read Full Article
The Most Important Mystery about U.S. Climate Change Policy
by Chris Mooney (The Washington Post) ... Environmentalists have charged for some time that the fracking boom — the rise in unconventional natural gas that is the key driver of all of this — has a dark underbelly. Natural gas’s principal
April 18, 2016 Read Full Article
Global Warming’s Terrifying New Chemistry
by Bill McKibben (The Nation) Our leaders thought fracking would save our climate. They were wrong. Very wrong. ... Meet methane, otherwise known as CH4. In February, Harvard researchers published an explosive paper in Geophysical Research Letters. Using satellite data
March 28, 2016 Read Full Article
How to Make Sure the US and Canada Get It Right on Methane
by David Babson (Union of Concerned Scientists) ... But recent science suggests that we don’t have a great handle on how large methane emissions really are, so we are going to need strong science to back up this commitment. Methane is a
March 14, 2016 Read Full Article
US, Canada Pledge Cooperation on Paris Climate Accord, Clean Energy, Methane Leaks
by Gavin Bade (Utility Dive) ... A key part of the climate mitigation strategy will be reducing emissions of methane — a greenhouse gas over 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide — from oil and gas operations. In the statement, the two nations
March 14, 2016 Read Full Article
Science: 2015 Well Blowout Doubled Los Angeles’ Methane Leak Rate
by Meagan Phelan (AAAS.org) The first quantitative estimates of the Aliso Canyon well blowout reveal that it released more than 100,000 tons of the powerful greenhouse gas methane. A new study provides one of the first quantitative estimates of the methane leak
February 26, 2016 Read Full Article
Why Flint? Why Dieselgate? Why Was the EPA Prevented From Acting?
by Robert E. Kozak* (Advanced Biofuels USA) Of all the grandstanding by politicians over the Flint, Michigan, drinking water disaster perhaps the most hypocritical has been that of Democrats such as Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton heaping all the blame on
February 09, 2016 Read Full Article
L.A. County Files Criminal Charges over Porter Ranch Gas Leak
by Paige St. John and Alice Walton (Los Angeles Times) Southern California Gas Co. on Tuesday was charged with failing to immediately notify state authorities about the natural gas leak in Aliso Canyon. L.A. County Dist. Atty. Jackie Lacey filed four misdemeanor
February 08, 2016 Read Full Article
Air Regulator Sues California Utility over State's Historic Methane Leak
by Alex Dobuzinskis (Reuters) A California utility failed to protect residents from the largest methane leak in state history at its natural gas field near Los Angeles, a regional pollution watchdog said in a lawsuit filed against the company. The suit, filed
January 28, 2016 Read Full Article
Study: Renewable Energy Best Way to Achieve Climate Targets under Clean Power Plan -- Unaddressed Methane Leakage From Natural Gas Sector Could Undercut Emissions Reductions
(PSE Healthy Energy) New analysis from PSE Healthy Energy and University of California at Berkeley finds that increased deployment of renewable energy is the best way to meet or even surpass Clean Power Plan targets, as recent scientific measurements of
January 28, 2016 Read Full Article
Ohio Has Few Checks for Natural-Gas Storage Leaks
by Laura Arenschield (Columbus Dispatch) ... In fact, Ohio ranks eighth nationwide in the volume of natural gas stored below ground. California officials issued emergency-oversight measures last week requiring daily inspections of storage fields using infrared technology to catch leaks. In contrast, Ohio
January 22, 2016 Read Full Article
California Gas Leak Exposes Growing Natural-Gas Risks
by Richard Martin (MIT Technology Review) As America shifts toward natural gas for energy, decaying pipelines and storage facilities are at risk of leaks and explosions. -- Since it was first detected on October 23, 2015, the natural-gas leak at
January 20, 2016 Read Full Article
Greens: Gas Developers Aren’t Telling Investors of Methane Leaks
by Devin Henry (The Hill) Natural gas developers are providing very restricted information about their methane emissions to investors, according to a report released Monday by a green group. According to an Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) analysis, only 18 of 65 major
January 17, 2016 Read Full Article
Invisible Disaster of Aliso Canyon Leak May Give Methane Rules Momentum
by Eric Wolff (Politico Morning Energy) The massive methane spill at the Aliso Canyon storage field has pumped out at least 77,500 metric tons of gas since Oct. 23, and it will be months before the spill can be closed.
January 15, 2016 Read Full Article
Report: Methane a Rising Risk for Both Oil & Gas Sector and Investors
(Environmental Defense Fund) A first-of-its-kind report by Environmental Defense Fund shows that leading oil and gas companies are putting themselves and their investors at financial and reputational risk by failing to adequately disclose meaningful information on emissions of methane. The report,
January 11, 2016 Read Full Article
LA's Gas Leak Is a Global Disaster
by Maddie Stone (GizMoDo) One of the worst environmental disasters of the decade is currently underway in a quiet community 25 miles northwest of Los Angeles. Putrid, methane-rich natural gas has been spewing into the air at an estimated rate of
January 04, 2016 Read Full Article
We've Got a Methane Problem
by Fred Krupp (GreenBiz/Environmental Defense Fund) As I write this, a massive methane leak from a ruptured natural gas storage facility in California is causing, every day, as much climate damage over the next 20 years as 7 million cars on the
December 23, 2015 Read Full Article
New Study Finds Oil & Gas Methane Emissions in the Barnett Shale Almost Twice What Official Estimates Suggest
by Steven Hamburg (Environmental Defense Fund) A new scientific study published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, coordinated by EDF, reports findings from the most comprehensive examination of regional methane emissions completed to date. Focused on
December 14, 2015 Read Full Article
Here’s What You Need to Know about the Porter Ranch Gas Leak
(Los Angeles Daily News) Nov. 6, 2015 - This morning at 11 a.m., SoCalGas crews and outside experts started the coiled tubing rig operation to attempt to work through an ice blockage inside the 2 7/8-inch tubing pipeline of a