Emissions

U.S. carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in 2016 fell more than anywhere else in the world, down 3% year/year, driven by a flood of shale natural gas supply and renewable power increasingly displacing coal, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said.

With one of its guns trained on the statenatural gas storage and delivery systems, the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) this week aimed another one at oil and natural gas fields in California, targeting alleged public health problems for populations living in and around production areas in a state that has several urban-located drill sites.

The biggest contribution Royal Dutch Shell plc can make to reducing global emissions in the near term is to grow the role of natural gas, the CEO said Thursday.

California’s two major natural gas utilities are responsible for the bulk of methane leaks statewide, outpacing oil/natural gas activities in the state, which ranks third nationally in oil production, according to a new state report.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has withdrawn its request that oil and gas owners and operators provide additional information on existing equipment and methane emissions, reversing a policy that was enacted under the Obama administration.

About half the potential production growth in the Alberta oilsands will be lost unless thermal extraction plants curb their voracious appetite for natural gas, according to projections by the Canadian Energy Research Institute (CERI).

Despite struggling with low commodity prices in 2016, many oil and gas companies made significant improvements in risk reporting and transparency, according to a report released last week.

Under a partnership with the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) and Google Earth Outreach that began in 2014, Public Service Electric & Gas (PSE&G) was able to reduce methane emissions from targeted areas in its service territory by 83% and prioritize which aging distribution pipelines it should replace first.

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) plans to incorporate and go beyond the latest federal requirements to reduce oil and gas industry methane emissions in a new general permit for unconventional wells sites and revisions for the general permit for natural gas compressor facilities.