Alberta, Canada’s largest producer of fossil fuel resources, could be emitting 25 to 50% more methane than expected. Alberta used airplane surveys to measure methane emissions. The results were then compared with industry-reported commissions. In one region dominated by heavy oil wells, researchers found out that they released 3.6 times more methane than previously thought. In the second region researchers found that only 6% of the emissions were industrial and that the rest of the emissions came from an equipment leak. The Canadian group found this to be alarming. “The methane gas currently being wasted would supply almost all the natural gas needs of Alberta, and is worth $530M per year,” Dale Marshall of the organization said in a statement. “This represents an economic cost for governments in the form of lost royalties and taxes, and for industry in terms of revenue”.
When you compare the emissions to those from cars, it’s about the equivalent of 8 to 9.7 million vehicles on a 100 year scale.
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