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Texas is estimated to have wasted 3–4.5 times more gas than operators reported over the 12 months ending November 2024, with most of it intentionally vented directly to the atmosphere.
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Wells not selling gas at all are a major source of unreported methane waste, especially through venting. These emissions are known to operators and can be identified without special equipment or services.
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Wells that sell mainly gas waste little methane, while oil-dominated production wells waste substantially higher percentages due largely to the fact that liquids are the main commodity and the economics incentivize waste.
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Among oil wells, high-rate wells waste a lower percentage of their associated gas produced while low-rate wells commonly waste larger percentages — and about half of the overall methane emissions — also due largely to existing economic incentives.
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Major methane emissions reductions and more tax revenue could be collected by addressing wells with low-rate oil production and wells in Texas’s mature oil basins.
The post Drilling Down on Methane Loss appeared first on RMI.
