Waste Not: Common Sense Ways to Reduce Methane Pollution from the Oil and Natural Gas Industry

The document details the technical basis for calculating methane emissions and abatement costs across the U.S. oil and gas value chain, focusing on leaks, pneumatic devices, compressor seals, oil wells, and liquids unloading.

• Current methane emissions from leaks in the U.S. oil and gas industry are estimated at 2,383,674 metric tons per year, with the transmission and storage segment contributing the largest share at 1,126,046 metric tons.
• The potential for methane abatement from leaks is estimated between 1,730,000 and 1,800,000 metric tons, depending on the frequency of leak detection and repair (LDAR) surveys.
• Current emissions from pneumatic controllers range from approximately 1,300,000 to 1,530,000 metric tons, with potential reductions estimated between 518,000 and 665,000 metric tons through conversion to low-bleed or zero-bleed devices.
• Reciprocating compressor seals emit approximately 317,000 metric tons of methane annually, with an abatement potential of 251,000 metric tons achieved by replacing rod packing every three years or 26,000 operating hours.
• Centrifugal compressor seals have current emissions of 249,000 metric tons and an abatement potential of 229,000 metric tons, primarily through capturing gas from degassing units in wet seal compressors.
• Oil well completions and production venting result in current emissions between 147,000 and 402,000 metric tons, with a potential abatement of 139,000 to 382,000 metric tons using reduced emission completions (REC) and other capture techniques.
• Liquids unloading emissions are estimated at 177,000 metric tons, with 80% of these emissions coming from just 2.5% of all gas wells nationwide (approximately 12,100 wells).

APA

Clean Air Task Force (2014). Waste Not: Common Sense Ways to Reduce Methane Pollution from the Oil and Natural Gas Industry. https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/21094424/CATF_Pub_WasteNot_Appendix.pdf

Chicago

Clean Air Task Force. Waste Not: Common Sense Ways to Reduce Methane Pollution from the Oil and Natural Gas Industry. 2014. https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/21094424/CATF_Pub_WasteNot_Appendix.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Clean Air Task Force |title=Waste Not: Common Sense Ways to Reduce Methane Pollution from the Oil and Natural Gas Industry |date=20 November 2014 |url=https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/21094424/CATF_Pub_WasteNot_Appendix.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{cleanairtaskforce2014waste, author = {{Clean Air Task Force}}, title = {{Waste Not: Common Sense Ways to Reduce Methane Pollution from the Oil and Natural Gas Industry}}, institution = {Clean Air Task Force}, year = {2014}, month = nov, url = {https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/21094424/CATF_Pub_WasteNot_Appendix.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }