Unconventional gas emissions up to seventy times worse than industry claims - immediate moratorium a must.
Real time air sampling of gas fields in the US has shown leakage rates of up to over seventy times greater than the rates assumed by industry and accepted by government in Australia.
The study by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the University of Colorado, has found rates of fugitive emissions fugitive emissions up to 7.7%, with a mean of 4% .
"If US government agency NOAA is offering a hard estimate at 4% for a field north of Denver in Colorado then Australian fields are likely to have that sort of rate of release if not more, says Matthew Wright, Executive Director of Beyond Zero Emissions
This contrasts with claims from Australian unconventional gas operators.
"Australian operators of Coal Seam Gas are claiming 0.1% total releases in the field. Where fugitive emissions of coal seam gas have actually been measured, as they have by the US Department of Energy in Wyoming, we are seeing releases of up to 15%.
"There are patently ridiculous claims coming from the industry, including from representatives of SANTOS, quoted in “The Australian” as saying that they do not lose one molecule of gas.
Beyond Zero Emissions
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