Natural Gas News – January 25, 2019
Permian Basin Oil Producers Flaring More Natural Gas Than Reported
Texas Tribune :Companies drilling for fossil fuels in West Texas’ Permian Basin are flaring off significantly more gas than they say they are, according to a new analysis by the Environmental Defense Fund. Scientists at the environmental advocacy group used satellite data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to determine how much gas operators burned in 2017 in the oil-rich Permian and compared that with the amount of flared gas they reported to the Texas Railroad Commission, the state’s oil and gas regulatory agency. They discovered a big gap. The satellite data showed Permian operators burned 104 billion cubic feet of natural gas in 2017 — about 4.4 percent of all gas produced in the region — For more on this story visit texastribune.org or click https://bit.ly/2AXRgnt
Ameren: Practice Safe Natural Gas Usage During Peak Heating Season
Pantagraph reports: Ameren Illinois is urging residents and businesses to practice safe natural gas usage this winter because the season is when customers are the most reliant on natural gas. “Most people have gas furnaces and they don’t warm them in the summer,” said Gina Meehan-Taylor, public awareness supervisor for Ameren. “… In the wintertime, we use a lot of natural gas.” Throughout Ameren’s 43,700-square-mile coverage area, the company said, natural gas is delivered to thousands of customers through 18,300 miles of steel pipes. Meehan-Taylor said Ameren is always working to upgrade its gas transmission system in ways like replacing aging pipes and switching some steel materials to longer-lasting plastic. However, she said, gas leaks can still happen due to a variety of reasons. “Anything that’s screwed together with fitting pipe sealant, over time that starts to get old and crumbled,” Meehan-Taylor said. Other common causes of a gas leak include failing stove connectors or natural gas pipelines being damaged during excavating projects. For more on this story visit pantagraph.com or click https://bit.ly/2G1l6ee
