Satellite Picks Up First Verified Images of Methane & CO2 “Plumes”
The so-called Carbon Mapper Coalition’s Tanager-1 satellite is off to a good start in selectively choosing fugitive methane and carbon dioxide “plumes” that it measures and maps (looking for needles instead of haystacks). The very first major fugitive methane transgressor picked up by the satellite was…(wait for it)…a landfill in Pakistan! The second plume was a coal-fired power plant belching carbon dioxide (CO2) in…South Africa. Tanager-1 finally got around to sniffing around the relatively clean U.S. and came up with too much methane being emitted from the city of Midland, Texas, in the heart of the Permian Basin. The Texas methane “plume” was 75% smaller than the landfill in Pakistan. Read More “Satellite Picks Up First Verified Images of Methane & CO2 “Plumes””
Dominion Energy wants to build a liquified natural gas (LNG) storage facility in Person County, North Carolina, to enhance natural gas service reliability for residential and business customers in the growing region (see 
In March, MDN told you that the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) told Shell to file for a Title V air permit for its ethane cracker in Monaca no later than June 21 of this year or risk being shut down (see 
The Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) has extended three temporary air permits for the Shell ethane cracker plant in Monaca, PA, which would have expired at the end of April. The extended permits will suffice until Shell files for and receives what is called a federal Title V Operating Permit for air emissions from the cracker plant. In March, we told you that the DEP had told Shell to file for a Title V permit no later than June 21 of this year or risk being shut down (see 
Last November, CNX Resources CEO Nick DeIuliis signed a voluntary deal with Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro to expand drilling setbacks and several other regulatory steps not mandated for shale drillers under PA law (see 
Although Shell maintains flaring and accidental emissions from its new multi-billion-dollar ethane cracker in Beaver County, PA, have not violated state and federal air standards, the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) says they have — on numerous occasions. Shell didn’t argue the point, and last May, the company agreed to pay nearly $10 million in fines and “contributions” to benefit the local community (see 
Air monitors at Shell’s ethane cracker plant detected elevated levels of benzene (which can cause cancer in humans) following an April 11 malfunction. However, an industrial hygienist told attendees at Tuesday night’s webinar session with local residents that the levels of benzene detected at the cracker’s community-adjacent fenceline during and after the release were too low to cause “even transient discomfort or irritation.” The highest concentrations found outside the fenceline were “in the parts per billion range.”
The mighty Shell ethane cracker has had “issues” getting and staying fully up to speed. Since it officially went online last November, Shell has received three separate notices of violation (NOVs) for exceeding allowable air pollution limits, largely related to repeated flaring episodes (see 
The Biden EPA plans to allow private citizens to police oil wells and pipelines for methane leaks. Most of the time, that means Big Green groups will do the “policing.” And here’s how it will work: A radicalized group like the Sierra Club or Earthworks or NRDC or some other odious bad actor will set up equipment near oil and gas well sites or pipeline operations to report suspected “super emitter” leaks of at least 100 kilograms per hour. Once reported (likely a false report), the company involved would be required to perform a root-cause analysis within five days and take corrective actions within 10 days. All based on an accusation by an anti-fossil fueler. Methane snitches.
Anti-fossil fuelers continue to pressure the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (and Pennsylvania itself) over the grievous sin of approving the Shell ethane cracker plant project (see 
Just 30 fossil fuel companies account for “nearly half” of so-called planet-warming methane emitted by the world’s energy sector. That’s according to a new analysis by Global Energy Monitor. And get this, only three of the 30 are American fossil fuel companies. And those three are WAY down the list. The #1 leakiest methane emitter on the planet is the National Iranian Oil Company. The #2 biggest emitter is Gazprom (Russia). And #3 is China Energy. In fact, the top 10 biggest methane emitters are located in the Middle East, China, or Russia. All of them are enemies of the United States.
Yesterday the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) and its Environmental Quality Board (EQB) rammed through (in a rush) a set of regulations to control volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and by extension methane, for conventional drilling sites throughout the site. The DEP has had SIX YEARS to get these regulations done, and has missed deadline after deadline. Now, with a Dec. 16 deadline approaching to finish up the regs or risk losing half a billion dollars in federal highway funds, the DEP is trying to bully the conventional drilling industry into accepting its onerous regulations with no comment period, no feedback, no nothing–under threat of risking half a billion dollars. It’s DEP blackmail, plain and simple. What will the conventional industry do? Take it lying down? Or fight?
When oil and natural gas (i.e. methane) are extracted from the ground, inevitably some methane leaks/escapes into the atmosphere. Such leaks cause leftist wackos to go apoplectic, they’re so convinced methane will cause the earth to toast. We don’t like seeing methane leak either–but for a different reason. Every one of those molecules could be harvested and sold! There’s money in that leaking methane! One of the first tasks in solving the issue of leaking methane is to determine its source. Where is the methane originating from? Researchers at the Los Alamos National Lab (LANL) have discovered a way to determine where methane originates by measuring not only methane, but other hydrocarbons present, including ethane.