Data was released Thursday from the United States Environmental Protection Agency that show methane emissions from oil and natural gas production in the Permian Basin declined from 2016 to 2017.
From 2016 to 2017, methane emissions in the Permian Basin fell by approximately 100,000 metric tons of CO2 equivalent. The data were released this month by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and include emissions from production, gathering, and boosting equipment in the Permian Basin, which covers parts of West Texas and Southeast New Mexico.
In January 2016, the Permian Basin was pumping out 1.9 million barrels of oil per day. By the end of 2017, that number had climbed to 2.8 million barrels per day. That’s an increase of nearly 50 percent. Natural gas production over the same period increased from 6.5 billion cubic feet per day (bcf/d) to 9.3 bcf/d.
Over the past year, critics of oil and natural gas development have targeted the Permian Basin, particularly with claims about methane emissions. Earlier this year, the United States became the world’s largest oil producer, thanks in large part to technological innovation in west Texas and southeast New Mexico.
