On Tuesday, Southern Cross University announced the publication of the first peer-reviewed study into fugitive greenhouse gas emissions from coal seam gas fields in Australia.
Two years ago the university put out its preliminary findings in the study, which looked at two CSG fields, one in Casino, New South Wales, and the other in Tara, Queensland. The study was slammed by industry and government because it identified significant coal-seam gas leakage in both fields. Martin Ferguson, then the minister for energy and resources, accused the two scientists behind the study of being motivated by “short-lived media opportunities”. The industry complained to the university about it.
Now the trail-blazing study has been peer reviewed. The Australian Petroleum Production & Exploration Association — a.k.a. “the voice of Austalia’s oil and gas industry” — put out this press release. Crikey’s business editor Paddy Manning pulls it apart. (You can see a larger version of the image here.)
US gasfield leakages are visible from space.
http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2014/09oct_methanehotspot/
The same satellite would be able to see our own leaky fields.
LOL Lovely work there Paddy.
One minor nit though.
It’s actually cow burps, rather than farts, that produce all that methane. (But I understand the the preference for fart jokes over a boring old burp.)
I seem to recall US data indicating that by the 20 or 30 year mark about half of gas wells are faulty e.g. corroded casings.
What they will be like in 100 years is unknown, but it is likely to a major problem, not for gas so much as for groundwater. The degrading gas wells often link a number of aquifers of varying qualities thereby polluting the better aquifers used for irrigation and stock and domestic.
But the gas companies will be long gone leaving at best a shell company holding the liabilities
Such is the capitalist way.
Paddy and Olan; and this is the nub of the issue I believe. When a well goes rogue (or many) who is going to be liable for the clean-up (even if it can be remediated; which appeasr unlikely)?
If the company goes bankrupt the poor old taxpayer will be paying the cost of fixing the disaster.
Southern Cross is hardly one of Australia’s quality tertiary institutions, even if it’s called a university?