Appalachian top methane emitter in US, but intensity less than Permian: Kayrros
US data provider Kayrros in an April 22 report found the total methane footprint across the Appalachian shale basin is the largest in the US, but that is not the case when measuring the methane intensity of just gas production.
Using satellite data and proprietary algorithms, the company found total methane emissions from the Appalachian basin reached 3mn metric tons in 2019 and 2.4mn mt last year, with the 2020 decline attributable to the destruction to energy demand from the Covid-19 pandemic.
That puts it well above the Permian basin in Texas and New Mexico in terms of total methane emissions. But when looking at just the emissions associated with natural gas production, the Permian is higher. Not counting emissions from the coal mines in the Appalachian basin area, emissions from natural gas extraction were recorded at 1.9mn mt in 2019 and 1.4mn mt in 2020. By comparison, methane emissions from oil and gas production in the Permian were 2.7mn mt in 2019 and 2.0mn mt last year.
The methane intensity is also lower in the Appalachian basin than in the Permian, Kayrros explained, likely because the gas produced in the Appalachian is non-associated gas, meaning it is the only hydrocarbon drawn from the basin. Gas from the Permian, meanwhile, is a by-product of oil production.
The Appalachian basin is the largest gas producer in the continental US. The US Energy Information Administration expects 34bn ft3/d in natural gas production from the reserve in May, compared to 17bn ft3/d from the Permian, the second-largest gas producer.