National Petroleum Council issues report on reducing GHG from natural gas systems

The National Petroleum Council (NPC) has issued a new report that lays out a path to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the natural gas systems.

The report, “Charting the Course: Reducing GHG Emissions from the U.S. Natural Gas Supply Chain,” looks at two broad pathways to reduce methane and greenhouse gas emissions.

Overall, the study found that petroleum and natural gas systems account for 33 percent of methane emissions, 55 percent of CO2 emissions, and 8 percent of total U.S. GHG emissions.

The report put forth two pathways to reduce emissions. One is called the Existing Policies (EP) Pathway. This pathway says that if organizations implement the existing policies, regulatory and voluntary actions, technology advancements, and market mechanisms, a 50 percent reduction in methane emissions can be achieved by 2050, with most of that occurring before 2030. However, a 25% increase in carbon dioxide emissions would result from this route.

The other option is called the Technology, Innovation, and Policy (TIP) pathway, and that could result in methane emissions decreasing by 70 percent and carbon dioxide emissions reduce by 33% through 2050. The TIP Pathway would require a large infrastructure buildout for emissions reduction projects, including electrification, carbon capture and storage, and potentially low carbon intensity hydrogen. It would also require permit reform and community engagement.

The report also highlighted several key recommendations for the industry, governments, and other stakeholders.

“With coordinated, prioritized action across the stakeholder landscape, we will see significant operational GHG emissions reductions in the natural gas supply chain by 2050, relative to 2020. The report found that if we continue on the path we’re on, methane emissions are expected to decline by 59 percent. But the current trajectory does not prioritize carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions to the same degree. To have more meaningful GHG emissions reductions, we’ll need to do more,” the report summarized.,

The study participants included NPC members’ organizations as well as from many other industries, federal, state, and Tribal agencies, NGOs, other public-interest groups, financial institutions, consultancies, academia, and research groups. More than 200 people served on the study’s committee, subcommittee, task groups, and subgroups – with about half the study members coming from the oil and natural gas industry.

The report, which was delivered to Department of Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm this week, drew praise from several groups, including the American Gas Association.

“These studies confirm what we’ve been saying all along – natural gas and our delivery system have a crucial role in the United States’ and the world’s energy evolution. The United States has the most extensive natural gas pipeline delivery network in the world, and with continued rigorous research and testing, we can further leverage the industry’s infrastructure to enable clean and reliable hydrogen, LNG, and natural gas delivery across the entire nation,” AGA President and CEO Karen Harbert said.

The Independent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA) also commended the NPC on the report, but offered some advice on how to improve it.

“IPAA appreciates that the NPC report makes a number of useful recommendations regarding actions that could assist smaller oil and natural gas producers. However, one issue that the report does not address is the need for a regulatory structure designed specifically for small oil and natural gas wells. IPAA’s members are making constant improvements to the technology being used to reduce, measure and report on emissions. The industry recognizes the need for environmentally sound, cost-effective regulations to manage industry emissions and it continues to seek a regulatory pathway designed for the sources being regulated,” IPAA President and CEO Jeff Eshelman said.