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METHANE EMISSIONS FROM THE NATURAL GAS INDUSTRY
Citation:
Harrison, M., R. Cowgill, L. Campbell, AND R. Lott. METHANE EMISSIONS FROM THE NATURAL GAS INDUSTRY. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., EPA/600/A-93/153.
Description:
The paper discusses a project to quantify methane (CH4) emissions from the U.S. natural gas industry. his study will measure or calculate all gas industry CH4 emissions--from production at the wellhead, through the system, to the customer's meter. missions downstream of the consumer's meter, such as the end-user's burner emissions, are not included. hen these data are combined with data from other studies, a definite comparison of the relative environmental impact of using natural gas versus other fuels will be possible. he study will also provide data that can be used by the industry to identify cost-effective mitigation techniques to reduce losses. arget of + or - 100 billion standard cubic feet (BCF) (0. 5% of the total U. S. annual production) has been established as the overall accuracy goal of the current system. (NOTE: 1 std cu ft = 0.0283 std cu m.) While individual categories may be less accurate, the cummation of the accuracy figures for all categories will be within this target. he CH4 emissions project is being conducted in three phases: Phases 1 and 2 have identified and ranked all known potential CH4 emitting sources and established methods for measuring, calculating, and extrapolating emissions from those sources. hase 3, currently in progress, will gather sufficient data to achieve the accuracy goal.