Even as oil and natural gas production is on the upswing in New Mexico’s Permian and San Juan basins, industry officials say there is a drop in methane emissions.
It’s confirmed by data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency which showed a drop in methane emissions between 2016 and 2017.
A report in the Carlsbad Current Argus showed the reduction in the Permian Basin which extends into New Mexico saw a drop of 100,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent. It went from 8.4 million metric tons in 2016 to 8.3 million in 2017.
The emissions in the San Juan Basin in the northern part of the state dropped by more than 727,000 metric tons, slipping from 5.4 million in 2016 to 4.6 million in 2017.
Ryan Flynn, executive director of the New Mexico Oil and Gas Association pointed to “market-based” solutions, not government regulations, for the decrease.
“Absent any new regulation, oil and natural gas producers are leading the way in decreasing methane emissions,” Flynn said. “Falling methane emissions prove that we can increase production and protect the environment at the same time – it doesn’t have to be a choice.”
Robert McEntyre, NMOGA spokesman said the reductions are due to industry innovation, not heavy government regulations.
“This is an issue we want to tackle,” he said. “We’re actually combating this issue at the ground and company level. All the data we’ve looked at points to methane emissions going down.”
The data was collected from the EPA’s Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program, with 8,000 facilities across the nation reporting to the program.
