Study slashes previous estimate on pollution

By LUKE JOHNSON Houston

 06 December 2012 23:59 GMT

FAR less methane escapes from hydraulically fractured natural gas wells than previously assumed, according to a new study.

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) found in a survey of about 4000 wells across five of the top dry-gas plays in the US that the boom in shale production has not materially affected the overall volume of greenhouse-gas emissions.

“Although fugitive emissions from the overall natural gas sector are a proper concern, it is incorrect to suggest that shale gas-related hydraulic fracturing has substantially altered the overall greenhouse gas intensity of natural gas production,” the study said.

Natural gas, which emits about half as much carbon dioxide as coal when…

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