TPT March 2016

G LOBA L MARKE T P L AC E

The usual recourse for stopping a flow of gas – pumping fluids down into the well – was unavailing in this case, said Anne Silva, a company spokesperson. Workers were unable to establish a stable enough column of fluid to keep down the gas rising from the reservoir. The company was constructing a relief well that would connect to the leaker and reduce that pressure. The relief well was set for completion by late March. “It’s worth noting that the type of gas involved in this leak is part of what makes it so sinister,” wrote Ms Cronin. “Methane is 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide when it comes to climate change impact.” According to the EDF, about 25 per cent of global warming associated with human activity is due to methane emissions – and leaks like the one proceeding in Southern California are a major contributor. Motherboard observed that in Pasadena, for instance – just 35 miles from Aliso Canyon – investigators found one leak every four miles. Research by EDF also discloses that more than 38 per cent of the pipes in Southern California Gas Co territory are over 50 years old, and 16 per cent are made from corrosion- and leak-prone materials. › Inevitably the evolving environmental disaster has invited comparisons with the Deepwater Horizon oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010. What is certain is that, in scope and complexity, the natural gas leak at Aliso Canyon is unprecedented in California. It was also apparent at the end of 2015 that the torrent of methane pouring into the atmosphere would not be stemmed any time soon. Drilling had gone only 3,800 feet down – less than half-way to the base of the well at the centre of the emergency. Af ter Par is Delivering on expectations raised by the climate-change accord may come down to governments versus commodity markets World leaders have pledged to wean the world from fossil fuels. But, as noted by Alex Nussbaum of BloombergBusiness , prices for oil, natural gas and coal are at their lowest in years. Crude, which touched an 11-year low in late December, when Mr Nussbaum wrote, will probably decline even further when the US ends its 40-year ban on oil exports. (“Oil Has a Reality Check for Those Elated by the Climate Deal,” 21 December) Is that bad news for the long-term prospects of a global switchover to cleaner fuels? In Mr Nussbaum’s view the answer is “pretty complicated”. Last May, the International Energy Agency analysed the impact on greenhouse gas emissions if global oil prices remain below $50 a barrel for the rest of the decade, pulling down coal and natural gas prices as well. But the IEA results were mixed.

Oi l and Gas Happening in real time in Southern California: a natural gas leak that recalls the Deepwater Horizon oilrig explosion of 2010 Detected 22 October, a gas leak some 25 miles from downtown Los Angeles was still uncontained at the New Year, when engineers said it would likely take another three to four months even to identify the source with absolute certainty. A preliminary Southern California Gas Co analysis pointed to the failure of a well casing that deposits methane, the main component of natural gas, into an enormous underground storage field at the company’s Aliso Canyon facility. According to SoCalGas, the eventual repair of the suspect well – an 8,700ft steel pipeline measuring seven inches in diameter – would require careful drilling at some distance from the containment system to avoid igniting the methane. Once the flow is halted and the leak sealed off, the crippled well will be permanently abandoned. Meanwhile, a potent greenhouse gas escapes into the atmosphere at a rate of about 62 million cubic feet per day. The California Air Resources Board estimated hourly leakage at between 65,000 and 127,000 pounds of methane. The single leak accounts for a quarter of the state’s total methane emissions. The New York-based non-profit Environmental Defense Fund, which runs on its website a constantly updated computation of the amount of methane leaking out, construed the climate impact in terms of driving 7 million cars a day over the next 20 years. The advocacy group also put the cost of the wasted natural gas at around $12 million by the end of 2015. Calling for “rules that ensure gas stays in the pipeline, not in our air,” the EDF cited Aliso Canyon as an example of the kind of risks faced by the US as its fossil fuel energy infrastructure ages. While colourless in the visible light spectrum, methane does absorb some infrared light. The black plume of escaping methane is all too evident in an infrared video shot from a helicopter by an Earthworks certified thermographer and posted online by the EDF. As noted by Jay Bennett in Popular Mechanics , it captured attention nationwide. At year-end the leak had already forced the closure of two schools and the voluntary relocation of thousands of residents of the surrounding community. “It’s so bad,” wrote Mr Bennett, “that the Federal Aviation Administration has even banned flights over the area.” (“Infrared Footage Shows Just How Terrifyingly Bad California’s Gas Leak Is,” 28 December) M ORE POTENT THAN CARBON DIOXIDE When the EDF released the footage of the black plume, it pronounced the leak at Aliso Canyon “absolutely uncontained”. Reporting for Motherboard on 26 December, Melissa Cronin reviewed the SoCalGas remediation effort (“Why Engineers Can’t Stop Los Angeles’ Enormous Methane Leak”).

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