Methane Emissions in the Natural Gas Life Cycle

This report was commissioned by the Western Interstate Energy Board (WIEB) and the State Provincial Steering Committee (SPSC) to better understand the life cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of natural gas and coal used for electricity generation.  WIEB/SPSC asked MJB&A to evaluate and summarize the current state of knowledge about methane leakage throughout the natural gas fuel cycle, with a particular focus on the differences between methane emission estimates developed from bottom-up analyses and top-down inventories of methane and other hydrocarbons. One of WIEB/SPSC’s major objectives was to identify the key reasons for the significant variability in total methane leakage estimates from prominent published studies, and to put these differences into context. With this understanding, WIEB/SPSC asked MJB&A to identify key methane emission points within the natural gas fuel cycle and review strategies and technologies available to reduce these emissions.

The full report can be downloaded here.

A summary of the report with implications for policymakers can be found here.