Here, you will find resources that will help you go deeper in both challenges and opportunities for the natural gas industry. The idea behind reading pro- and contrary-views regarding the production and use of natural gas is for you to develop critical thinking for future situations that you may encounter in your professional life. Also note that while the readings are optional, it is highly recommended that you at least glance at those materials. It will help you make connections with the contents provided in the lectures.

Optional Readings

Rapid Communication - Mapping urban pipeline leaks: Methane leaks across Boston.pdf
- This reading can help you discover the leakage challenges in urban natural gas distribution systems. In order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, increase consumer health and safety, and save money we need to first be able to detect and monitor these leaks.
Progress Report - Oil and Gas Climate Initiative Progress Report 2021.pdf
- In this brief report, you will find the strategy of the major Oil and Gas to meet net-zero operations. Besides reducing methane emissions (which is covered in detail in Lecture 6B). The strategy also covers CO₂ mitigation (which will be covered in more detail in Module 8) and CO₂ recycling (Carbon Capture and Utilization - covered in more detail in Module 10)
Map - Mapping the Oil and Gas Industry to the SDGs_An Atlas.pdf
- In this report, you will find a description of the 14 UN Sustainable Development Goals mapped against the Natural Gas Industry. For each SDG, specific examples are provided.
Full Paper - WIREs Water - Groundwater‐quality hazards of methane leakage from hydrocarbon wells.pdf
- Methane leakage from hydrocarbon wells plays an important role in the groundwater-quality impacts of hydrocarbon development and presents a more likely hazard than hydraulic fracturing or formation fluids. Methane released from contaminated water wells has been linked with combustion risks and degraded water quality. This paper suggests four hypotheses to quantify risks to groundwater quality from methane leakage.

Media

The environmentalist perspective
- Why is Natural Gas Bad for the Environment?
  
  Natural gas is a fossil fuel that the industry has been pushing as a ‘natural’ alternative to other fossil fuels like coal or oil. Natural gas is usually not low-carbon nor renewable. Fossil fuel companies are putting heavy pressure on governments to stay present and relevant in the energy sector. We revealed how a group of gas companies are influencing the distribution of EU public money for their own climate-wrecking projects. But we’re fighting back against the influence of powerful gas companies. We want to end governments’ support for the fossil gas industry, and accelerate a global transition away from gas to genuinely sustainable energy sources.

Challenges of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) in the marine shipping industry
- The climate implications of using LNG as a marine fuel
  This short video highlights the findings from a January 2020 paper that compares the life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions of liquefied natural gas (LNG) with conventional marine fuels, namely heavy fuel oil, very low sulfur fuel oil, and marine gas oil. The analysis aids policymakers by including the climate impacts of both upstream emissions and the combustion emissions and methane slip that occur downstream. Presented by Bryan Comer, ICCT senior marine researcher, and Nikita Pavlenko, ICCT senior fuels researcher.

Opportunities for natural gas when compared to other fossil fuels
- Webinar: The Environmental Case for Gas
  This webinar provides a preview of the analysis undertaken in the World Energy Outlook 2017 on methane emissions from oil and gas operations. The webinar covers: - Combustion emissions from natural gas compared with other fuels, and the opportunities that this opens up for gas in the global energy outlook - The contribution of the oil and gas industry to total anthropogenic methane emissions and the current status of efforts to measure and report emissions - How the lifecycle emission intensity of gas compares to coal when taking into account combustion and methane emissions released across the respective value chains; and - The cost-effectiveness of emissions mitigation, including first-of-a-kind marginal abatement cost curves describing the costs of reducing oil and gas methane emissions, and the potential climate benefits of doing so. This is the second webinar in a series that will present the key findings and analysis from the World Energy Outlook 2017. In this webinar, focusing on oil and gas methane emissions and the environmental case for gas, you will hear directly from the report’s lead authors about some of the main messages and findings.

- How do you inspect Pipelines? To ensure that pipelines remain in safe and reliable operating condition, numerous inspection techniques are employed, which provide valuable information to ensure pipelines continue to meet even the highest safety standards.

Additional Resources

CNN - Some of the world's biggest companies are failing on their own climate pledges
CNN - Labeling natural gas as "sustainable" has been a subject of debate recently. Learn more here.
IEA commentary - The Environmental Case of Natural Gas
The Irish Times - Renewables developer says gas is ‘no solution’ to mitigate climate change
Bridger Photonics - Methane Leakage Monitoring Requirements in the New Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (DOT) Rule
Phys.org - Shaken by fracking quakes Texas is forced to act
NASA - Study Identifies Methane ‘Super-Emitters' in Largest US Oilfield

Optional Readings

Media

Why is Natural Gas Bad for the Environment?

The climate implications of using LNG as a marine fuel

Webinar: The Environmental Case for Gas

Additional Resources