U.S. Gas Boom is Reducing Carbon Emissions
Yesterday, the Washington Examiner published an opinion piece by Steve Everley, Texans for Natural Gas spokesman, on how the Texas-led gas boom is reducing U.S. carbon dioxide emissions. Texas has long been a leader in energy production and recently, state leaders have driven the sector toward liquefied natural gas (LNG). By 2020, Texas will be home to both the Corpus Christi and Freeport LNG terminals with three more facilities in the works. The state also hosts thousands of miles of natural gas pipeline infrastructure across the Permian Basin. Everley points out that accompanying the state’s increasing production numbers, the state’s oil boom has become a “valuable tool” in lowering emissions:
While production in the Permian Basin of West Texas and southeast New Mexico continues to soar to new heights, methane emissions relative to production are falling. According to a recent analysis, methane emissions intensity declined 57% in the Permian Basin and 24% nationwide between 2011 and 2017.
U.S. emissions are currently at a 25-year low, thanks to technological advances and surging natural gas production in Texas. As technology continues to advance, the U.S. Energy Information Administration expects energy-related emissions to continue to decrease through the end of 2019. Everley writes:
The use of clean and abundant natural gas has been the primary factor in reducing U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. As natural gas’ share of U.S. electricity grew from 19% in 2005 to 31% in 2017, carbon dioxide emissions from electricity generation declined by about 3.8 billion metric tons, a 28% drop.
To read more on how energy production is driving emissions reductions, read GAIN’s Blog titled: “Natural Gas Remains the Path Forward to Energy Security and Emissions Reductions”