TPT March 2016

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110 MARCH 2016
G LOBA L MARKE T P L AC E
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)
MORE 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”).
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.