The Environmental Impact
 

Climate change is tangible, the science proves it.  Methane is a potent greenhouse gas (GHG) that has a significant global warming potential (GWP) impact on our climate and reducing these emissions is the best way to avoid the severest effects of climate change. Methane emissions from the energy sector are the second-largest cause of global warming today. 

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In Alberta, faulty wellbore integrity is accountable for the direct release of an average 84.3 million cubic meters of methane to the atmosphere annually or approximately 1.43 million tCO2e. One tonne of methane possesses twenty-five times the GWP of CO2 over 100 years.1  This fugitive methane gas volume is enough to service 34,521 single-family homes per year.2  Further, it has been reported by Petroleum Technology Alliance Canada (PTAC) that the AER estimate is believed to be unrealistically low as industry reporting is not monitored or enforced.3 

Since statistics were recorded by the AER commencing in the year 2000, a cumulative total of 27,153,900 tCO2e has been released to the atmosphere directly from surface casing vent flow or gas migration emissions from leaking wells.  In a recent report released through PTAC,  there are approximately 40,000 existing wells leaking to surface in Alberta and approximately 7% of new wells drilled will leak from the time they are drilled.4 

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References

(1) Government of Alberta, Carbon Offset Emissions Factor Handbook (2015)

(2) Canadian Gas Association, https://www.cga.ca/natural-gas-statistics/natural-gas-facts/

(3) Wassmuth, H., Boyer, G., InnoTech Alberta Inc., Cost Effective Wellsite Monitoring, report prepared for Petroleum Technology Alliance Canada, Contract No. 20200000504, Feb. 20, 2021.

(4) Wassmuth, H., Boyer, G., InnoTech Alberta Inc., Identify GHG Level for Well Repair to Identify Acceptable Leak Rate, report prepared for Petroleum Technology Alliance Canada, Contract No. 20200000504, Feb. 20, 2021.

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