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Colorado State University (CSU) Professor Jeffrey Collett presented new data to the Colorado Air Quality Control Commission (AQCC) this week that his team collected over several years along the state’s Front Range measuring emissions from oil and natural gas development.

While the study is yet to be published in a peer-reviewed journal, the data that he presented showed very low methane emissions and benzene emissions on Colorado’s Front Range. The data come as the second phase of an ongoing project that started on the state’s Western Slope.

#1. Methane emissions below 1 percent of production

Collett’s team looked at emissions associated with several stages of the oil and natural gas development process and as the Denver Business Journal reports: “The lowest emissions are associated with fracking and the highest were during the liquid load out.”  However, it is also clear from Collett’s presentation that methane emissions levels are low during all stages of development. From Collett’s presentation to the commission:

“Nearly all methane emission rates observed from production sites were below 1% of methane produced, with a mean < 0.4%.”

Scientists have long noted that methane emissions need to be below 3.2 percent of production in order for natural gas to maintain its climate benefits. The measurements CSU observed on the Front Range are well below that.

#2: Benzene levels near well sites are lower than background levels

When it comes to benzene, activist groups frequently use dubious scientific measurements to exaggerate exposure levels. But Collett’s Front Range research found similar levels to View Full Article