HOUSTON — Pollution didn’t top the list of concerns as the oil and gas industry converged here this week, but slashing methane emissions is still on the radar for some companies and environmental critics.
Industry executives who attended the annual CERAWeek by S&P Global conference are preoccupied with the Iran war — and they’re in the midst of building natural gas pipelines and power plants to serve the fast-growing artificial intelligence industry. The Trump administration has also rolled back EPA regulations on methane from oil and gas operations.
At the same time, technology ranging from satellites to handheld cameras has made it easier to spot methane leaks that contribute to climate change. It also can be relatively cheap to fix them. That makes methane — the primary component of natural gas — a key focus for environmentalists who see so-called fugitive emissions as low-hanging fruit in the fight against climate change.
Methane traps about 80 times more heat than carbon dioxide over a 20-year period.
