Shell's Shift To Gas Not So Clean After All; 3.5% Leak Rate Makes NG Dirtier Than Coal
After spending $50 billion on the world’s biggest bet on natural gas, Royal Dutch Shell Plc is at the forefront of Big Oil’s efforts to clean up its act. But what if the constant, insidious leaks of gas into the atmosphere actually make the fuel more polluting than coal?
Methane, the main component in natural gas, can seep into the air at various points between extraction and delivery. Trapping more heat than carbon dioxide, it’s a potent contributor to global warming. Yet credible data on the volumes released is scarce, and that’s spurring pressure from investors.
“This is such an important issue,” said Tim Goodman, a director at asset manager Hermes EOS who has urged oil companies to address climate matters in their quarterly updates. “The less methane is lost to the environment, the less dirty methane and natural gas is, and the longer gas might be a viable fuel.”
Shell last year bought BG Group Plc for $54 billion as it intensified its focus on gas. While the fuel emits half the CO2 of coal when burned, it becomes more polluting than coal if just 3.5 percent of the methane escapes, according to Shell. The company acknowledged its data on leaks needs (sic) to change if it’s to appease policy makers and shareholders at a time when greener and ever-cheaper alternative energies are attracting investors around the world.
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https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-12-20/as-shell-gambles-on-gas-leaks-cast-cloud-over-clean-credentials