ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Un proyecto de norma propuesto por la Oficina de Administración de Tierras (Bureau of Land Management, BLM) obligaría a las empresas de energía a instalar nuevos equipos para captar el metano, en vez de soltarlo a la atmósfera, perderlo en fugas o quemarlo al aire.

Esta nueva regulación para los productores de petróleo y gas en tierras federales y tribales pudiera no sólo limpiar el aire, sino además inyectar dólares extra a la economía de Nuevo México.

La Oficina de Administración de Tierras (BLM, por sus siglas en inglés) emitió la semana pasada un proyecto de norma que pudiera exigir a las empresas energéticas instalar nueva tecnología para evitar el desfogue (“venting”), las fugas o la quema de metano al aire, en todos los sitios de perforación.

Jason Libersky, co-fundador y dueño de Quantigy Engineering, dice que captar el metano de los pozos podría significar un impulso económico para un deprimido mercado petrolero.

"Cuando el petróleo cuesta, digamos, 100 dólares por barril, el gas asociado será entre un 3 y un 5 por ciento de ganancia en el pozo. Y cuando está a unos 30 dólares el barril, el gas asociado puede andar entre el 20 y el 25 por ciento."

El BLM planea una serie de encuentros públicos sobre el proyecto de regulación, durante febrero y marzo. La propuesta forma parte del plan general del Presidente Obama para reducir la contaminación por metano a casi la mitad, en los próximos diez años.

Libersky dice que mucho del metano que se libera en las tierras de Nuevo México viene de pozos y equipo viejo. Afirma que para muchos productores el costo de instalación de equipo para captar el metano, podría ser recuperado pronto.

“Para un pozo que ha estado a la intemperie, produciendo durante 20 ó 30 años, puede ser tan fácil como re-sondear la tubería y luego cambiar algunas válvulas.”

La Agencia de Protección Ambiental (Environmental Protection Agency, EPA) reporta que, por ser un gas de invernadero, el metano es 25 veces más dañino que el dióxido de carbono. Además, la pérdida de metano ha costado a los pagadores de impuestos de Nuevo México casi 43 millones de dólares en regalías desde 2009. A nivel nacional, la suma es de unos 330 millones de dólares.

El texto (en inglés) del boceto de la regulación, está disponible en http://on.doi.gov/1UgvCvS.


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A round of public testimony wrapped up this week as part of renewed efforts by a company seeking permit approval in North Dakota for an underground pipeline carrying carbon emissions. Economic benefits were again touted but the plan still has opponents.

Last year, North Dakota's Public Service Commission denied a permit request from Summit Carbon Solutions, which wants to build a maze of pipelines in several Midwestern states. Emissions from ethanol plants would be captured for underground storage in North Dakota.

Skott Skokos, executive director of the Dakota Resource Council, said they remain unconvinced it would be a worthwhile project.

"It felt like déjà vu," Skokos observed. "I don't think Summit did anything to relax the concerns of the public."

Company officials have submitted a new application with a revised route as they try to ease concerns about safety and landowner rights. During comment periods, Summit leaders and other speakers discussed how the project would provide economic boosts, including corn prices. However, skeptics restated their concerns about potential ruptures and lasting negative effects on the landscape.

Skokos pointed out large carbon-capture projects like these have yet to prove themselves, noting smaller initiatives are not as likely to rile up opponents. He pointed to the Red Trail ethanol plant in North Dakota.

"They're storing it, basically, almost on-site, next to the facility and they're not affecting a bunch of landowners in the process," Skokos emphasized.

The Summit regulatory case has two upcoming public hearings in North Dakota, one scheduled for May 24 and the other on June 4. The company has run into similar opposition and permitting headwinds in other states, including South Dakota.

Leaders concerned about pollution and climate change are raising awareness about a ballot measure this fall on whether the state should mandate buffer zones around new oil and gas wells.

Voters will be asked to uphold or revoke Senate Bill 1173, which would require a 3,200 setback around any new well near schools, neighborhoods and hospitals.

Meghan Sahli-Wells, former mayor of Culver City and a leader with the group Elected Officials to Protect America, fought to phase out the Inglewood oil field and said no community should be a sacrifice zone.

"A study from Harvard found that in California 34,000 people have died in 2018, prematurely from fossil fuel air pollution," Sahli-Wells pointed out. "These figures are three times higher than other studies."

The Stop the Energy Shutdown campaign, supported by the California Independent Petroleum Association, opposes the setback rule, arguing it could constrict local supply and cost jobs in the industry. A court put the bill on hold pending the outcome of the November election. A "yes" vote would keep the setbacks. A "no" vote would rescind them.

Clean energy advocates are also speaking out against companies operating older low-producing wells rather than pay to shut them down and seal them up properly.

Ahmad Zahra, a city council member in Fullerton, said Assembly Bill 2716 would incentivize their closure by charging companies $10,000 a day to operate so-called "stripper wells."

"We have over 40,000 oil wells currently sitting orphaned or idle, leaking methane and volatile organic compounds into the air, water and soil," Zahra emphasized.

Other states are following California's lead. Rep. Debbie Sariñana, D-Albuquerque, New Mexico, is sponsoring a bill to require setbacks near sensitive locations since more than 32,000 children in the state attend school within a mile of an oil and gas extraction site.

"Over 80 schools in northwestern New Mexico, where the San Juan Basin and the southeastern New Mexico the Permian Basin, are within one mile of an oil and gas well," Sariñana noted. "Some schools are surrounded by dozens and even hundreds of wells within a single mile."

The construction of more solar farms in the U.S. has been contentious but a new survey shows their size makes a difference in whether solar projects are favored by neighbors.

South Dakota's largest solar installation, the Wild Springs project in New Underwood, began operations in March and covers more than 1.5 square miles. The survey showed projects under 100 megawatts are generally favored by neighbors, while larger ones like Wild Springs are unpopular.

Kristi Pritzkau, finance officer for the City of New Underwood, said the construction traffic was tough on the town of just over 600 but the project's builder, National Grid Renewables, is giving back to the community.

"They had to use our well, so they paid for the water, and they paid for a new pump for it, too," Pritzkau pointed out. "They've been really great with the city."

Prtizkau noted the company donated to the town's pool and Lions Club and has created a school scholarship program, all part of the more than $500,000 of charitable giving it has promised in the project's first 20 years of operation. It is also expected to bring in $12 million of tax revenue to the county in the same time frame.

Sioux Falls-based Missouri River Energy Services has plans to build a new solar project near Brookings and build a transmission line from South Dakota into Minnesota.

Tim Blodgett, vice president of member services and communications for the company, said federal grant programs and tax credits provide incentives and South Dakota produces more energy than it can use.

"With the development of more wind, the development of solar, there's a lot planned right now to get these resources out of this area," Blodgett explained. "Into Minneapolis and other places where there's larger demand for the energy."

Currently, more than half the state's power generation comes from wind, followed by hydropower.


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