INVESTING IN INFRASTRUCTURE

Infrastructure investment is a rare issue that Americans and our political leaders agree on. The recently passed Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act provides much needed funding to update infrastructure and address safety and climate issues. But as the world turns its focus toward renewable sources of energy, its important to note the importance of oil and natural gas.

Roads are constructed with asphalt. Bridges require maintenance, repair, and replacement using tons of American-made steel. Solar panels use photovoltaic cells sandwiched between shock absorbing copolymers to prevent debris and water damage. The $7.5 billion electric vehicle charging network requires plastic components and an immense amount of electricity. What do these vital elements of infrastructure have in common? They are all dependent on the production of oil and natural gas.

NATURAL GAS: A CLEANER SOLUTION

Natural gas stands out as a particularly promising source of energy because of its economic viability compared to renewable technologies and reduced environmental impact compared to other traditional fuels.

Scientists recently discovered how to detect methane emissions from space, and have found it leaking from oil wells, gas pipelines, processing plants, and landfills across the world.

Yasjka Meijer, the mission scientist of Europe’s greenhouse gas monitoring team, explained that while natural gas outperforms coal in terms of its carbon footprint, this is only true if leakage is kept to a minimum (under 4%). While many companies attest that their leakage remains below 1%, emissions monitoring data suggests it is closer to 6-12%.

REGULATIONS: FINDING A BALANCE

Western Energy Alliance President Kathleen Sgamma said burdensome regulations could stymie American energy production and force reliance on foreign resources from Russia or the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

Punitive regulations forcing U.S. oil and gas companies to halt production will hamper development of renewable technologies and increase production of coal or unregulated sources of oil and natural gas, causing greater environmental damage.

However, the future of energy production must be sustainable. Policy focused on reducing fugitive emissions is essential to minimize the effects of climate change while ensuring the supply of power and resources is uninterrupted. Oil and gas production addresses intermittency, flexibility, and peak demand issues that are still unresolved by alternative energy sources. Existing energy sources remain vital to U.S. infrastructure, manufacturing, and power reliability.

BioSqueeze® is the most effective method for eliminating fugitive emissions from oil and gas wells, sealing leakage pathways in both producing and plug and abandon wells.

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