Equipment that’s designed to cut methane emission is failing

By CATHY BUSSEWITZ
AP Energy Writer

Methane is the main ingredient in natural gas, and it packs about 80 times the climate-warming power of carbon dioxide. Aerial surveys have shown huge amounts of methane wafting from oil and gas fields. It’s a problem the Biden administration has sought to attack in its Inflation Reduction Act. The law provides funding for companies to upgrade equipment to combat emissions. Yet some of the best equipment for reducing emissions is already installed on oil and gas facilities. Critics say such equipment is failing to capture much of the methane and casting doubt on whether the Biden plan would go far to correct the problem.