Robert Kleinberg (Boston University/Columbia)

Methane Emissions Controls: Advice for the Environmental Protection Agency

Working Paper

Abstract

In 2016, the Obama administration pledged to reduce methane emissions from the oil and gas sector by 40-45% by 2025, representing a compound annual decline rate of about 6%.  However, the rate of methane emissions has changed slowly since the promulgation of natural gas emission control rules in 2012 and 2016, resulting in a compound annual decline rate of about 0.3%.  This disappointing outcome is mainly the result of a narrow scope of regulation that has not confronted the realities of oilfield operations.   I analyze why the rules were constructed as they were, examine the data that highlights the inadequacies of present regulations, explore the new biotechnologies that have improved the prospects for effective regulation, and propose a more efficient and effective regulatory regime.  This talk previews my submission to Docket ID EPA-HQ-OAR-2021-0295.  Suggestions for improvement would be most welcome.

Bio

Robert L. Kleinberg is Senior Research Scholar at the Columbia University Center on Global Energy Policy, and Senior Fellow at the Boston University Institute for Sustainable Energy.  His current interests include environmental and regulatory issues associated with the oil and gas industry.  From 1980 to 2018 Dr. Kleinberg was employed by Schlumberger, the premier oilfield service company, attaining the rank of Schlumberger Fellow, one of about a dozen to have held this rank in a workforce of 100,000.  From 1978 to 1980 he was a post-doctoral fellow at the Exxon Corporate Research Laboratory.  Dr. Kleinberg was educated at the University of California, Berkeley (B.S. Chemistry, 1971) and the University of California, San Diego (Ph.D. Physics, 1978).  Dr. Kleinberg has authored more than 120 academic and professional papers, holds 41 U.S. patents, and has invented several geophysical instruments that have been commercialized on a worldwide basis.  Dr. Kleinberg is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, and serves on the Board on Earth Sciences and Resources of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.