Key Quotations From IHS CERA Debunking of Howarth

Here are key quotations from the IHS CERA Report Debunking Howarth and sharply challenging the EPA 2010 upward revision estimate of methane leakage.

1. At page 9, IHS CERA state: "IHS data for the Haynesville Shale was misused and severely distorted in the Howarth paper.  The analysis included wells that were not in the flowback phase at all; double-counted a particularly prolific well; and in the single case of a well tested during the flowback process, assumed the methane was emitted when in fact it was captured for sale, as clearly stated in the IHS report.  Appendix 1 contains a letter sent to the editor of Climatic Change Letters [the journal that published Howarth] in response to the misuse of IHS data."

2. "Compounding this error [referring to another issue in preceding paragraph] is the assumption that all flowback methane is vented, when industry practice is to capture and market as much as possible, flaring much of the rest.  Vented emissions of the magnitudes estimated by Howarth would be extremely dangerous and subject to ignition.  The simple fact that fires are rare in all gas-producing areas suggests that this analysis grossly overestimates the quantities of methane that are leaking uncontrolled into the atmosphere at the well site."

The whole Report is a must read.