By Hiroko Tabuchi
The day the debt-ridden Texas oil producer MDC Energy filed for bankruptcy (click here) eight months ago, a tank at one of its wells was furiously leaking methane, a potent greenhouse gas, into the atmosphere. As of last week, dangerous, invisible gases were still spewing into the air.
By one estimate, the company would need more than $40 million to clean up its wells if they were permanently closed. But the debts of MDC’s parent company now exceed the value of its assets by more than $180 million.
In the months before its bankruptcy filing, though, the company managed to pay its chief executive $8.5 million in consulting fees, its top lender, the French investment bank Natixis, later alleged in bankruptcy court.
Oil and gas companies in the United States are hurtling toward bankruptcy at a pace not seen in years, driven under by a global price war and a pandemic that has slashed demand. And in the wake of this economic carnage is a potential environmental disaster — unprofitable wells that will be abandoned or left untended, even as they continue leaking planet-warming pollutants, and a costly bill for taxpayers to clean it all up....
No government regulation caused the issues the petroleum industry is facing today. They did it to themselves. They glut the markets with their products. When a Republican Congress passed the right for American energy to export their products, they glut the market. Their bankruptsies have absolutely nothing to do with regulation it is all because the regulations were removed from their industries.
Methane can become a poison when it is leaked.
When inhaled, it displaces ambient air, thus depriving the body of oxygen needed to breathe. While low concentrations are generally not harmful, higher concentrations lead to less oxygen availability and a range of symptoms may be experienced, including:
- Rapid breathing
- Increased heart rate
- Clumsiness and dizziness
- Decreased vision, especially in low lights
- Euphoria
- Decreased alertness
- Loss of memory
- Weakness
- Fatigue
- Emotional responses
- Nausea and vomiting
- Fainting and collapse
- Convulsions
- Coma
- Death
The short answer? Yes, natural gas does rise. (click here)
The longer answer is that it rises because of its composition. Natural gas is primarily composed of methane, a colorless and nearly odorless gas that’s lighter than air. As a result, it will gradually displace oxygenated air from the top down if enough of it is released in a confined space. In contrast, liquefied petroleum gases like propane are heavier than air, causing them to sink.
The companies must end these leaks. No methane should make it's way into a person's lungs. This is not an unreasonable request. Life matters.
