Louisiana Energy Companies Wasted $82 Million In Natural Gas, Study Finds

Louisiana Illuminator

April 13, 2023

A new environmental advocacy group analysis released Thursday found Louisiana’s oil and gas industry wasted over $82 million worth of natural gas in 2019, which is more than two-thirds of the state’s yearly residential consumption.

Commissioned by the Environmental Defense Fund, the analysis drew gas production data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration and fed it into a peer-reviewed emissions inventory modeling formula, EDF spokesperson Matt McGee said. 

The goal of the research was to try to determine how much methane, the primary compound in natural gas, is wasted and released into the atmosphere in Louisiana. The waste occurs when gas is flared, vented or leaked from oil and gas infrastructure.

Compared with carbon dioxide, methane causes much more harm to the atmosphere in the short term. It traps over 80 times more heat than carbon dioxide over a 20-year period and is responsible for more than 25% of the atmospheric warming the Earth experiences, according to research cited by the United Nations.