據世界石油3月24日休斯敦報道，美國最大油田的甲烷排放量已經反彈，這是全球經濟復蘇過程中一個相當嚴峻的數據。

據非營利組織環境保護基金會(Environmental Defense Fund)的數據顯示，去年3-4月，由于原油價格暴跌，石油生產商關閉了油井，并削減了新油井的數量，二疊紀盆地的污染程度下降了60%。但EDF援引其二疊紀甲烷分析項目(Permian methane Analysis Project)的數據稱，隨著鉆探活動的增加，甲烷排放量現在恢復到了疫情前的水平。

在最初的20年里，甲烷在大氣中的能量大約是二氧化碳的80倍，喬·拜登總統已經將消除這種氣體的排放作為優先事項。但要做到這一點，就需要監管機構的監督和對美國頁巖油氣田管道的大量投資，因為在頁巖油氣田，生產商通常會燃燒或釋放作為更有價值原油副產品開采的天然氣，這樣做通常成本較低。

大多數大型生產商已承諾，將停止常規的燃除或燃燒天然氣，并采用更好的泄漏檢測方法來清理作業。盡管如此，EDF發現甲烷排放是一個長期存在的問題，該公司對橫跨西德克薩斯和新墨西哥東南部的二疊紀污染進行了大規模研究。

EDF在一份聲明中表示，二疊紀的運營商生產的天然氣歷來超過了該地區設施（包括上游和中游設施）所能管理的量，使系統變得緊張，導致美國油氣盆地排放量最高。EDF的科學家大衛里昂（davidlyon）表示，這個問題再也不能逃避了。

郝芬 譯自 世界石油

原文如下：

Permian methane emissions return to pre-pandemic levels

One rather grim data point in the economic recovery from the pandemic: Methane emissions from America’s largest oil field have rebounded.

Pollution from the Permian basin dropped 60% from March to April last year as oil producers shut in wells and cut back on new ones due to tumbling crude prices, according to the non-profit Environmental Defense Fund. But methane emissions are now back at pre-pandemic levels as drilling ramps up, EDF said, citing data from its Permian Methane Analysis Project.

Methane is about 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide over its first two decades in the atmosphere, and President Joe Biden has made eliminating emissions of the gas a priority. But doing so requires regulatory oversight and large investments in pipelines across America’s shale fields, where it’s often cheaper for producers often burn or release gas extracted as a byproduct of more-valuable crude.

Most large producers have pledged to clean up their operations by ending routine flaring, or burning gas, and employ better leak detection methods. Despite this, EDF has found methane emissions to be a persistent problem as it conducts a large-scale study of pollution in the Permian, which stretches across West Texas and southeastern New Mexico.

“Operators in the Permian have historically produced more gas than the region’s facilities – including both upstream and midstream – can manage, straining the system and resulting in the highest emissions observed from any U.S. oil and gas basin,” EDF said in a statement. This “can no longer fly under the policy radar,” said EDF scientist David Lyon.