The home heating oil industry has a long and proud history, and Fuel Oil News has been there supporting it since 1935. It is an industry that has faced many challenges during that time. In its 77th year, Fuel Oil News is doing more than just holding
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/572773
AEC: METHANE LEAKS IN NATURAL-GAS SUPPLY CHAIN FAR EXCEED ESTIMATES, STUDY SAYS A little-noted portion of the chain of pipe- lines and equipment that delivers natural gas is responsible for a surprising amount of methane emissions, according to a study reported by The New York Times. "Natural-gas gathering facilities, which collect from multiple wells, lose about 100 billion cubic feet of natural gas a year, about eight times as much as estimates used by the Environmental Protection Agency, according to the study, which appeared in the journal Environmental Science & Technology," The Times wrote. " T h e n e w l y d i s c o v e r e d l e a k s , i f counted in the EPA inventory, would increase its entire system wide estimate by about 25%, said the Environmental Defense Fund, which sponsored the research as part of methane emissions studies it organized," the article contin- ues. "The gathering and processing sec- tor, a piece of the supply chain that most people don't even know exists, may be the biggest single fraction of emis- sions coming from natural gas," Mark Brownstein told The Times. He leads the Environmental Defense Fund's work on methane emissions. Methane is the main component of natural gas and has a more potent short-term effect on climate change than carbon dioxide, the article states. "The effect that the newfound emissions would have on climate change over 20 years, the Environmental Defense Fund said, would be similar to that of 37 coal-fired power plants," The Times wrote. Professor Anthony J. Marchese, a professor of mechanical engineering at Colorado State and the lead author of the new study, told The Times that the amount of gas that escapes from gathering facilities each year could heat 3.2 million homes. Wasting a potentially valuable resource, not to mention harming the environment, he said, mystified him. "Why would you ever vent it when you can use it to generate electricity?" he added. To read more about this story, and for a link to the original New York Times Article, visit American Energy Coalition.org. STUDY: OIL AND GAS STOCKS ARE HIGH PERFORMERS IN COLLEGE ENDOWMENTS Oil and natural gas company stocks out- performed all other asset classes held by college and university endowments, according to a new study conducted by Dr. Robert Shapiro, chairman of the eco- nomic consulting firm Sonecon, for API. "America's colleges and universi- ties have seen strong returns from their investments in America's oil and natural gas renaissance," said API Vice President for Regulatory and Economic Policy Kyle Isakower. "University and college invest- ments in oil and gas firms outperformed every other asset class examined in their endowments." Average annual returns on oil and natural gas company stocks over the last decade were 72% greater than on all U.S. equities and 89% greater than on all endowment assets over the same period, according to the study. Oil and natural gas company stocks held by college and university endowments produced aver- age annual returns of 13.4%, compared to 8.1% for real estate, 7.8% for all U.S. stocks, 4.9% for bonds, and 1.6% for 3-month Treasury bills. "Institutions of higher education depend on income from oil and natural gas investments, which also helps students who cannot afford full tuition," Isakower said. "The energy revolution taking place in America supports 9.8 million jobs and represents 8% of the U.S. economy. Affordable, abundant domestic natural gas resources have also made America a leader in reducing emissions and have helped drive carbon dioxide emissions down to 27-year lows." Isakower noted that the Sonecon study is the most recent in a series that have found that millions of Americans own and derive the benefits of oil and natural gas company stock, and that those stocks were also the highest performers for large public pension funds. API is the only national trade associa- tion representing all facets of the oil and natural gas industry. Calendar of Events OCTOBER, 2015 10 th Annual AltWheels Fleet Day Oct. 7 Four Points by Sheraton Norwood, Mass. Contact: Classic Communications: 508-698-6810 Email: info@classic-communications.com NACS Show October 11-14 Las Vegas Convention Center Las Vegas, Nev. www.nacsonline.com/NACSShow OPIS 7 th Annual RFS2, RINs & Biodiesel Forum October 15-16 Chicago Marriott Downtown Chicago. Ill. 888-301-2645 8 th Integer Emissions Summit USA & DEF Forum 2015 October 27-29 Hyatt Regency & Convention Center McCormick Place, Chicago, Ill. Contact: James Hobday: james.hob- day@integer-research.com NOVEMBER, 2015 SIGMA Annual Meeting November 9-11, 2015 Westin Copley Place Boston, Mass. 703-709-7000 DECEMBER, 2015 OPIS LCFS Workshop December 10-11 Grand Hyatt San Francisco, Calif. 415-398-1234 Reservations: 415-398-1234 DATELINE BREAKING NEWS 4 OCTOBER 2015 | FUEL OIL NEWS | www.fueloilnews.com