natural gas

Natural Gas Building Boom Fuels Climate Worries, Enrages Landowners

7:53am July 17, 2017

Companies are asking the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to approve thousands of miles of pipelines from Appalachia. It's an agency that almost never says no.

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A crew works on a drilling rig at a well site for shale-based natural gas in Zelienople, Pa., in 2012.

Senators Reject Effort To Roll Back Greenhouse Gas Emissions Rule

5:48pm May 10, 2017

by Merrit Kennedy

It's a rare victory for environmentalists so far under President Trump. The Senate rejection to rolling back an Obama-era regulation was close — tipping after three Republican senators voted no.

Oil pump jacks work behind a natural gas flare near Watford City, N.D., in 2014. The oil and gas industry is lobbying lawmakers to repeal a rule that aims to limit the emissions of methane, the chief component of natural gas.

Inside The Debate Over Repealing Curbs On Methane Leaks

5:14pm May 03, 2017

by Nathan Rott

A deadline is approaching for lawmakers to undo an Obama-era regulation that aims to limit the emissions of methane — a powerful greenhouse gas — from energy production sites on public lands.

Britain expects to go 24 hours without using coal to generate electricity Friday. It would be the first full day since the Industrial Revolution.

U.K. May Have 24 Hours Without Coal Power

5:50pm April 21, 2017

by Jason Slotkin

The country's National Grid announced Friday it was on its way to a full day without requiring its coal plants to produce power. Britain plans to eliminate the energy source by 2025.

NET Power has built carbon capture technology into its power plant outside Houston, which will generate electricity by burning natural gas. The demonstration project should be fully operational later this year, according to NET Power.

Natural Gas Plant Makes A Play For Coal's Market, Using 'Clean' Technology

5:52pm April 10, 2017

by Christopher Joyce

The idea behind "clean coal" is technology that would capture for reuse most of the carbon dioxide emitted by coal-burning power plants. Entrepreneurs aim to use similar tech to clean natural gas.

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Workers move equipment at a natural gas well site near Burlington, Pa., in 2010. A federal report said Thursday natural gas production is on track to make the U.S. a net exporter of energy by about 2030.

National

U.S. Likely To Become Net Exporter Of Energy, Says Federal Forecast

7:44pm January 05, 2017

by Jeff Brady

The Energy Information Administration reports the shift will probably happen by 2030, and it credits domestic natural gas production. The agency says it is watching variables such as new technology.

A natural gas drilling rig's lights shimmer in the evening light near Silt, Colo. Methane is the main component of natural gas, and studies show some methane escapes from leaky oil and gas operations.

Methane's On The Rise, But Regulations To Stop Gas Leaks Still Debated

5:16pm January 02, 2017

by Christopher Joyce

Scientists concede that oil and gas production is only partly to blame for the 3 percent surge in the greenhouse gas in the last decade. Obama tightened rules on the industry. Will Trump repeal them?

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Across the Ohio River from Powhatan Transportation Center — owned by Murray Energy — is a power plant that services mines in West Virginia.

In Ohio Coal Country, Job Prospects Lie With Neither Coal Nor Trump's Promises

5:15pm December 13, 2016

by NPR Staff

Donald Trump has made huge promises for creating coal jobs. Not many really think he can deliver. Instead, hopes are high for a new plant in Ohio that converts natural gas into plastic pellets.

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A contractor prepares to cut off the top of a coal bed methane well near Gillette, Wyo., in 2015. It's one of thousands of abandoned, plugged wells sprinkled throughout Wyoming and Colorado.

Danger Below? New Properties Hide Abandoned Oil And Gas Wells

1:53pm May 30, 2016

by Stephanie Joyce

Around the country, houses, schools and shopping centers are being built on old oil and gas fields — and hidden underground are millions of abandoned wells that are not monitored for leaks.

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A crew works in early February to stop the flow of gas from the leaking gas well at the Aliso Canyon storage facility.

Science

Leaking Natural Gas Well In California Is Permanently Sealed

3:21pm February 18, 2016

by Camila Domonoske

After spewing methane into the atmosphere for months, a storage well near Porter Ranch, Los Angeles, has been permanently sealed and taken out of service, state officials and the gas utility say.