UC Berkeley Study Suggests Oil Production Could Help Reduce California Methane Emissions

A student-led research project at UC Berkeley is challenging conventional wisdom about oil production and climate policy in California. The study, guided by Professor Jamie Rector, found that natural oil seeps from underground reservoirs may be a far greater source of methane emissions than equipment leaks from oil operations and that drilling, in some cases, has reduced these emissions.

Rector reported that California has more than 120,000 plugged wells, along with tens of thousands of idle and active wells. Many were drilled over a century ago, often above major oil fields with naturally fractured geology. These natural fractures allow oil and gas to escape to the surface, especially in areas like the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles or offshore near Goleta, which rank among the most active seepage sites in the world.

Rector’s students concluded that natural seeps and orphaned wells together emit 50 times more methane than oil and gas equipment leaks in Southern California. If correct, California’s current push to restrict oil production could unintentionally make methane emissions worse. By depleting underground reservoirs, oil production can relieve pressure that fuels natural seepage.

Rector plans to submit the work for peer review and hopes it will lead to more targeted methane reduction strategies.

For California’s energy producers, the findings underscore an important point: responsible oil production may be part of the environmental solution, not the problem.

These findings align with a key point CIPA has long made, now reinforced by Professor Rector and his research team. CIPA will ensure this report and study are shared with regulators and policymakers, and will closely monitor whether further research confirms that drilling can directly reduce one of the state’s largest unmeasured sources of greenhouse gases.