Natural Gas Industry Surprised It Could Be So Much Cleaner

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Vapor escapes from chimneys at a gas power plant in Rodniki Industrial Park, a former Bolshevik textile manufacturing center, in Rodniki, Russia, on Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2018. Cryptocurrencies have been pummeled by a wave of bad news, including the threat of more regulation from governments including the U.S., China, South Korea and India.Photographer: Andrey Rudakov/Bloomberg

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By Mathew Carr

February 20, 2018 at 12:01 AM UTC

Updated on

February 20, 2018 at 11:31 AM UTC

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The natural gas industry may be one of its own worst enemies.

Most energy executives underestimate how much they can cut emissions as they extract and transport natural gas, according to a survey by the Energy Institute. Producers can reduce greenhouse gas flows by 75 percent simply by improving practices in the supply chain of the fuel, which consists mainly of methane. About half of that can be cut at no net cost.