Back to the Drawing Board, Rachel.

If there's one thing that petro-states know it's that honesty never pays. In fact, honesty almost always costs and sometimes the costs can be huge.

And, yes, by petro-states I mean Alberta, Saskatchewan and our federal government. They're incorrigible.

Alberta has been caught out underestimating methane leaks from the province's oil wells. Underestimating by about half.


New research suggests industry and government are badly underestimating Alberta's emissions of one of the most potent greenhouse gases.

The difference between official estimates and the measured results suggests the province's energy industry could have to double its planned methane emission cuts if Alberta is to meet its promised 45 per cent reduction.

Currently, industry is only required to report how much methane is released during flaring and venting. So-called fugitive emissions from equipment such as leaky valves have only been estimated.

In Lloydminster, results from the airborne tests found the type of heavy oil recovery used in that area released 3.6 times more methane than previously thought.

That same heavy oil technique is widely used elsewhere in Alberta, including the Peace River, Cold Lake and Athabasca regions.