Carbon footprint man-made infrastructures resulted in a net loss to the atmosphere, -0.6 Mg C ha y. Carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere, and the emissions of other GHGs, are often associated with the burning of fossil fuels, like natural gas, crude oil and coal. While this is harmful to the environment, carbon offsets can be purchased in an attempt to make up for these harmful effects. The Kyoto Protocol defines legally binding targets and timetables for cutting the GHG emissions of industrialized countries that ratified the Kyoto Protocol. Accordingly, from an economic or market perspective, one has to distinguish between a
Natural-gas processing associated with or dissolved in crude oil. Natural gas production absent any association with crude oil is classified as “non-associated.” In 2009, 89 percent of U.S. wellhead production of natural gas was non-associated. Natural-gas processing plants purify raw natural gas by removing common contaminants such as water, carbon dioxide (CO) and hydrogen sulfide (HS). Some of the substances which contaminate natural gas have economic value and are further processed or sold. A fully operational plant delivers pipeline-quality dry natural gas that can be used as fuel by residential, commercial and industrial consumers. Raw natural gas comes primarily from any one