Refining and drilling for oil/gas is worse for the climate than burning it.

The upshot of new EPA data which shows methane releases from the oil and gas sector put it behind utilities but in front of transportation in its global warming potential:



Boosted By Methane Releases, Oil And Gas Sector Is Number Two in Global Warming Pollution

"When it comes to greenhouse gas emissions, power plants are the 800-pound gorilla in the room. But a new report from the Environmental Protection Agency shows that oil and natural gas are a pretty sizable monkey on our climate back as well.

Reporting for the first time on GHGs from petroleum and natural gas systems, the EPA this week said that the oil and gas sector ranked second in emissions to power plants, releasing 225 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent in 2011. More than a third of that came from methane, the main constituent of natural gas, and a far more potent global warming gas than carbon dioxide.

The oil and gas sector was responsible for 40 percent of total U.S. methane emissions. In terms of greenhouse gas equivalent, the sector’s overall emissions were only about 1/10th those of power plants."

http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2013/02/08/1561571/oil-gas-number-two/