Recent satellite imaging revealed that oil and gas companies consistently vent large amounts of the toxic chemical methane up in the air.
Methane is one of the most dangerous ingredients found in natural gas. Due to its destructive potential to the atmosphere, methane is considered second to carbon dioxide contributing to the overall greenhouse gas. With that said, releasing the chemical blatantly would damage and cause uncontrollable warming to our planet.
Laboratory of Climate and Environmental Sciences expert and author of the study Thomas Lauvaux said that methane levels were correlated with persistent discrepancies between official estimates and the field observations.
Methane Release in Oil and Gas Industry Bigger Than Expected
Lauvaux said in an NPR report that every time their team gathered data regarding methane emissions and inspected specified places, they always observed more emissions than the estimates they were supposed to see.
To see more of the evidence clearly, the team collaborated three years ago with the European Space Agency (ESA) to launch an imaging device called the TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI).
TROPOMI can measure methane levels throughout a 31-square-kilometer field in the atmosphere.
Lauvaux said that the observations collected from the TROPOMI did not meet the official estimated methane rates. The expert said that some pipelines are not expected to open and release gas straight to the atmosphere regularly.
However, the emissions seemed immeasurable. The experts investigated the problem for over two years, between 2019 and 2020. Based on their findings, over 1,800 large bursts of methane were recorded, most of which released a significant amount of methane in just an hour.
To further explain the origin of emissions, the team reached out to some gas companies. According to their sources, some releases were products of accidents. But most of the time, these emissions are intended. It was found that many companies effortlessly drive the emissions up in the sky during operations or repair processes.
Lauvaux explained that these intentional releases could be avoided. The expert emphasized that it may take some time, resources, and a lot of effort, but it could surely be done.
Satellite Imaging Captured Large Methane Bursts in These Countries
The massive bursts of methane are found frequently from companies located in Russia, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Iran, Algeria, and the United States. In a strange turn, countries with huge gas industries were observed with minimal releases, including Saudi Arabia.
During the time of the study, the accumulated large methane bursts contributed to 8 to 12 percent of the global methane emissions originating from oil and gas facilities.
Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) chief scientist Steven Hamburg said that huge measurements from these methane releases are dramatic, but it is necessary to be aware that the other 90 percent are also made up of the 'ordinary' leaks from the oil and gas infrastructures.
EDF will deploy its methane-detecting satellites in about a year. Once the launch commences, the satellite will capture smaller leaks through its sharper imaging technique. Other organizations are willing to develop their methane detectors soon alongside the EDF. The study was published in the journal Science, titled "Global assessment of oil and gas methane ultra-emitters."
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