Massive methane emissions by oil and gas industry detected from space
Date:
February 3, 2022
Source:
CNRS
Summary:
For the first time ever on a global scale, using satellite imagery,
scientists have quantified volumes of massive methane emissions
due to fossil-fuel extraction activities and their impact on the
climate. Their findings partly explain why official inventories
generally underestimate the volume of these emissions. Stopping
these releases, be they accidental or deliberate, would save those
countries responsible billions of dollars.
FULL STORY ==========================================================================
An international study involving CNRS and CEA researchers and the company Kayrros has uncovered hundreds of major methane releases linked to global
oil and gas extraction activities. The team of scientists has shown that limiting volumes released would mitigate climate effects and save money -- billions of dollars for the main fossil-fuel-producing countries. Their
study is published in Science (4 February 2022).
==========================================================================
A major contributor to climate change, methane (CH4) has a global warming potential approximately 30 times higher than that of CO2, over a 100-year period. One quarter of anthropogenic emissions of this greenhouse gas
originate in worldwide extraction of coal, oil, and natural gas (of
which methane is the main component). A study in 2018 already revealed
that official US inventories greatly underestimated actual emissions
from oil and gas extraction and distribution activities.1 The observed discrepancy is apparently due to undeclared sporadic releases of large quantities of methane by industry operators.
An international research team led by the Laboratoire des Sciences
du Climat et de l'Environnement (CNRS / CEA / UVSQ), in cooperation
with the firm Kayrros,2 have achieved a world first by completing a
global tally of the largest emissions of methane into the atmosphere
by the fossil-fuel industry. These may be accidental or the result
of intentional venting associated with maintenance operations, which
account for very large releases. To obtain their data, the researchers methodically analysed thousands of daily images generated by the ESA's Sentinel-5P satellite over a two-year period. This allowed them to map
1,800 methane plumes around the globe, of which 1,200 were attributed
to fossil-fuel extraction. They deem the impact of such releases on
the climate comparable to that of 20 million vehicles on the road for
one year.
These emissions account for 10% of the total estimate for the
industry. Yet they are just the tip of the iceberg because the satellite
is only able to routinely detect the biggest plumes (>25 tonnes per
hour of CH4), which are also the most intermittent.3 The researchers demonstrate that these massive releases of methane are not randomly
located but always appear over particular oil and gas extraction
sites. As borne out by observations of these releases, whose volumes
depend on maintenance protocols and diligence in the repair of leaks,
the rules implemented by states and businesses play a major role.
But would preventing these emissions be so costly to oil and gas operators
that they prefer to pursue their current practices? By taking into account
the underlying social costs related to climate change and air quality,
as well as the monetary value of gas wasted, the study actually shows
that limiting them would yield billions of dollars in net savings for
the countries in question.
It emphasizes the need for a reliable atmospheric monitoring system to thoroughly track emissions and estimate the impact of local measures
aimed at abatement.
Notes 1 Assessment of methane emissions from the U.S. oil and gas supply
chain. R. A.
Alvarez et al., Science, 2018. DOI: 10.1126/science.aar7204 2 This study
also involved researchers from the De'partement d'Informatique de l'E'cole Normale Supe'rieure (CNRS/ENS-PSL/Inria) in France; Duke University, the University of Arizona and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL-Caltech)
in the US.
3Smaller-scale methane emissions invisible to the Sentinel-5P have been observed over certain regions at a higher resolution -- via airborne
remote- sensing campaigns, for example.
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for style and length.
========================================================================== Related Multimedia:
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Map_of_main_gas_pipelines_and_sources_of_methane_emissions_related_to_oil
and_gas_industry_operations ========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. T. Lauvaux, C. Giron, M. Mazzolini, A. d'Aspremont, R. Duren, D.
Cusworth, D. Shindell, P. Ciais. Global assessment of oil and
gas methane ultra-emitters. Science, 2022; 375 (6580): 557 DOI:
10.1126/ science.abj4351 ==========================================================================
Link to news story:
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/02/220203161130.htm
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