Aerial surveys detect dozens of methane 'super-emitters' in Permian
Source: Reuters
Aerial surveys detect dozens of methane 'super-emitters' in Permian
Valerie Volcovici and Nichola Groom
Mon, January 24, 2022, 7:06 AM·3 min read
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Around 30 oil and gas facilities across the Permian Basin in Texas and New Mexico spewed large amounts of methane for three years, emitting the equivalent annual climate pollution from half a million cars, according to a report released on Monday.
The facilities, which include well pads, pipelines, compressor stations and processing facilities, were observed as "persistently" emitting large volumes of methane over the three years of aerial surveys done by the Environmental Defense Fund and research group Carbon Mapper.
Carbon Mapper is a non-profit organization backed by philanthropists including Michael Bloomberg that uses technology to see and measure emissions at the scale of individual facilities. The effort, an outgrowth of surveys NASA completed in California using methane-tracking planes, is meant to help polluting industries find and plug leaks.
The so-called "super-emitters," located in the most productive U.S. oil field, only account for .001% of the Permian Basin's oil and gas infrastructure but emit around 100,000 tonnes of methane per year.
Repairing those leaks offers companies an immediate opportunity to help achieve U.S. and international methane reduction targets and save around $26 million in escaped natural gas, the report said.
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