Leaks of methane have been a massively underreported problem for decades. Countries and companies have been getting away with non reporting of extremely damaging methane escapes.

Methane is highly problematic for the atmosphere. Reportedly worse than the CO2 emitted from the burning of fossil fuels.

Methane Is Escaping From Oil/gas Facilities Every Day, All Day.

Worldwide methane is escaping from oil/gas facilities every day, all day. For example, it can be vented deliberately through pressure relief valves. When a system carrying methane reaches a maximum safety pressure, some methane is automatically released to reduce the pressure. These are small scale releases that may seem insignificant, but globally, they add up.

Then there are large scale mega leaks. Unintentional and often because of a major problem, such as a blow out on a rig. These are the leaks that are covered up by companies and governments. The kind of leaks that sometimes go on for days, perhaps weeks, pumping millions of tonnes of methane in to the atmosphere.

Methansat, launched 4th March 2024 is a highly advanced methane detecting satellite. With the ability to operate over much of the Earth, and collating information to direct the direction of focus, it looks for significant releases of the greenhouse causing gas.

As you might surmise, the Methanesat is not able to detect the tiny releases. Instead, they are looking for the big unintentional release of the gas as a result of failure of containment equipment, resulting in a but many have been deliberate.

About The Author
Jane Duncan
Chewells Contributor

Jane is passionate about the environment, she is our main contributor for the renewable industry blogs. She... »

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