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Satellite-based survey of extreme methane emissions in the Permian basin.
- Source :
-
Science advances [Sci Adv] 2021 Jun 30; Vol. 7 (27). Date of Electronic Publication: 2021 Jun 30 (Print Publication: 2021). - Publication Year :
- 2021
-
Abstract
- Industrial emissions play a major role in the global methane budget. The Permian basin is thought to be responsible for almost half of the methane emissions from all U.S. oil- and gas-producing regions, but little is known about individual contributors, a prerequisite for mitigation. We use a new class of satellite measurements acquired during several days in 2019 and 2020 to perform the first regional-scale and high-resolution survey of methane sources in the Permian. We find an unexpectedly large number of extreme point sources (37 plumes with emission rates >500 kg hour <superscript>-1</superscript> ), which account for a range between 31 and 53% of the estimated emissions in the sampled area. Our analysis reveals that new facilities are major emitters in the area, often due to inefficient flaring operations (20% of detections). These results put current practices into question and are relevant to guide emission reduction efforts.<br /> (Copyright © 2021 The Authors, some rights reserved; exclusive licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science. No claim to original U.S. Government Works. Distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial License 4.0 (CC BY-NC).)
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 2375-2548
- Volume :
- 7
- Issue :
- 27
- Database :
- MEDLINE
- Journal :
- Science advances
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 34193415
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abf4507