Page 6 - DMEA Week 43 2022

DMEA SECURITY & POLICY DMEA

Orbiting Nasa instrument detects

methane “super-emitters” in Iran

MIDDLE EAST AN orbital Nasa instrument has detected large, is a byproduct of decomposition at landfills.
worldwide emissions of methane, a potent “Some of the plumes EMIT [Nasa’s Earth
greenhouse gas (GHG). “Super-emitters” were Surface Mineral Dust Investigation] detected
identified in countries such as Turkmenistan are among the largest ever seen – unlike any-
and Iran. thing that has ever been observed from space,”
In all, the device, called an imaging spec- said Andrew Thorpe, a JPL research technolo-
trometer, has exposed more than 50 methane gist leading the methane studies.
“super-emitters” in Central Asia, the Middle In comparison to CO2, which remains in
East and southwestern US since it was installed the atmosphere for centuries, methane remains
in July aboard the International Space Station, for only about a decade. Achieving decreases in
Nasa said on October 26. Methane commonly methane emissions thus has a more immediate
pours out of sprawling oil and gas facilities and influence on global warming.
large landfills. Nasa said EMIT might uncover hundreds
Examples of newly imaged methane of methane super-emitters before its year-long
super-emitters discovered by the spectrometer mission finishes.
were presented by Nasa’s Jet Propulsion Labo- The trick is getting governments to act to shut
ratory (JPL), shortly before news broke that the down the emissions once they have been identi-
EU seems set to break its promise to cut methane fied. In recent years, scientists working for other
emissions by 30% by 2030.. They included a clus- projects monitoring methane emissions from
ter of 12 plumes from oil and gas infrastructure space have complained that remote Turkmen-
in Turkmenistan, with some plumes stretching istan, for instance, has not responded to their
more than 20 miles (32 km). Scientists estimated enquiries. ™
the plumes collectively spew methane at a rate
of 111,000 pounds (50,400 kilograms) per hour.
Such a rate rivals the peak flow from the 2015
Aliso Canyon gas field blowout near Los Ange-
les, recorded as one of the largest accidental
methane releases in US history.
Two other large emitters were an oilfield in
New Mexico, and a waste-processing complex
in Iran, emitting nearly 60,000 pounds (29,000
kilograms) of methane per hour combined. JPL
officials said neither were known to scientists
before this latest research.
The Iran footage shows a plume of methane
rising that is at least three miles (4.8 km) long
from a major landfill south of Tehran. Methane Methane plume from a landfill south of Tehran (Photo: JPL, Nasa/Google Earth)

Iraq replaces oil minister as

new government approved

MIDDLE EAST IRAQI lawmakers this week gave their approval Sami as Finance Minister. Abdul Ghani is an
to the formation of a new government, with new oil sector veteran, having previously served as
Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani director-general of the state-run South Oil Co.
selecting heads for 21 ministries. Most notably, (SOC) and chairman of Basra Gas Co. (BGC).
Hayan Abdul Ghani replaced Ihsan Abdul Jab- With the country’s political landscape having
bar as Oil Minister, while retaining Fuad Hus- been in stasis for the last year, the government
sein as Foreign Minister and appointing Taif will enter office with a busy in-tray.

P6 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 43 27•October•2022