Page 10 - FSUOGM Week 07 2021

FSUOGM POLICY FSUOGM

Satellite detects alarming methane

leaks in Turkmenistan

TURKMENISTAN A satellite reportedly looked down on central through the Canadian government to try to
Turkmenistan in early February and detected reach the operator, but with no success so far.
Methane is around 90 methane leaks from at least eight natural gas GHGSat, said Bloomberg, declined to disclose
times more potent a pipelines and unlit flares in the Galkynysh gas precise coordinates for the leaks in order to give
greenhouse gas than field, releasing as much as 10,000 kilograms per the Turkmenistan government space to address
CO2 over a 20-year hour of the supercharged greenhouse gas. the situation.
period. That amount of methane would have the While the Turkmen leak wasn’t the biggest
planet-warming impact of driving 250,000 leak GHGSat has detected to date, it was the first
internal-combustion cars running for a similar time it had captured as many as eight separate
amount of time, Stephane Germain, president of plumes in a single image. Four of the plumes
GHGSat Inc, the company that said it picked up were emissions from pipelines, likely caused by
on the leak, was cited as saying when explaining problems with valves meant to control or halt
to Bloomberg what was observed using imagery fuel flows, while the other four came from flares
produced by a new satellite capable of detecting meant to burn fuel that can’t be transported or
emissions from individual sites. processed, converting it into less-potent carbon
The company told how the satellite, GHGSat dioxide.
- C2 (aka "Hugo") first spotted the eight plumes Two of GHGSat’s three satellites can detect
of greenhouse gas, all within an area of 20 square methane leaking at a rate of 100 kilograms per
miles, on February 1. “It’s reasonable to say this hour in 50-square mile images, and the com-
happened for several hours,” Germain said in an pany plans to launch nine more through 2022.
interview. The European Space Agency uses satellite tech-
GHGSat launched its first satellite in 2016, nology that can detect leaks that release at least
but it wasn’t until last September that it had one 10,000 kilograms per hour. The satellite detec-
in orbit capable of picking out individual wells, tion equipment available to those working in the
pipelines and mines. In the fourth quarter of field is said to be improving rapidly.
2020 alone, according to Germain, the satellite Methane raises particular concern for those
detected hundreds of leaks. working to slow climate change. Odourless and
This isn’t the first time that GHGSat has colourless, it is seen as extremely difficult to
raised an emissions alarm regarding Turkmeni- detect and is a particularly potent greenhouse
stan. Last year, the company was taking satellite gas, capturing 25 times as much heat as carbon
measurements from a volcano in the western dioxide over the course of a century, and more
part of the country when it by chance hit upon than 80 times over 20 years.
enormous qualities of methane rising from the The International Energy Agency warned
nearby Korpezhe oil and gas field. last month that an estimated 10% drop in global
methane emissions in 2020 was mainly driven
Time is of the essence by lower production during the coronavirus
GHGSat sets out to work with refinery and crisis rather than the prevention of leaks. Those
pipeline operators to stop methane leaks to min- emissions may “rebound strongly” when global
imise emissions impacts. Its ability to commu- economic activity picks up.
nicate with Turkmenistan is limited, Germain In Central Asia, methane emissions rose
added in the interview, and time is of the essence three-fold between March 2020 and the end of
for stopping large leaks. The satellite company the year compared to the same period a year ear-
said it has been relying on diplomatic channels lier, according to GHGSat. ™

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