methane emissions

A trio of new satellites that use infrared sensor technology are now flying around the Earth at a speed faster than 4 miles per second.

ExxonMobil has won an independent certification level for managing methane emissions in its New Mexico shale operations and is the first company to meet the standard for associated gas.

An analysis by researchers from Stanford University found leaks of methane from oil and gas drilling in the Permian Basin were many times higher than government estimates.

The company uses unmanned aerial vehicles to measure methane offshore.

A new generation of detectors will be many times better at tracking discharges of the dangerous greenhouse gas.

Oil producers encountering pockets of methane typically use flare stacks to burn off the vented gas. However, winds blowing across conventional open flame burners often result in 40% or more of the methane escaping into the air.

The agency’s new Global Methane Tracker analysis reports that methane emissions from the energy sector are 70% higher than official figures.

It seems obvious that to manage the reduction of methane emissions an operator needs to measure the emissions, report them accurately, and then take action to mitigate them. But what might seem obvious gets tricky: Just what matters, and how can an operator efficiently and accurately measure those factors?

Thousands of satellite images were scrutinized by monitoring company Kayrros to identify ultra-emitters of methane, greenhouse-gas sources that cannot be detected by terrestrial monitors. Up to 150 methane plumes a month were seen, some spreading for hundreds of kilometers.

The US government has made more than $1 billion available to qualified states. The program is part of the recently passed infrastructure law.