Recently, the Laboratory of Climate and Environmental Sciences in France released data showing that the oil and gas industry regularly vents massive amounts of methane gas into the air.
Of all the gas emissions humans pump into the atmosphere, methane is the most potent contributor to global warming, resulting in 80 times more warming over twenty years compared to the same amount of carbon dioxide. Recent studies have estimated that methane emissions may account for up to 50% of the global rise in temperature to date.
"For years, every time we had data [on methane emissions] - we were flying over an area, we were driving around - we always found more emissions than we were supposed to see," said Thomas Lauvaux, a researcher with the French laboratory. "No one expects that pipelines are sometimes wide open, pouring gas into the atmosphere."
The study was conducted by the lab in partnership with the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA), and the energy consultancy company Kayrros.
Between 2019 and 2020, researchers recorded more than 1,800 methane releases from oil and gas pipelines, with many leaks involving the release of several tons of methane into the air, every hour.
Over the course of the study, these methane releases accounted for between 8 and 12% of global emissions from oil and gas. Oil and gas emissions as a whole account for roughly one-third of all methane emissions.
"We were not surprised to see leaks," Lauvaux said. "But these were giant leaks. It's quite a systemic problem."
Researchers say that representatives from oil and gas companies said that some of the "ultra-emitting events" occurred by accident, but most were deliberate. Pipeline components often need to be cleared in order for repairs and maintenance to be performed. However, Lauvaux says the gas could be captured before it can escape into the atmosphere.
"It can totally be done," he said. "It takes time, for sure, resources and staff. But it's doable. Absolutely."
The United States was among the countries that saw the most frequent ultra-emitting events, along with Turkmenistan, Russia, Iran, Kazakhstan, and Algeria. Other major gas-producing countries, like Saudi Arabia, saw very few methane releases, according to the lab's report.
While these huge leaks are shocking, environmental scientists say that they can distract from the "ordinary" methane leaks that account for the other 90% of emissions.
This study from the Laboratory of Climate and Environmental Sciences used orbiting satellites to gather data and is the first of its kind. Previously, there was no way to determine where methane leaks were coming from, but the French study is paving the way for more methane-tracking satellites in the future.
Due to the relative potency of its effects, capturing methane is often seen as the best way to begin combating global warming. Unlike carbon dioxide, capturing methane is directly profitable in that carbon dioxide is a waste product but methane that is captured rather than emitted can still be sold.