Satellite Discovery of Anomalously Large Methane Point Sources From Oil/Gas Production

Rapid identification of anomalous methane sources in oil/gas fields could enable corrective action to fight climate change. The GHGSat-D satellite instrument measuring atmospheric methane with 50-meter spatial resolution was launched in 2016 to demonstrate space-based monitoring of methane point sources. Here we report the GHGSat-D discovery of an anomalously large, persistent methane source (10-43 metric tons per hour, detected in over 50% of observations) at a gas compressor station in Central Asia, together with additional sources (4-32 metric tons per hour) nearby. The TROPOMI satellite instrument confirms the magnitude of these large emissions going back to at least November 2017. We estimate that these sources released 142 +/- 34 metric kilotons of methane to the atmosphere from February 2018 through January 2019, comparable to the 4-month total emission from the well-documented Aliso Canyon blowout.