Leaks account for half of major methane sources at largest US oilfield “” study

Leaks account for half of major methane sources at largest US oilfield “” study

WASHINGTON “” Malfunctioning equipment accounts for about half of the biggest sources of potent greenhouse gas methane emissions at the United States' largest oilfield, a study led by NASA showed on Wednesday.

Researchers found that repairing just 123 sources found to leak most persistently in the area they surveyed using sensor-equipped planes would reduce methane emissions by 55 tons (50 metric tons) an hour.

That amount is equivalent to 5.5 per cent of the official estimate of all methane emissions from oil and gas production in the entire United States.