Remote sensing of methane leakage from natural gas and petroleum systems revisited

• Published in: Atmospheric chemistry and physics 2020-08, Vol.20 (15), p.9169-9182
• Main Authors: Schneising, Oliver, Buchwitz, Michael, Reuter, Maximilian, Vanselow, Steffen, Bovensmann, Heinrich, Burrows, John P
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Air pollution; Air pollution control; Carbon dioxide; Carbon neutrality; Climate change; Climate change mitigation; Coal; Coal combustion; Combustion; Coordinate transformations; Emissions; Emissions control; Energy; Energy industry; Estimates; Gas fields; Gas industry; Global warming; Greenhouse effect; Greenhouse gases; Hydraulic fracturing; Industrial plant emissions; Leakage; Methane; Methane emissions; Mitigation; Monitoring instruments; Natural gas; Natural gas fields; New technology; Oil and gas fields; Oil and gas industries; Oil and gas industry; Permian; Petroleum; Petroleum industry; Regions; Remote sensing; Satellites; Shale gas; Wind
• ISSN: 1680-7324; 1680-7316; 1680-7324
• DOI: 10.5194/acp-20-9169-2020

The switch from the use of coal to natural gas or oil for energy generation potentially reduces greenhouse gas emissions and thus the impact on global warming and climate change because of the higher energy creation per CO.sub.2 molecule emitted. However, the climate benefit over coal is offset by methane (CH.sub.4) leakage from natural gas and petroleum systems, which reverses the climate impact mitigation if the rate of fugitive emissions exceeds the compensation point at which the global warming resulting from the leakage and the benefit from the reduction of coal combustion coincide. Consequently, an accurate quantification of CH.sub.4 emissions from the oil and gas industry is essential to evaluate the suitability of natural gas and petroleum as bridging fuels on the way to a carbon-neutral future.