WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 25th January, 2022) Data from airborne surveys reveal more than two dozen pipelines, processing plants, and other facilities in the US states of Texas and New Mexico have been releasing large amounts of methane pollution for years, the Environmental Defense Fund said on Monday.
"The data reveals that about 30 facilities - including pipelines, well pads, compressor stations and processing facilities - persistently emitted large volumes of methane over multiple years, and that repairing those leaks could immediately reduce 100,000 metric tons of methane per year," the group said in a press release linked to data tracked by Carbon Mapper. "The mitigation of these 30 super-emitters would prevent $26 million a year in wasted gas."
The Environmental Defense Fund and Carbon Mapper said the 30 facilities, which comprise less than .001% of the Permian Basin's oil and gas facilities, produce as much "near-term climate pollution" as about 500,000 passenger vehicles.
The insights, the release added, were generated from airborne surveys conducted between 2019 and 2021 using advanced remote sensing technology to track emissions from oil and gas production facilities.
In all, the Carbon Mapper research team discovered more than 1,000 super emitters in the area.
The Permian Basin is an oil-and-gas-producing area located in West Texas and southeastern New Mexico. According to the Railroad Commission of Texas, it is about 300 miles long and 250 miles wide with more than 7,000 fields.
