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February
1,
2023
ABC
Gippsland / By
Natasha Schapova
Methane emissions from offshore oil and gas
severely under-reported, study finds
![](images/images_02_01_2023/pic3%20copy.jpg)
Esso and BHP discovered the Barracouta gas field in the Bass Strait in
1965.(Supplied)
An environmental group is concerned offshore oil and gas industries
are underestimating their emissions after an international study found
methane leaks were under-reported in the UK.
Key points:
- A study found UK offshore
oil and gas companies produced five times more methane emissions
than reported
- An environmental group is pushing
for more stringent emission regulation of offshore companies
- An engineering expert says other
methane emitters should be dealt with
Research from Princeton University and Colorado State University found
greenhouse gas emissions from the UK's offshore oil and gas industry
to be about five times higher than the number reported.
The report cited outdated or incorrect emission factors and incomplete
data to be behind the inaccurate numbers.
Environment group Friends of the Earth claims platforms and pipelines
off Australia's coast have also experienced under-reported methane
leaks which release greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
Information on the US Environmental Protection Agency website
says methane has a shorter-lasting effect on climate change but is
more than 25 times as potent as carbon dioxide and makes up for about
20 per cent of global emissions.
Friends of the Earth Australia offshore fossil gas campaigner Jeff
Waters said it was difficult to predict the amount of methane emitted
from offshore oil and gas as it was self-monitored.
"We have to rely on industries that
have proven to be untrustworthy in so many ways," he said.
"Friends of the Earth doesn't think that this industry, which has been
in breach of so many safety guidelines, and which releases so much gas
into the atmosphere, can be trusted."
Mr Waters said energy companies should not be responsible for
monitoring their emissions.
"We need the industry regulator to come down harder or for the
government to fund their industry regulator enough to be able to
measure methane emissions themselves," he said.
Victoria is home to 23 offshore platforms and installations in the
Bass Strait with a network of about 600 kilometres of underwater
pipelines, operated by ExxonMobil.
Bigger concerns
La Trobe University professor of practice in engineering, Chris Stoltz,
said there was not enough proof to conclude that energy companies were
deliberately misleading Australians.
"If it's incompetence or accidental, then certain authorities are
going to handle it and there's concern for that, but it's not the
major concern," he said.
"History shows that some industries are not as honest as others but
I'd rather not be too critical until there was more data that could
really justify that."
Professor Stoltz said methane emissions from offshore oil and gas were
minimal compared to other sources and environmental groups should
focus on more significant emitters.
"The amount of methane that's actually been emitted through this
accident, if it is an accident, is a hell of a lot less than from a
volcano and a hell of a lot less from what China's emitting," he said.
"So if they're really concerned about the impact this is going to have
on emissions generally in the world and what it's going to do for
rising temperatures and rising sea levels, then maybe they would be
better off going and knocking on China's door and saying, 'Hey
guys, how are you measuring methane? What are your CO2 or greenhouse
emissions?'"
Industry defends approach
The Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association (APPEA)
said the methane emissions of the oil and gas industry were lower than
in other sectors of the economy.
The industry group also said the sector produced less methane than oil
and gas producers in other nations.
"Fugitive emissions rates from Australian upstream oil and gas
operations in the national inventory are around 0.4 per cent of
production, with this figure verified by the CSRIO in a 2019 study," APPEA
chief executive Samantha McCullogh said.
"The oil and gas sector is committed to reducing methane emissions
further, employing rigorous leak detection and repair programs while
monitoring gas field infrastructure and utilising well integrity
processes as detailed in a recent APPEA report on methane actions."
She said a number of APPEA members had committed to meet or exceed the
Global Methane Pledge.
The ABC contacted ExxonMobil for comment but received no response.
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