Methane super-emitter intensities across global oil&gas basins

Super-emitting (>100 kg/h) methane sources contribute significantly to total emissions across several oil&gas basins, but the robust quantification and characterization of these sources remains uncertain in the absence of routine, transparent, and robust measurements. Quantification is further complicated by the intermittent nature of many oil&gas emission sources. Solving this quantification gap is particularly important given international regulations and initiatives that require low methane intensities, the ratio of methane emitted to energy produced, across the oil&gas supply chain by country and operator. The Tanager-1 satellite (launched August 2024) has shown capability of detection and quantification of the vast majority of methane super-emitters given adequate observing conditions and spatiotemporal coverage. Here, we show Carbon Mapper’s progress in mapping global super-emitter intensities through intensive tasking of the Tanager-1 satellite of the majority of oil&gas infrastructure across key oil&gas producing basins. We present a hierarchical Bayesian model to address issues of intermittency and detection limit when calculating super-emitter intensities across distinct geographic regions. With 30-m spatial resolution of Tanager-1, we attribute each detection to facility and equipment type, allowing for better understanding of drivers of intensities and how those drivers vary across basins. Building a more complete global picture of super-emitters with attribution to infrastructure will aid in constructing mitigation roadmaps for lower-intensity energy.