![]()
Fugitive methane emissions at shallow-water facilities in the US Gulf of Mexico (GOM) may occur at a significantly higher rate than what is typically documented at US onshore facilities. This is according to a new study led by nonprofit organization Carbon Mapper, which said its recent findings underscore the need for further offshore emissions monitoring and the effect mitigation efforts would have in the shallow-water sector. Conducted during the fall and spring of last year, the study used aircraft-based monitoring to survey 151 shallow-water platforms and hub facilities, or about 8% of all US shallow-water oil and gas assets. The researchers found that many of the locations had methane loss rates--the observed emissions compared with reported natural gas production--of between 23% and 66%. For comparison, other recent studies have calculated loss rates of 3.3% and 3.7% at onshore production sites and facilities in the Permian Basin, which spans Texas and New Mexico. Other contributors to the study include the University of Arizona, Arizona State University, University of Michigan, and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL).
Site News