![]() Turkmenistan could stop the leaks from ageing Soviet-era equipment and practices, they said, and the country could be the “world’s biggest methane reducer”. They said preventing or fixing the leaks represented a “huge opportunity” but that the lack of action was “infuriating”. Speaking freely about the repressive and authoritarian state is difficult but sources told the Guardian it was a “very depressing” situation, with Turkmenistan probably the worst country in the world in dealing with methane leaks. However, the country is also very vulnerable to the impacts of the climate crisis, with the likelihood of severe drought projected to increase “very significantly” over the 21st century and yields of major crops expected to fall. Until 2018, Turkmen citizens had received free gas and electricity. Turkmenistan is China’s second biggest supplier of gas, after Australia, and is planning to double its exports to the country. The number of super-emitter events there doubled to almost 60 between 20, with one recent super-emitter pouring out methane for almost six weeks. ![]() Kayrros also did some high-resolution monitoring of the North Bugdayly field in western Turkmenistan. Further undetected methane emissions will be coming from Turkmenistan’s offshore oil and gas installations in the Caspian Sea, but the ability of satellites to measure methane leaks over water is still being developed. Most of the facilities leaking the methane were owned by Turkmenoil, the national oil company, Kayrros said. Number of methane super-emitter events in Turkmenistan, US, Russia, Algeria and Kazakhstan recorded by satellite, 2019-2022 Satellites have also detected 840 super-emitting events, ie leaks from single wells, tanks or pipes at a rate of a few tonnes an hour or more, the most from any nation. The satellite data used by Kayrros to detect methane has been collected since the start of 2019 and Turkmenistan’s overall emissions show a level trend since then. Super-emissions from oil and gas installations were readily ended, Rostand said, by fixing valves or pipes or, at the very least, relighting flares: “It’s very simple to do, it has no cost for the citizen, and for the producers, the cost is completely marginal.” There is no comparable action in terms of short-term climate impacts.” “We just need the policymakers and investors to do their job, which is to crack down on methane emissions. “We know where the super emitters are and who is doing it,” he said. “Methane is responsible for almost half of short-term warming and has absolutely not been managed up to now – it was completely out of control,” said Antoine Rostand, the president of Kayrros. But the maintenance of infrastructure in Turkmenistan is very poor, according to experts. Action to stem leaks often pays for itself, as the gas captured can be sold. Tackling leaks from fossil fuel sites is the fastest and cheapest way to slash methane emissions, and therefore global heating. The two petrostates have close ties and there is pressure on the UAE to dispel doubts that a big oil and gas producer can deliver strong outcomes from the summit. Methane traps 80 times more heat than CO 2 over 20 years, making venting far worse for the climate.Įxperts told the Guardian that the Cop28 UN climate summit being hosted in the United Arab Emirates in December was an opportunity to drive methane-cutting action in Turkmenistan. Venting simply releases the invisible methane into the air unburned, which, until recent developments in satellite technology, had been hard to detect. ![]() Separate research suggests a switch from the flaring of methane to venting may be behind some of these vast outpourings.įlaring is used to burn unwanted gas, putting CO 2 into the atmosphere, but is easy to detect and has been increasingly frowned upon in recent years. The Guardian recently revealed that Turkmenistan was the worst in the world for methane “super emitting” leaks. Chart: Methane emissions from Turkmenistan’s fossil fuel fields ![]()
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