A slew of unmeasured methane leaks from platforms and pipelines off Australia’s coast have released large amounts of the dangerous greenhouse gas into the atmosphere.
The most recent case was at Santos’ John Brookes platform off Karratha, which was shut down by the industry regulator after a dangerous methane leak.
Methane, which is otherwise known euphemistically as “natural gas,” is almost 90 times worse than carbon dioxide for global warming.
A new study from Princeton University and Colorado State University has shown that current methods for estimating methane emissions from offshore oil and gas production severely underestimate gas released by the offshore fossil fuel industry.
Using the UK as a case study, the research concludes that greenhouse gas emissions from offshore gas and oil are wildly underestimated.
“Australia and the UK measure methane emissions in a similar way,” Friends of the Earth Australia’s Offshore Fossil Gas campaigner, Jeff Waters, said.
“This US study should ring very loud alarm bells here in Australia as well. The way we measure methane emissions has to change if we are to get a realistic picture of how much we are polluting the atmosphere.
“Australians can often be heard saying that our contribution to global warming is tiny because of our relatively small population, but how would the figures look if we added this methane leakage to our figures?” Jeff Waters asked.
Santos hasn’t responded to the study but just last month the company announced higher shareholder returns.
Santos released a simplified capital management framework targeting higher shareholder returns including a minimum annual return of at least 40 per cent of free cash flow.
“Santos’ strategy is to maintain a disciplined, low-cost operating model that is designed to deliver strong cash flows through the commodity price cycle,” the company said in a statement.