Global declines of offshore gas flaring inadequate to meet the 2030 goal

Yongxue Liu (), Yuling Pu, Xueying Hu, Yanzhu Dong, Wei Wu, Chuanmin Hu, Yuzhong Zhang and Songhan Wang
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Yongxue Liu: Nanjing University
Yuling Pu: Nanjing University
Xueying Hu: Nanjing University
Yanzhu Dong: Nanjing University
Wei Wu: Nanjing University
Chuanmin Hu: University of South Florida
Yuzhong Zhang: Westlake University
Songhan Wang: Nanjing Agricultural University

Nature Sustainability, 2023, vol. 6, issue 9, 1095-1102

Abstract: Abstract Monitoring of gas flaring (GF)—the burning of natural gas associated with oil extraction—over most oil- and gas-producing areas is challenging due to high costs or difficult field investigations. As GF contributes to both global warming and air pollution, an up-to-date picture (locations, emissions and trends) of global offshore GF can help countries’ energy decarbonization efforts substantially. Although high-resolution satellite sensors regularly capture high-temperature signals from GF, retrieving spatially explicit information and estimating GF volumes from petabyte images remain challenging. Here we developed a monitoring framework and compiled a 20 m resolution inventory of offshore GF sites by analysing ~8.53 million Sentinel-2 images. A robust model (R2 > 0.99) was established to estimate offshore GF volumes from Sentinel-2 metrics. Our findings reveal that Sentinel-2 can pinpoint global offshore GFs to support scientifically sound decision-making; a vital few (~20%) sites are responsible for >80% of offshore GF volumes, calling for more targeted regulations; and the offshore GF volumes have declined by 26.4% from 2016 to 2021. We conclude that the Zero Routine Flaring Initiative by the Global Gas Flaring Reduction Partnership committing governments and oil companies to end routine flaring by no later than 2030 could be 5 years behind schedule.

Date: 2023
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DOI: 10.1038/s41893-023-01125-5

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