Methane pollution is a significant issue in Romania, contributing to nearly one-sixth of the EU’s fugitive emissions from upstream oil and gas. A recent report also evaluated that Romania’s fugitive emissions from oil production might be underestimated by 2.5 times.
For the past three years, CATF and 2Celsius have traveled extensively across Romania, documenting methane emissions from the oil and gas sector at over 150 sites and uncovering significant emissions at more than 80% due to intentional venting and leaks. Using an optical gas imaging camera, we can make the invisible visible and demonstrate the widespread issue of methane pollution.
Last week, together with Foteini Stavropoulou and Elisabeth Lemaitre from Environemental Defense Fund Europe, we completed our sixth documenting campaign in the country. CATF’s thermographer Théophile Humann-Guilleminot showed in the field examples of wasteful and poor practices, like cold venting.
An analysis by Environmental Defense Fund Europe and 2Celsius estimated last year that avoiding all these wasteful and highly polluting techniques could avoid the release of up to 510 million cubic meters of gas into the atmosphere, covering up to 20% of Romania’s industrial gas consumption and saving companies around 230 million euros, all the while contributing to Romania’s energy security.
These types of methane emissions are easy to mitigate with readily available tools and technologies – and with methane over 80 times more potent than CO2 for global warming over a period of 20 years – it’s critical they are tackled as soon as possible.
With EDF’s MethaneSAT in orbit, we’ll soon gain access to precise, publicly available methane emissions data. This will deepen our understanding of regional emissions and identify contributions from specific oil and gas regions. By tracking emissions over time, it will also provide a clearer and more reliable picture of methane levels.
2Celsius contributes to this effort by mapping oil and gas infrastructure in Romania, addressing the lack of publicly accessible databases. Optical gas imaging (OGI) and field campaigns, like our recent trip, play a crucial role in mapping gas facilities, complementing data from MethaneSAT.
CATF has monitored over 650 sites in Europe since 2021 (and 180 in Romania), looking for methane leaks and intentional releases. The data is clear: methane pollution is happening everywhere.
#CutMethane #CutMethaneEU