Methane gas plume spotted near Lloydminster prompts calls for better emissions regulation

Experts say a large methane gas plume spotted on the border of Alberta and Saskatchewan demonstrates the need for better emissions regulation.

A European Space Agency satellite picked up the plume near Lloydminster last month. Kayrros, an energy and environmental geo-analytics company, noticed and analyzed the data it captured.

A report from the firm estimated the plume had an emissions rate of 11 tonnes an hour, roughly equivalent to the annual emissions of 200 cars. 

Methane emissions are also more potent to global warming than carbon dioxide, especially in the 20 years after entering the atmosphere.

Christian Lelong, director of climate solutions for Kayrros, says regulators need to amp up efforts to prevent the creation of similar events.

"We often see these kinds of events in proximity to gas pipelines," Lelong said in an interview. "Now we have the tools to detect [greenhouse gasses] by region, company, and facility.

"The good news is this is a very important step in addressing the problem in helping companies and the industry as a whole in reducing its carbon footprint and working toward climate initiatives."

The Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) is responsible for overseeing pipeline and energy development, including controlled burns and gasses purposefully released into the atmosphere. 

The AER accesses data from the same satellite but said the cloud was not flagged. 

Regulations in Canada are mostly based on surveys that use optical gas imaging (OGI) cameras at oil and gas sites to detect sources of methane leaks.

But a study published last year suggests there is a stark difference between what the OGI surveys find and what new airplane-mounted technology can see. It surmised that policy and regulations relying on OGI could be missing a significant portion of emissions.

More than half of methane emissions were attributed to storage tanks, reciprocating compressors and unlit flares, according to the study. Storage tanks alone accounted for a quarter of methane emissions at oil and gas sites. 

These sources are harder to detect with OGI surveys because they are elevated and might be missed by a camera at ground level.

Matthew Johnson, the study's co-author and head of the energy and emissions research lab at Carleton University, said in an email he is not surprised by the recent plume's location.