UN sends warning to Chevron after plumes of methane found over Gorgon project
The United Nations has issued a warning to Chevron following the detection of significant methane plumes at its Gorgon LNG project in Western Australia. Satellite data indicates the emissions are far above standard limits, raising concerns about the company's environmental compliance.
Why it matters
Methane is a potent greenhouse gas, and this incident underscores the challenges of monitoring and regulating industrial emissions in the energy sector.
A satellite has detected unusually high methane volumes above Chevron's Gorgon project. ( Supplied: Chevron )
Huge clouds of methane have been detected by satellite over Chevron's Gorgon LNG project in northern WA, prompting a warning from the United Nations.
Methane is thought to be responsible for about 25 per cent of global warming.
The WA government is investigating the reports "to understand what compliance or regulatory measures may be required".
Link copied Share Share article Independent satellite monitoring has detected massive plumes of methane emerging from one of Australia's largest oil and gas complexes.
The persistent clouds above Chevron's Gorgon liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant on Barrow Island off Western Australia's Pilbara coast were picked up by five consecutive passes of the Tanager-1 satellite since November last year.
The most recent, in late August, recorded an average emission rate of about 7.8 tonnes of methane an hour.
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