Last year, a remote well in Kazakhstan experienced one of the most significant methane leaks ever recorded, as revealed by a new analysis shared with BBC Verify.
The methane leak lasted for over six months, emitting an estimated 127,000 tonnes of the potent greenhouse gas
Methane, far more potent than carbon dioxide, poses a severe threat to the environment.
Buzachi Neft, the company responsible for the well, denies the severity of the leak, despite comparisons indicating its environmental impact is equivalent to that of over 717,000 petrol cars running for a year.
“This leak’s scale and duration are unusually large,” remarked Manfredi Caltagirone, head of the UN’s International Methane Emissions Observatory.
The leak, triggered by a blowout during drilling on June 9, 2023, continued until December when it was finally controlled.
Satellites detected high methane concentrations on 115 occasions during this period, confirming the enormity of the leak.
Luis Guanter from the Polytechnic University of Valencia, involved in verifying the leak, stated that only the Nord Stream sabotage incident resulted in a larger methane release.
Methane, responsible for about 30% of the global temperature rise since the Industrial Revolution, poses a significant challenge to climate stability.
Despite company claims that only a negligible amount of methane leaked, scientific evidence confirms vast emissions.
The Department of Ecology in the Mangistau region reported methane levels exceeding legal limits multiple times.
An official investigation attributed the accident to inadequate supervision by Buzachi Neft and failures by subcontractor Zaman Energo during drilling.
Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Energy acknowledged the complexity of addressing such leaks and emphasized the absence of a universal solution.
While Central Asia has seen previous methane leak incidents, the scale of the Mangistau region leak is unprecedented in human-related activities, highlighting the urgent need for enhanced mitigation efforts.
With Kazakhstan committing to reducing methane emissions as part of the Global Methane Pledge, the incident underscores the importance of global cooperation in combating climate change.
