It Happens Here Too: Methane Pollution in Europe’s Oil and Gas Network

Clean Air Task Force (CATF) conducted a multi-country survey of over 430 oil and gas sites across 15 European countries between February 2021 and March 2023 using optical gas imaging (OGI). The survey found evidence of methane emissions at 289 sites, identifying 881 sources of emissions. The report highlights that emissions occur at every stage of the supply chain, with storage tanks, vent stacks, unlit flares, and piping leaks being the most common sources. It specifically notes significant maintenance failures in Romania and continuous venting at various compressor stations across the bloc. CATF argues that voluntary industry commitments and self-reporting are insufficient, as observed emissions often contradict corporate claims. The report recommends that the EU adopt a comprehensive LDAR program, ban routine venting and flaring, establish a mandatory monitor, report, and verify (MRV) system, implement tough import standards for fossil fuels, and create a program to remediate abandoned wells.

• A survey of over 430 oil and gas sites across 15 European countries, including the UK, found methane emissions at 289 sites, indicating that pollution is widespread across the network.
• Storage tanks were identified as the most frequent source of methane emissions, with 185 out of 881 observed sources. Romania had the highest number of leaking tanks (92), followed by the UK (31) and Italy (21).
• Venting from equipment, vent stacks, and unlit flares was observed 453 times, often resulting from malfunctioning equipment or inefficient combustion in flares and compressor turbines.
• Miscellaneous leaks from facility piping, including rusted holes and faulty valves, were documented 404 times across all visited countries.
• Romania exhibits significant methane pollution from oil and gas wells, with one inspection of 16 wells in the Schilista oil field finding leaks in 15 of them.
• In Italy, CATF found emissions at 35 out of 46 visited sites, including continuous venting at the Snam-GNL Panigaglia LNG terminal and significant emissions at Snam-Stogit storage facilities in Minerbio.
• In Germany, emissions were detected at 16 of 33 visited sites, with notable continuous releases from the emergency blowout stack at the Gascade Mallnow compressor station between February 2021 and March 2023.
• The report argues that voluntary industry reporting is inadequate because there is no legal obligation to reduce emissions, and corporate rhetoric often contradicts observed ground-level pollution.
• The EU's gas import market covers over 51% of global production, meaning that implementing strong import standards could significantly reduce global methane emissions.

APA

Clean Air Task Force (2023). It Happens Here Too: Methane Pollution in Europe’s Oil and Gas Network. https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/05145938/it-happens-here-too-report-2023.pdf

Chicago

Clean Air Task Force. It Happens Here Too: Methane Pollution in Europe’s Oil and Gas Network. 2023. https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/05145938/it-happens-here-too-report-2023.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Clean Air Task Force |title=It Happens Here Too: Methane Pollution in Europe’s Oil and Gas Network |date=May 2023 |url=https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/05145938/it-happens-here-too-report-2023.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{cleanairtaskforce2023happens, author = {{Clean Air Task Force}}, title = {{It Happens Here Too: Methane Pollution in Europe’s Oil and Gas Network}}, institution = {Clean Air Task Force}, year = {2023}, month = may, url = {https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/05145938/it-happens-here-too-report-2023.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }