Literature review on natural seepage and human-induced leakage of methane at the North Sea and the Gulf of Mexico
Griffioen, J.; Geel, K. (2023). Literature review on natural seepage and human-induced leakage of methane at the North Sea and the Gulf of Mexico. TNO Repport, 2022 R12275. TNO: Utrecht. 51 pp.
Methane is a strong greenhouse gas and its emissions are of wide concern, especially in relation to climate change. The International Association of Oil and Gas Producers (IOGP) asked TNO to prepare a literature overview on the natural and man-induced methane emissions for the North Sea and the Gulf of Mexico. This study aims to present a structured overview of scientific, publicly available data on the natural and man-induced methane emissions for the North Sea and the Gulf of Mexico as related to release from the seabed. Chapter 1 presents the Introduction in which the framework of the project is explained, and Chapter 2 presents the methods employed. Chapter 3 provides background information on global methane emissions and a brief introduction to the biogeochemistry of marine methane. Chapters 4 and 5 present the findings for the North Sea and the Gulf of Mexico, respectively. In these chapters, the geology of the two oil and gas provinces is first explained along main lines. Subsequently, the natural seepage becomes addressed and, finally, the human-induced leakage. Atmospheric emissions also become addressed for both study areas and both sources. Site-specific data on methane fluxes is compiled as much as possible for both situations. Chapter 6 intercompares the findings and evaluates the data availability. Finally, Chapter 7 provides a concluding summary.
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