Case Study | Oil & Gas | United Kingdom
Satellite Methane Leak Detection in the UK: A Damaged Gas Pipeline, Found from Space and Fixed
A methane leak emitting up to 1,400 kg/hr was sitting undetected beneath the surface of Wales and southwestern England. This is the first time a methane leak in the UK was ever detected from space. Download the case study to see exactly how.
What Made This Detection Possible
GHGSat’s DATA.SAT satellite monitoring service detected a methane emission exceeding 200 kg/hr at 25-meter spatial resolution, precise enough to trace the source to a specific pipeline, not just a general area. Once the emission was flagged, GHGSat re-tasked its satellite constellation to allocate additional observation capacity over the site. Five successful measurements were made over two months, tracking emission rates that ranged from 200 to 1,400 kg/hr and providing the temporal data needed to confirm the source and support ground response.
The result was the UK’s first-ever space-based methane emission detection and mitigation and the first peer-reviewed validation of high-resolution satellite-derived methane emissions from an active gas leak in the UK.
What You’ll Find in the Case Study
The case study tells the full story from initial detection to confirmed mitigation with the data, the methodology, and the operational details that make it replicable. Download it to know:
- How satellite methane leak detection identified a UK gas pipeline emission that ground surveys had not flagged and what the emission profile looked like across five measurements over two months
- Why the ESA Third-Party Missions program was the access pathway that made this detection possible, and what it means for organizations seeking satellite methane data in the UK
- How GHGSat re-tasked its constellation to concentrate observation capacity over a single site and what that capability means for operators managing high-risk or high-consequence assets
- The data that Wales & West Utilities received, what it told them, and how it supported the decision to deploy ground investigation teams
- Why this case is now part of the peer-reviewed scientific record and what the independent validation means for the credibility of satellite emissions data in regulatory and operational contexts
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The UK's First Space-Based Gas Leak: Found and Fixed
A satellite detected what ground surveys missed. A utility operator fixed it. And the findings entered the scientific record. Download the case study for the full detection methodology, the emissions data, and what it means for gas network operators managing aging infrastructure today.
