Session 11. Oral Presentation for: Mapping multi-sectoral methane emissions across Queensland’s gas production areas
Joe Lane A *A
Joe Lane is a Senior Research Fellow at the University of Queensland Gas & Energy Transition Research Centre (UQ-GET), co-leading the Centre’s Decarbonisation research theme. His PhD and research focus are on environmental accounting and energy transition tradeoffs. |
Abstract
Presented on 28 May 2025: Session 11
If the evolution of methane satellite technology leads to credible estimates of inter-annual regional emission trends, the need for effective attribution (across sectors) of that top-down data could become critical. This poses a particular challenge for Queensland’s Surat Basin, given the complexity of disentangling the various emission sources – the highly distributed coal seam gas infrastructure is intermingled with grazing cattle, feedlots, farm dams, groundwater bores, landfills, wastewater treatment plants, coal mines and abandoned coal exploration holes. Emissions from many of those sources are poorly understood. We generate spatially disaggregated, time-series estimates of Queensland’s methane emissions, integrating the best available scientific knowledge across all source types, and novel summaries of previously unaccounted for methane sources. The results identify the challenges for effectively attributing top-down methane concentration measurements to sector-specific fluxes in the Surat Basin; and the risk that planners misunderstand causality of any long-term changes in regional methane production, as the quality of satellite-based estimates improves.
To access the Oral Presentation click the link on the right. To read the full paper click here
Keywords: coal seam gas, fugitives, gas production, greenhouse gas, methane emissions, quantum gas lidar, satellites, Surat Basin.
