Experts are calling for independent monitoring and public disclosure after reports a major gas plant in Darwin had leaked hundreds of thousands of tonnes of methane into the air for nearly 20 years.
The ABC reported yesterday that the Darwin Liquified Natural Gas (DLNG) plant, which became operational in 2006, had been leaking vast quantities of methane in the 18 years of its operation, with regulators finding out about it in 2020.
The DLNG will soon be run by gas giant Santos as part of its offshore Barossa gas mining operation, but the ABC reported the leak was considered stable and would not be fixed by the company or the NT EPA.
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Now, experts are calling for urgent action and highlighting the dangers a methane leak potentially poses.
Associate Professor Fatemeh Salehi from Macquarie University said it appeared the leak sprang from a design flaw in the plant’s LNG storage tank.
“It is estimated that this failure has released hundreds of thousands of tonnes of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere,” Salehi said.
“Unlike carbon dioxide, which remains the focus of most climate policies, methane is far more damaging in the short term.
“It can trap much more heat, driving rapid warming and extreme weather events.
“This makes methane one of the most dangerous fugitive emissions in Australia’s energy sector.”
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Salehi also warned it posed a more immediate danger to workers and nearby communities.
“Methane is highly flammable, and in poorly ventilated areas, even small concentrations can ignite,” she said.
“When mixed with oxygen, it can create explosive atmospheres capable of causing catastrophic fires and extensive infrastructure damage.
“While the Darwin leak has occurred in open space, which reduces the immediate risk of disaster, the danger of ignition remains whenever large volumes of gas escape undetected, particularly near industrial facilities, pipelines, or populated areas.”
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She said the report that the information had been kept from the public for decades had been labelled “a serious failure”.
“With the plant’s environmental licence up for renewal, there is now a critical opportunity for stronger accountability, firm requirements to manage fugitive emissions, and guarantees that such a cover-up will never be repeated,” she said.
“Proper action is needed to protect both the climate and the safety of the Darwin community.”
The Australia Institute’s principal advisor, Mark Ogge, said the allegations amounted to a “national scandal”.
“It confirms that Australia’s key regulators are either grossly incompetent or have been captured by the gas industry, or both,” he said.
“That there are no consequences for gas companies failing to act on a major leak of methane for 20 years, and the Australian and NT governments are allowing Santos to keep using the leaking tank without fixing it, or even monitoring it properly, is a disgrace.”
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