Space-based monitoring of atmospheric methane concentrations over onshore upstream oil and gas facilities in India: A TROPOMI approach

Anthropogenic methane emissions are adversely impacting the global climate. Among the anthropogenic sources, oil and gas sectors are significant contributors to the atmospheric methane budget. Effectively controlling methane emissions from oil and gas installations requires precise quantification of their emission levels. However, in the Indian context, data on methane emissions or concentrations over oil and gas installations are still inadequate for comparison with the global level. The present study reports methane concentration levels over 54 upstream oil and gas facilities covering three major onland hydrocarbon-producing basins of India – the Cambay Basin, the Krishna-Godavari (K-G) Basin and the Assam-Arakan Fold Belt (AAFB). We utilized TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI) data to retrieve atmospheric methane concentrations over the oil and gas sites for the period April 2024 to March 2025. The study reveals a gradual increase in atmospheric methane concentrations across all installations during the monitoring period. The annual average methane levels observed over the facilities range from 1900 to 1964 ppb, with an overall mean of 1935 ppb, which is slightly higher than the local and global background values. Seasonal variations in atmospheric methane concentrations in the form of monsoon minima, post-monsoon maxima and winter highs are evident across all the installations. Geographically, methane concentrations are highest over the facilities of AAFB Basin, followed by the Cambay Basin, with the minimum in the K-G Basin. The study concludes that, in general, methane concentrations over the studied upstream oil and gas installations are not significantly high. However, many of the facilities necessitate greater operational controls to reduce the observed concentrations. The study is expected to lay the groundwork for emission quantification from India’s oil and gas sector and help achieving the goal of net-zero emissions.