Strolling across a paddock in regional Australia, there’s a threat that you can’t smell or see. A 10cm-wide borehole, which was drilled in the early 2000s and then abandoned, is spewing hundreds of tonnes of flammable methane into the atmosphere.
Dr Sebastian Hoerning, a gas expert at the University of Queensland, explained the gas wouldn’t be toxic to anyone in its vicinity unless they had a flame. “Let’s just say you wouldn’t want to have your smoko right there,” he told Yahoo News.
Fences have now been installed close by to mark its location in the paddock, which is located in Central Queensland’s Surat Basin. But it’s not the immediate danger to people in the area that is the primary concern of Hoerning and his team at the university’s Gas and Energy Transition Research Centre.
Researchers surprised by amount of methane emitted from hole
Their research revealed the hole is likely spewing 235 tonnes of greenhouse gas into the atmosphere every year — the equivalent of 10,000 cars — which is much more than the team expected to find. “It was a bit surprising,” he said.
The estimate was generated by wheeling a portable state-of-the-art Quantum Gas LiDAR system into the paddock. The solar-powered detection tower uses an infrared laser to monitor the methane from a distance and can produce real-time images of leakage.
Monitoring of the hole found “surprising” amounts of methane gas are being leaked. Source: University of Queensland
The single hole they analysed is likely not an isolated occurrence. According to Queensland government records analysed by the team, there are around 130,000 exploratory holes that were drilled across the state by coal mining companies.
While not all of them are leaking, incorrect or broken sealing on just a handful would have a huge impact on the amount of pollution Queensland is generating. Reducing methane is considered the fastest way to lower emissions and slow global warming because it is more effective at trapping heat over the short term.
“Even if it’s just half a per cent that leaks, it’s a problem,” Hoerning said.
How much will the problem cost to fix?
On average, each coal exploration hole is around 50 to 150 metres deep. According to Hoerning, plugging a single hole is “not rocket science” and would cost around $200,000.
“It’s very much low-hanging fruit, because it is simple to do. And it’s something we should do,” Hoerning said.
The sealing process would involve removing the topsoil to expose the hole, whilst being careful not to generate any sparks that could cause an explosion. Then, cement or heavy slurry would need to be poured inside to kill the well and plug it.
Hoerning said he hopes the research, and the awareness it creates, will lead to the government taking action to address the problem. The study was published in the journal Science of the Total Environment.
A Quantum Gas LiDAR system was used to measure gas coming from the hole. Source: University of Queensland
Concerns over major gas leak in Darwin
The release of the Queensland University research was unintentionally topical. It was published as energy giant Santos and the Northern Territory government have faced questioning over the leaking of methane at Darwin’s first liquefied natural gas plant. Some estimates suggest millions of tonnes of gas have been released from a known problem at the site.
At a march organised by the o New Gas Coalition NT on Wednesday, around 100 people took to the streets and protested in front of the NT Resources Week conference, calling for action to plug the leak.
Protesters took to the streets in Darwin to demand Santos take action to fix its leak. Source: Environment Centre NT
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