Energy companies use “gas flaring” to burn off gas and reduce pressure in chemical plants, but this practice harms the environment, so the World Bank and the EU began asking energy companies to use other methods – and began using NASA satellites to monitor gas flares. With support from the Fund, Tom Brown and Christina Last showed that some oil companies are using equipment to conceal gas flares from satellite cameras. Their investigation for The Guardian began during reporting on air pollution in Texas, when they developed sources including former officials and whistleblowers from the oil and gas industry who tipped them off to the existence of enclosed flares, designed to evade detection. Tips led the team to Colorado, where the state had recently announced the elimination of flaring, and pointed out the increased use of enclosed flares in the region. Using historical imagery, satellite data and reporting, Brown and Last identified enclosed flares. For one site, they obtained optical-gas imaging footage showing that flaring was occurring, despite the company claiming otherwise. Using website metadata, they confirmed that a network of U.S. companies began selling these devices in Europe after the EU announced its intentions to further regulate flaring and emissions.
Grantees uncover how oil and gas companies are concealing their emissions from satellite monitors to violate regulations
