The Russian natural gas plant is burning off its supply in large quantities because of European Union sanctions. Instead of exporting the fuel as liquified natural gas to Germany, the plant at Portovya is burning it away, without energy being taken from it.
For more than a month, the plant has been burning through about $10 million of gas a day. The amount of CO2 produced by about 1800 gas cars a year is equivalent to the daily carbon dioxide emissions from the huge gas flare.
Climate scientists worry about the soot that comes from the carbon emissions. The melting of polar ice could be worsened by soot in the northern part of the planet.
When the war started, the Portovya facility was under construction. It was going to be built to process natural gas into a liquid form and send it to Germany and other European countries. Since late July, only 20% of the capacity has been transported.
European countries and the US have imposed sanctions on imports of oil and gas from Russia. The EU wants to be less dependent on Russian gas in the next year. Russia cut off a lot of Europe's gas supply.
It is not clear why Russia is opting to flare the gas. The research and analysis company may have had ulterior motives. According to the report, the burning could be the result of an uncoordinated system or part of testing procedures. The size and duration of the flare seem extreme for either explanation.
The intent could be political. If friendly political relations resume, the flaring flame could be a sign that gas is ready to flow to Europe.
Others have a different point of view. The German ambassador to the UK said that Russia was burning the gas because it couldn't sell it.
Jessica McCarty is an expert on satellite data and natural resource use at Miami University in Ohio. We saw a huge peak in June. She said that it has stayed very high.
The first signs of something odd happened when people noticed a large flare glow on the horizon.
Methane is 25 times as potent a greenhouse gas as CO2 and blowing it up is a better option. If natural gas isn't going to be used to generate energy, then it's better to not produce it at all. Coal burning has been increased by the EU in order to offset the deficit from Russia.
The recent increase in flaring by the Portovya facility is worrying at a time when the world needs to be cutting greenhouse gas emissions.
Black carbon can speed up ice melt at the poles when it comes from somewhere as far north as Russia. Matthew Johnson, an emissions researcher at Carleton University in Canada, said that the transport of black carbon northward where it deposits on snow and ice is a concern.
He said that some estimates put flaring as the main source of black carbon deposition. Flare ups in this region are not good.
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