Methane Leaks
Oil & gas · 1 Dec 2025

Methane plume detected in China

On 1 Dec 2025, the EMIT - NASA satellite saw methane escaping at about 926 kg/h from an oil & gas site.

Satellite map of methane plume locations in China
Map imagery © Mapbox © OpenStreetMap © MaxarOpen the interactive map →

926 kg/h
± 257 kg/h (UNEP uncertainty)

If it continued at this rate for 24 hours it would release about 22.2 tonnes of methane.

Detected
1 Dec 2025 · 04:45 UTC
Satellite
EMIT - NASA
Sector
Oil & gas
Wind
Plume drifting towards the E · 2.0 m/s
Coordinates
37.36248, 94.13829
Open in Google Maps (satellite)
UNEP plume ID
16740d5f-0570-417a-988c-6a6d6fee67b0

Likely operator

PetroChina Plausible

PetroChina's Qinghai Oilfield operates the Qaidam basin.

Emitting site

CHN_S_010 · O&G facility (generic)
5 plumes detected at this site

Status

UNEP notified the government about this plume.

Nobody has reported contacting the operator through Methane Leaks yet.

Push for action

Find the operator's contact details and send a ready-made, evidence-based email in about two minutes.

Write to the operator →

Authorities you can notify

Is this attribution wrong?

If you operate this site, or know who does, tell us. Operators get a right of reply, and corrections are reviewed within a week.

Get alerts for CHN_S_010

We'll email you when UNEP publishes new plumes here. No account needed. Unsubscribe in one click.

We only use your email to send these alerts.

Cite as: UNEP IMEO MARS plume 16740d5f-0570-417a-988c-6a6d6fee67b0, via Methane Leaks (https://www.methaneleaks.com/plume/16740d5f-0570-417a-988c-6a6d6fee67b0), accessed 5 Oct 2026.