Remote Assessment of Atmospheric Air Quality within Russia’s Largest Oil and Gas Fields (2019–2023)

The paper is devoted to the assessment of the atmospheric air quality within the largest oil and gas fields of the Russian Federation for the period 2019–2023. The initial data of the study are TROPOMI measurements (Sentinel-5P satellite) of such gases as carbon monoxide, formaldehyde, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide and methane. The measurements were obtained using the Google Earth Engine cloud platform for geospatial analysis of air pollution data within five selected model areas covering the zones of maximum concentration of oil and gas fields. The extent of the areas includes large cities (Surgut, Nizhnevartovsk, etc.), which are considered an integral part of the industrial oil and gas complex. The values of the buffer zone (20 km) around the common outer boundary of mining allotments of the corresponding were used as a backgroud reference for each site. The assessment results showed that nitrogen dioxide is the most representative component for remote analysis within the oil and gas fields. Maximum excesses within the allotments relative to the background reach 4.6–5%, which is associated with emissions in large cities specializing in oil and gas and at industrial sites of fields. Regarding the concentrations of carbon monoxide, formaldehyde, and methane, TROPOMI data do not indicate a noticeable contribution of the oil and gas industry to air pollution. At the same time, the identified feature of a consistent increase in methane concentrations (by an average of 2.8% for 2019–2023) reflects a global trend determined by an increase in average annual air temperatures. There is no clear contribution of oil and gas production to air pollution with sulfur dioxide; local excesses of concentrations in certain years relative to the background (up to 6.9–7.3%) may be associated with the spread of smoke plumes from large forest fires. The validity of the obtained results is confirmed by ground-based observations of nitrogen dioxide and methane concentrations. Remote assessment of atmospheric air quality can be used as a supplement to the existing system of industrial environmental monitoring at oil and gas fields.