Turkmenistan - a global hotspot for methane emissions

Turkmenistan has been identified as a global hotspot for methane emissions, with an academic monitoring initiative revealing the country is home to over two-thirds of the world's 25 largest methane-emitting sites so far in 2025.

Researchers from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA's Stop Methane Project) analyzed data provided by the non-profit Carbon Mapper, which uses satellites to pinpoint specific sources of greenhouse gas emissions. Their findings indicate a significant concentration of major leaks in Turkmenistan's aging oil and natural gas infrastructure.

Key findings from the analysis:

• Dominance in Rankings: Of the top 25 global sites ranked by hourly emission rates, 17 are located in Turkmenistan.
• High-Volume Leaks: The two highest-emitting sites globally are situated in Turkmenistan's Esenguly District, in the Balkan Province near the Caspian Sea. These sites were estimated to be pumping out 10 million tons and 9.6 million tons of methane per hour, respectively.
• Regional Concentration: Multiple other high-pollution sites were confirmed in Balkanabat, also within the Balkan Province.
• Global Context: Other countries with more than one site in the top 25 included Venezuela and Iran.

Methane is a potent greenhouse gas considered a major driver of global warming. The researchers noted they focused their list on sources observed at least twice by satellites to ensure accuracy, meaning a few extremely high-emission sites observed only once were excluded from their list.

‍