Jakarta -— A report released Wednesday, April 23, by U.S.-based watchdog SkyTruth has identified the world’s most environmentally damaging offshore oil and gas operations. The report uses satellite technology to track oil slicks, methane flaring, and vessel emissions. The findings, to be presented at the upcoming Our Ocean Conference in Busan, mark the first public dataset of its kind to expose pollution from offshore fossil fuel infrastructure.
The report estimates that over 23 billion cubic meters of gas were flared offshore in 2023 alone, generating roughly 60 million metric tons of CO₂. Offshore vessel traffic contributed another 9 million metric tons—emissions, comparable to those of entire small nations.
The analysis found that just ten offshore sites were responsible for more than 216,000 gallons of oil slicks, with floating production and storage vessels (FxOs) singled out as disproportionately large polluters.
Nigeria emerged as a major hotspot, hosting half of the worst-performing FxOs globally. Additional polluting sites were found off the coasts of the UK, Norway, Angola, Iran, Mexico, and the UAE.
SkyTruth warns that while much of the public debate has focused on onshore oil risks, the environmental burden of offshore operations is often overlooked and poorly regulated. With nearly 75 per cent of new oil production projected to come from offshore sources, the organisation calls for urgent international oversight and stricter environmental enforcement.
“Despite the urgent climate crisis, offshore oil production continues to expand globally, often with little public scrutiny,” said Christian Thomas, Geospatial Engineer at SkyTruth and co-author of the report, in a media release.
Titled “Exposing the Environmental Costs of Offshore Oil: Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Oil Slicks, and Flaring”, the report draws on 16 months of global monitoring using SkyTruth’s Cerulean platform — an artificial intelligence-powered tool that processes satellite imagery to detect pollution events and identify sources.
The report underscores how digital tools can increase accountability in a sector long shrouded in opacity. “As satellite technology and open-source analytical tools continue to advance, they will drive unprecedented transparency and accountability in this historically opaque sector of the fossil fuel industry,” said Thomas. “The increasing deployment of FxOs to access deeper offshore reserves indicates this is not merely a legacy issue with ageing infrastructure, but a growing environmental challenge.” (nsh)
Banner photo: Vessel tracks of all vessels that visited offshore oil facilities in 2023. (Source: SkyTruth)
