NETL releases database of global oil, natural gas infrastructure information

The Office of Fossil Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) recently released its global oil and gas infrastructure (GOGI) inventory, which identifies more than 4.8 million individual features from more than 380 datasets in 194 countries.

It includes information about the type, age, status, owner and operator of infrastructure features such as wells, pipelines, and ports. The database is now available on NETL’s Energy Data eXchange (EDX).

“The quality, quantity, and accessibility of information about infrastructure varies,” Kelly Rose, researcher and Geology-Geospatial Team Lead with the NETL Office of Research & Development, said. “The new database integrates and standardizes the varying data sets into a global, open-access assessment and inventory of oil and gas infrastructure—a critical tool for predicting and assessing global methane emissions risks, identifying information gaps, evaluating economic costs, and supporting a range of critical decision-making needs.”

One of the primary goals of the project is to help identify and monitor methane leaks from natural gas infrastructure to prevent future leaks and mitigate the associated economic and environmental impacts, NETL said in a press release.

“That’s why a global assessment and inventory of open oil and natural gas infrastructure information is so important,” Rose said. “It can provide a framework to support advanced analyses, including predictions and assessments of global methane emissions and infrastructure risks.”