Hyperspectral remote sensing satellites: Equipping the oil and gas industry with "space-based eyes" for carbon emission monitoring.

From May 13th to 15th, the 2026 China Petroleum and Petrochemical Enterprises Information Technology Exchange Conference and Oil and Gas Industry Digitalization and Intelligent Development Summit Forum were held in Beijing. The conference, themed "Data and Reality Integration, Intelligent Future," focused on core areas such as the digital transformation of the petroleum and petrochemical industry, green and low-carbon development, and artificial intelligence in the oil and gas industry, jointly discussing new paths for high-quality development in the industry. Driven by both "dual carbon" goals and new industrialization, high-precision, wide-coverage, and traceable carbon emission monitoring across the entire oil and gas chain has become a key task for the coordinated advancement of digitalization and green development in the industry.

Photo: Scene from the 2026 China Petroleum and Petrochemical Enterprises Information Technology Exchange Conference and Oil and Gas Industry Digitalization and Intelligent Development Summit Forum

Xi'an Institute of Optics and Precision Mechanics CAS Aerospace Science and Technology Group Co.,LTD made its debut at this conference, highlighting the innovative applications and practical results of hyperspectral remote sensing in scenarios such as oil and gas methane leakage monitoring, carbon emission accounting, and full-chain carbon footprint management. Together with industry experts and oil and gas companies, they explored new paths for aerospace technology to empower the green and low-carbon transformation of the oil and gas industry.

The oil and gas industry covers all aspects of exploration and development, long-distance pipelines, refining, storage and transportation. Methane and carbon dioxide are the core greenhouse gases that need to be controlled. Methane's greenhouse effect is about 20 times that of carbon dioxide. Unorganized emissions from well sites, pipeline leaks, and storage tank volatilization are both environmental risks and key areas for carbon control.

Traditional monitoring relies on ground-based point equipment, manual inspections, and experience-based calculations. It has shortcomings such as large coverage blind spots, delayed response, difficulty in tracing sources, and insufficient data objectivity, making it difficult to meet the refined management and control needs of long-distance pipelines, remote oil and gas fields, and large refining and chemical parks.

In comparison,Hyperspectral remote sensing satelliteLike a "space vision eye".Through hundreds of fine spectral channels, it accurately captures the characteristic "spectral fingerprints" of gases such as methane and CO₂, enabling qualitative identification, quantitative inversion, and location tracking. It can quickly complete wide-area carbon source surveys, detailed investigations of key areas, and verification of abnormal leaks without ground contact or terrain or operational limitations.

Hyperspectral remote sensing satellites, with their unique advantages of integrated air-space-ground communication, wide coverage, high precision, and all-weather operation, are becoming a core technological force for solving the challenges of carbon emission monitoring in the oil and gas industry and supporting the achievement of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals.

Hyperspectral remote sensing satellites enable carbon management across the entire oil and gas industry chain:

In smart oil and gas fieldsSatellites can scan wellheads, stations, and gathering and transmission pipelines across the entire region to accurately identify micro-leaks of methane, transforming post-incident handling into pre-incident early warning and supporting the construction of green and intelligent oilfields.

In smart oil and gas pipeline networksDynamic monitoring of thousands of kilometers of pipelines enables rapid location of leaks and quantification of emission intensity. Combining digital twins and intelligent inspection, it ensures the safe and low-carbon operation of the pipeline network.

In the refining and storage parkIt can monitor fugitive emissions in three dimensions, accurately calculate the carbon emission intensity of devices and regions, and form verifiable and traceable carbon data to support environmental compliance and carbon footprint management.

Image: Xiguang-1 04 satellite (Quehua-1)

As a commercial aerospace company that independently develops hyperspectral satellites and provides remote sensing data services, CAS Xiguang Aerospace continues to deploy hyperspectral satellites for dual-carbon monitoring. In November 2024, the "..." independently developed by CAS Xiguang Aerospace was launched.Nishiko No. 1"04 satellite (Quehua-1) was successfully launched into orbit from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center."This satellite is the first high-resolution point-source methane monitoring commercial satellite in China.

Based on this, the "Xiguang Series" quantitative hyperspectral intelligent computing constellation is specially configured withDual-carbon monitoring hyperspectral satelliteThe system includes a comprehensive methane monitoring satellite, a wide-swath methane satellite, and a carbon dioxide monitoring satellite, which together form a powerful dual-carbon constellation system to help achieve the goal of carbon neutrality. It can provide long-term, stable, and comprehensive carbon monitoring data services for oil and gas, energy, and ecological fields, and continuously assist in the accurate monitoring of carbon emissions across the entire oil and gas industry chain.

With its core advantages of wide coverage, high precision, fast response, and traceability, hyperspectral remote sensing satellites are deeply integrated into the entire process of oil and gas production and operation, providing solid space-based support for carbon emission monitoring, leak control, carbon footprint accounting, and environmental compliance. This helps the oil and gas industry move towards a new stage of intelligent, green, and efficient high-quality development, and injects aerospace technology into the realization of the "dual carbon" goals.