Twenty seven years later: methane seepage around failed wells at Kumzhinskoye gas condensate field, Nenets autonomous district, Russia

Summary The present paper investigates methane seepages around several cratered wells in the gas condensate field. Methane concentrations in this area appear to be independent of the surface cover and exhibits extremely high spatial variability. In contrast, methane concentrations in the undisturbed marshy floodplains are both lower and less spatially variable. While circumstantial evidence points to a connection between decades old emergency at gas condensate well and methane seepage, the exact mechanism is yet to be exposed.