Confidential documents leaked to the ABC and correspondence obtained under Freedom of Information by the Northern Territory Environment Centre have revealed the full scale of a major methane leak in Darwin.

Confidential documents leaked to the ABC and correspondence obtained under Freedom of Information by the Northern Territory Environment Centre have revealed the full scale of a major methane leak in Darwin.

A design fault in a Liquefied Natural Gas tank has been causing the leak which pumped out emissions estimated to be the equivalent of adding 8,300 new cars to the road every year.

And while the tank is now empty, it's expected to be back in use later this year as part of the $5.6 billion Barossa project. But will the tank be replaced or repaired?

• Guest: Kirsty Howey, Executive Director of the Environment Centre Northern Territory 
• Producers: Grace Stranger and Eddy Diamond

The NT Environmental Protection Authority provided a statement to the ABC: "The decision whether to repair the leak is a commercial decision made by Santos. The fugitive emissions do not include toxicants regulated by the NT EPA. While methane is a greenhouse gas, it is not considered to pose a risk to human health or the environment at the level of current emissions."