Night-time satellite heat detections over the flare field near -6.86, 12.39 in Angola show one cluster lit on 7 of the last 30 nights (28 August to 26 September 2026), peaking at 43.02 MW of fire radiative power, from 49 hot-night detections. The cluster sits 0.17 km from a site in the 2024 VIIRS Nightfire annual flare summary, which logged 0.578 billion cubic metres at that site — an independent provider record that the spot is a known flare.
What it may not be: the sensor sees heat, not equipment. A furnace, refinery or kiln would look much the same; only persistence and the known-site match argue 'flare'. The heat figure is not a volume, and the instrument can saturate on large flares. Unlit venting and cold methane releases are invisible. Cloud or smoke hides nights, so gaps need not mean a flare stopped. The 2024 record proves a past year, not this week.
What would change our mind: asset-registry evidence of a non-flare heat source, methane observations (S5P/EMIT) pointing to unlit venting instead, or a clear-sky month with no repeat detections at the cluster.
Written by AI, then checked by a separate reviewer before publication. Every claim points at the evidence below.