Methane detection and quantification in the upstream oil and gas sector: the role of satellites in emissions detection, reconciling and reporting

Cooper, Janet; Dubey, Luke; Giarola, Sara

doi:10.1039/d1ea00046b

Cited by 24 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 49 publications

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“…Indirect methane quantification methods are based on measurements made away from the source of emissions and can often be conducted without site access. These methods include mobile surveying, stationary tower (e.g., eddy covariance tower) measurements, aerial based surveys, and satellite measurements (Cusworth et al, 2022;Edie et al, 2020;Robertson et al, 2017;Kumar et al, 2022;Riddick et al, 2022;Ravikumar et al, 2017;Ayasse et al, 2019;Cooper et al, 2021;Varon et al, 2018). Direct methane quantification methods are based on quantifying methane emissions directly at the source of emissions and generally require site access.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Controlled release testing of the static chamber methodology for direct measurements of methane emissions

Williams

Hachem

Kang

2023

Preprint

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Abstract. Direct measurements of methane emissions at the component level provide the level of detail necessary for developing actionable mitigation strategies. As such, there is a need to understand the magnitude of component level methane emission sources and test methane quantification methods that can capture methane emissions from component level sources. The static chamber method is a direct measurement technique that is being applied to measure large and complex methane sources such as oil and gas infrastructure. In this work we compile component level methane emission factors from the IPCC emission factor database to understand the magnitude of component level methane flowrates, review the tested flowrates and measurement techniques from 38 controlled release experiments, and perform 64 controlled release testing of static chambers methodology with mass flowrates of 1.02, 10.2, 102, and 512 grams of methane per hour (g/hour). We vary the leak properties, chamber shape, chamber size, and usage of fans to evaluate how these factors affect the accuracy of the static chamber method. We find that 99 % of component level methane emission rates from the IPCC emission factor database are below 100 g/hour, and that 76 % of previously-available controlled release experiments did not test for methane mass flowrates below 100 g/hour. We find that the static chamber method quantified methane flowrates with an overall accuracy of ±14 %, and that optimal chamber configurations (i.e., chamber shape, volume, usage of fans) can improve accuracy to below ±5 %. We find that smaller chambers (<20 L) performed better than larger volume chambers (>20 L), regardless of the shape of chamber or usage of fans. However, we found that the usage of fans can substantially increase the accuracy of larger chambers, especially at higher mass flowrates of methane (>100 g/hour). Overall, our findings can be used to engineer static chamber systems for future direct measurement campaigns targeting a wide range of sources, including landfills, manholes, and oil and natural gas infrastructure.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Controlled release testing of the static chamber methodology for direct measurements of methane emissions

Williams

Hachem

Kang

2023

Preprint

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“…6−8 In general, for these estimates, as noted for methane, "the accuracy of satellite emission estimates compared to other technologies is, for the time being, not well established". 9 Most existing comparisons have focused on comparing satellite-based estimates on an area or region basis but have not evaluated errors for satellite-based point source emission estimates.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Past applications have included estimates of anthropogenic and natural sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ) from power plants, smelters, and volcanoes, − nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ) from cities and power plants, and ammonia (NH 3 ) from agricultural and industrial operations . Particularly prominent in recent years are satellite-based estimates of methane (CH 4 ) from, for example, oil and gas operations. − In general, for these estimates, as noted for methane, “the accuracy of satellite emission estimates compared to other technologies is, for the time being, not well established” . Most existing comparisons have focused on comparing satellite-based estimates on an area or region basis but have not evaluated errors for satellite-based point source emission estimates.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of Uncertainties in the Anthropogenic SO₂ Emissions in the USA from the OMI Point Source Catalog

Narayan

Smith

Fioletov

et al. 2023

Environ. Sci. Technol.

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Satellite remote sensing is a promising method of monitoring emissions that may be missing in inventories, but the accuracy of these estimates is often not clear. We demonstrate here a comprehensive evaluation of errors in anthropogenic sulfur dioxide (SO2) emission estimates from NASA’s OMI point source catalog for the contiguous US by comparing emissions from the catalog with high-quality emission inventory data over different dimensions including size of individual sources, aggregate vs individual source errors, and potential bias in individual source estimates over time. For sources that are included in the catalog, we find that errors in aggregate (sum of error for all included sources) are relatively low. Errors for individual sources in any given year can be substantial, however, with over- or underestimates in terms of total error ranging from −80 to 110 kt (roughly 10–90th percentile). We find that these errors are not necessarily random over time and that there can be consistently positive or negative biases for individual sources. We did not find any overall statistical relationship between the degree of isolation of a source and bias, either at a 40 or 70 km scales. For a sub-set of sources where inventory emissions over a radius of 70 km around an OMI detection are larger than twice the emissions within 40 km, the OMI value is consistently overestimated. We find, as expected, that emission sources not included in the catalog are the largest aggregate source of difference between the satellite estimates and inventories, especially in more recent years where source emission magnitudes have been decreasing and note that trends in satellite detections do not necessarily track trends in total emissions. We find that the OMI-based SO2 emissions are accurate in aggregate, when summed over a number of sources, but must be interpreted more cautiously at the individual source level. Similar analyses would be valuable for other satellite emission estimates; however, in many cases, the appropriate high-quality reference data may need to be generated.

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“…Emission quantification methods include Gaussian-based plume approaches [ 8 , 12 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 ], backward Lagrangian stochastic (bLs) dispersion modeling [ 12 , 20 , 21 , 22 ], tracer flux methods [ 14 , 23 , 24 , 25 ], mass balance approaches [ 26 , 27 , 28 ], and remote sensing from aircraft [ 29 , 30 , 31 ] or satellites [ 32 ]. Of these approaches, emission estimates generated by the tracer flux method are reported to be the most accurate, ±20% [ 24 ], but the approach requires favorable winds (strong, but not too strong and blowing a direction accessible via roadway) and measurements can take a long time (~4 h per site measurement).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Mass balance measurements with a CH 4 analyzer mounted on an aircraft [ 27 ] or drone [ 26 ] can give relatively accurate results, ±50% [ 33 , 34 ], can be performed faster than tracer flux measurements (~1 h per site), but still an hour to measure each site. Remote sensing, either using aircraft or satellite, is becoming more popular as it can observe the emissions from sites in hundreds of km in day; however, detection limits are much higher than the other methods with 10+ kg CH 4 h −1 for aircraft [ 30 ], 100+ kg CH 4 h −1 for satellites [ 32 ], and therefore will not be able to quantify the majority of emission sources. Another major shortcoming of the tracer flux, mass balance, aircraft and satellite methods is that instrumentation is expensive and requires significant expertise to operate them and retrieve data.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Estimating Regional Methane Emission Factors from Energy and Agricultural Sector Sources Using a Portable Measurement System: Case Study of the Denver–Julesburg Basin

Riddick

Cheptonui

Yuan

et al. 2022

Sensors

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Methane (CH4), a powerful greenhouse gas (GHG), has been identified as a key target for emission reduction in the Paris agreement, but it is not currently clear where efforts should be focused to make the greatest impact. Currently, activity data and standard emission factors (EF) are used to generate GHG emission inventories. Many of the EFs are globally uniform and do not account for regional variability in industrial or agricultural practices and/or regulation. Regional EFs can be derived from top–down emissions measurements and used to make bespoke regional GHG emission inventories that account for geopolitical and social variability. However, most large-scale top–down approaches campaigns require significant investment. To address this, lower-cost driving surveys (DS) have been identified as a viable alternative to more established methods. DSs can take top–down measurements of many emission sources in a relatively short period of time, albeit with a higher uncertainty. To investigate the use of a portable measurement system, a 2260 km DS was conducted throughout the Denver–Julesburg Basin (DJB). The DJB covers an area of 8000 km2 north of Denver, CO and is densely populated with CH4 emission sources, including oil and gas (O and G) operations, agricultural operations (AGOs), lakes and reservoirs. During the DS, 157 individual CH4 emission sources were detected; 51%, 43% and 4% of sources were AGOs, O and G operations, and natural sources, respectively. Methane emissions from each source were quantified using downwind concentration and meteorological data and AGOs and O and G operations represented nearly all the CH4 emissions in the DJB, accounting for 54% and 37% of the total emission, respectively. Operations with similar emission sources were grouped together and average facility emission estimates were generated. For agricultural sources, emissions from feedlot cattle, dairy cows and sheep were estimated at 5, 31 and 1 g CH4 head−1 h−1, all of which agreed with published values taken from focused measurement campaigns. Similarly, for O and G average emissions for well pads, compressor stations and gas processing plants (0.5, 14 and 110 kg CH4 facility−1 h−1) were in reasonable agreement with emission estimates from intensive measurement campaigns. A comparison of our basin wide O and G emissions to measurements taken a decade ago show a decrease of a factor of three, which can feasibly be explained by changes to O and G regulation over the past 10 years, while emissions from AGOs have remained constant over the same time period. Our data suggest that DSs could be a low-cost alternative to traditional measurement campaigns and used to screen many emission sources within a region to derive representative regionally specific and time-sensitive EFs. The key benefit of the DS is that many regions can be screened and emission reduction targets identified where regional EFs are noticeably larger than the regional, national or global averages.

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Methane detection and quantification in the upstream oil and gas sector: the role of satellites in emissions detection, reconciling and reporting

Abstract: Satellites could revolutionise the way global oil and gas methane is reported. There are many barriers to overcome before satellites can play an active role in methane emissions reporting.

Cited by 24 publications

References 49 publications

Controlled release testing of the static chamber methodology for direct measurements of methane emissions

Controlled release testing of the static chamber methodology for direct measurements of methane emissions

Evaluation of Uncertainties in the Anthropogenic SO₂ Emissions in the USA from the OMI Point Source Catalog

Estimating Regional Methane Emission Factors from Energy and Agricultural Sector Sources Using a Portable Measurement System: Case Study of the Denver–Julesburg Basin

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Methane detection and quantification in the upstream oil and gas sector: the role of satellites in emissions detection, reconciling and reporting

Abstract: Satellites could revolutionise the way global oil and gas methane is reported. There are many barriers to overcome before satellites can play an active role in methane emissions reporting.

Cited by 24 publications

References 49 publications

Controlled release testing of the static chamber methodology for direct measurements of methane emissions

Controlled release testing of the static chamber methodology for direct measurements of methane emissions

Evaluation of Uncertainties in the Anthropogenic SO2 Emissions in the USA from the OMI Point Source Catalog

Estimating Regional Methane Emission Factors from Energy and Agricultural Sector Sources Using a Portable Measurement System: Case Study of the Denver–Julesburg Basin

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Product

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Evaluation of Uncertainties in the Anthropogenic SO₂ Emissions in the USA from the OMI Point Source Catalog