scholarly journals Comparisons of Airborne Measurements and Inventory Estimates of Methane Emissions in the Alberta Upstream Oil and Gas Sector

2017 ◽  
Vol 51 (21) ◽  
pp. 13008-13017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew R. Johnson ◽  
David R. Tyner ◽  
Stephen Conley ◽  
Stefan Schwietzke ◽  
Daniel Zavala-Araiza
Keyword(s):  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Methane Emissions ◽  
Airborne Measurements ◽  
Oil And Gas Sector

ROMEO - ROmanian Methane Emissions from Oil and Gas

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Röckmann ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Atmospheric Chemistry ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Science Studies ◽  
Greenhouse Gas Emission ◽  
Regional Scale ◽  
Methane Emissions ◽  
Mitigation Measures ◽  
Plume Dispersion ◽  
Airborne Measurements ◽  
Oil And Gas Sector

<p>According to UNFCCC statistics, in 2015 Romania was the country in the European Union that reported the highest emissions of CH<sub>4</sub> from the oil and gas sector to the atmosphere, in particular related to methane production and end use. Limiting these oil and gas-related emissions could provide an attractive greenhouse gas emission reduction target for the EU. However, the reported estimates are derived using standard emission factors and there are only very few observations which investigate whether the reported emissions are realistic. The ROMEO project was designed to provide experimental quantification of methane emissions from the oil and gas sector in Romania. This may strengthen the scientific basis for establishing effective emission mitigation measures. ROMEO is part of the international Climate and Clean Air Coalition's (CCAC's) Methane Science Studies. In August 2019, the first  phase of ROMEO was a city campaign in Bucharest and Ploiesti, where methane emissions were quantified at the street level, using three vehicles. Source attribution was carried out by isotopic analysis and measurement of the ethane-methane ratio. The main ROMEO campaign took place in October 2019, using as campaign base the Strejnicu airfield near Ploiesti. Eight ground measurement teams visited more than 1000 individual facilities and performed methane measurements by stationary and mobile measurements from vehicles, using tracer release approaches and by plume mapping from drones. Very low wind speeds during the campaign period made emission quantification challenging, but about 200 quantifications were attempted. An optical gas imaging team visited many facilities in order to investigate the origin of the emissions at the component scale. Our project partner OMV-Petrom provided information on the facilities and site access where needed. Sites for emissions quantification were selected independent of the operator. To connect the facility scale to the regional scale, two research aircraft from INCAS and Scientific Aviation Inc. performed more than 20 research flights to identify and quantify methane emissions from individual facilities, facility clusters and extended regions. Ground-based in situ and total column measurements provide additional information on the background levels of CH<sub>4</sub>. Various models are used for emission quantification, from plume dispersion and mass balance models for individual facilities to atmospheric chemistry and transport models for interpretation of the larger scale aircraft measurements. The final goal of ROMEO is to provide a combined bottom-up and top-down approach to quantify CH<sub>4</sub> emissions related to oil and gas exploration, natural gas distribution and gas use from Romania. I will present the overall setup of the ROMEO project, interesting examples from individual facilities and preliminary results from ground and airborne measurements.</p>

scholarly journals A methane emissions reduction equivalence framework for alternative leak detection and repair programs

Elem Sci Anth ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas A. Fox ◽  
Arvind P. Ravikumar ◽  
Chris H. Hugenholtz ◽  
Daniel Zimmerle ◽  
Thomas E. Barchyn ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Leak Detection ◽  
Field Trials ◽  
Methane Emissions ◽  
Emissions Reduction ◽  
Mobile Platforms ◽  
Non Profit ◽  
Detection Technology ◽  
Close Range ◽  
Oil And Gas Sector

Fugitive methane emissions from the oil and gas sector are typically addressed through periodic leak detection and repair surveys. These surveys, conducted manually using handheld leak detection technologies, are time-consuming. To improve the speed and cost-effectiveness of leak detection, technology developers are introducing innovative solutions using mobile platforms, close-range portable systems, and permanent installations. Many of these new approaches promise faster, cheaper, or more effective leak detection than conventional methods. However, ensuring mitigation targets are achieved requires demonstrating that alternative approaches are at least as effective in reducing emissions as current approaches – a concept known as emissions reduction equivalence. Here, we propose a five-stage framework for demonstrating equivalence that combines controlled testing, simulation modeling, and field trials. The framework was developed in consultation with operators, regulators, academics, solution providers, consultants, and non-profit groups from Canada and the U.S. We present the equivalence framework and discuss challenges to implementation.

scholarly journals Mobile measurement of methane emissions from natural gas developments in northeastern British Columbia, Canada

2017 ◽  
Vol 17 (20) ◽  
pp. 12405-12420 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emmaline Atherton ◽  
David Risk ◽  
Chelsea Fougère ◽  
Martin Lavoie ◽  
Alex Marshall ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Detection Limit ◽  
Natural Gas ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Methane Emissions ◽  
Minimum Detection Limit ◽  
Emission Sources ◽  
Natural Gas Development ◽  
Unconventional Natural Gas ◽  
Oil And Gas Sector

Abstract. North American leaders recently committed to reducing methane emissions from the oil and gas sector, but information on current emissions from upstream oil and gas developments in Canada are lacking. This study examined the occurrence of methane plumes in an area of unconventional natural gas development in northwestern Canada. In August to September 2015 we completed almost 8000 km of vehicle-based survey campaigns on public roads dissecting oil and gas infrastructure, such as well pads and processing facilities. We surveyed six routes 3–6 times each, which brought us past over 1600 unique well pads and facilities managed by more than 50 different operators. To attribute on-road plumes to oil- and gas-related sources we used gas signatures of residual excess concentrations (anomalies above background) less than 500 m downwind from potential oil and gas emission sources. All results represent emissions greater than our minimum detection limit of 0.59 g s−1 at our average detection distance (319 m). Unlike many other oil and gas developments in the US for which methane measurements have been reported recently, the methane concentrations we measured were close to normal atmospheric levels, except inside natural gas plumes. Roughly 47 % of active wells emitted methane-rich plumes above our minimum detection limit. Multiple sites that pre-date the recent unconventional natural gas development were found to be emitting, and we observed that the majority of these older wells were associated with emissions on all survey repeats. We also observed emissions from gas processing facilities that were highly repeatable. Emission patterns in this area were best explained by infrastructure age and type. Extrapolating our results across all oil and gas infrastructure in the Montney area, we estimate that the emission sources we located (emitting at a rate > 0.59 g s−1) contribute more than 111 800 t of methane annually to the atmosphere. This value exceeds reported bottom-up estimates of 78 000 t of methane for all oil and gas sector sources in British Columbia. Current bottom-up methods for estimating methane emissions do not normally calculate the fraction of emitting oil and gas infrastructure with thorough on-ground measurements. However, this study demonstrates that mobile surveys could provide a more accurate representation of the number of emission sources in an oil and gas development. This study presents the first mobile collection of methane emissions from oil and gas infrastructure in British Columbia, and these results can be used to inform policy development in an era of methane emission reduction efforts.

scholarly journals Mobile measurement of methane emissions from natural gas developments in Northeastern British Columbia, Canada

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emmaline Atherton ◽  
David Risk ◽  
Chelsea Fougere ◽  
Martin Lavoie ◽  
Alex Marshall ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Detection Limit ◽  
Natural Gas ◽  
Policy Development ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Methane Emissions ◽  
Minimum Detection Limit ◽  
Detection Distance ◽  
Bottom Up ◽  
Oil And Gas Sector

Abstract. North American leaders recently committed to reducing methane emissions from the oil and gas sector, but information on current emissions from Canadian unconventional developments is lacking. This study examined the incidence of methane in an area of unconventional natural gas development in northwestern Canada. In August to September 2015 we completed almost 8000 km of vehicle-based survey campaigns on public roads dissecting developments that mainly access the Montney formation in northeastern British Columbia. Six survey routes were repeated 3–6 times and brought us past over 1600 unique well pads and facilities developed by more than 50 different operators. To attribute on-road plumes to infrastructural sources we used gas signatures of residual excess concentrations (anomalies above background) less than 500 m downwind from infrastructural sources. All results represent emissions greater than our minimum detection limit of 0.59 g/s at our average detection distance (319 m). Unlike many other developments in the US for which methane measurements have been reported recently, the methane concentrations we measured at surface were close to normal atmospheric levels, except inside natural gas plumes. Roughly 47 % of active wells emitted methane-rich plumes above our minimum detection limit. Abandoned and under-development well sites also emitted methane-rich plumes, but the incidence rate was below that of producing wells. Multiple sites that pre-date the recent unconventional Montney development were found to be emitting, and in general we observed that older infrastructure tended to emit more often (per unit) with comparable severity in terms of measured excess concentrations on-road. We also observed emissions from facilities of various types that were highly repeatable. Emission patterns in this area were best explained by infrastructure age and type. Extrapolating our results across the Montney development, we estimate that the emission sources we located (emitting at a rate > 0.59 g/s) contribute more than 111,800 tonnes of methane annually to the atmosphere. This value exceeds reported bottom-up estimates of 78,000 tonnes for all oil and gas sector sources in British Columbia, of which the Montney represents about 55 % of production. The results also demonstrate that mobile surveys could be used to exhaustively screen developments for super-emitters, because without our intensive 6-fold replication we could have used single-pass sampling to screen 80 % of Montney-related infrastructure. This is the first bottom-up study of fugitive emissions in the Canadian energy sector, and these results can be used to inform policy development in an era of methane emission reduction efforts.

scholarly journals Methane emissions from upstream oil and gas production in Canada are underestimated

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Katlyn MacKay ◽  
Martin Lavoie ◽  
Evelise Bourlon ◽  
Emmaline Atherton ◽  
Elizabeth O’Connell ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Heavy Oil ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Methane Emissions ◽  
Geographic Region ◽  
Gas Production ◽  
Fluid Type ◽  
Oil And Gas Production ◽  
High Emission ◽  
Oil And Gas Sector

AbstractMethane emissions were measured at 6650 sites across six major oil and gas producing regions in Canada to examine regional emission trends, and to derive an inventory estimate for Canada’s upstream oil and gas sector. Emissions varied by fluid type and geographic region, with the heavy oil region of Lloydminster ranking highest on both absolute and intensity-based scales. Emission intensities varied widely for natural gas production, where older, low-producing developments such as Medicine Hat, Alberta showed high emission intensities, and newer developments in Montney, British Columbia showed emission intensities that are amongst the lowest in North America. Overall, we estimate that the Canadian upstream oil and gas methane inventory is underestimated by a factor of 1.5, which is consistent with previous studies of individual regions.

Ways to improve tax administration of major taxpayers of oil and gas sector

2020 ◽  
Vol 23 (9) ◽  
pp. 1064-1076
Author(s):  
O.V. Ovchar
Keyword(s):  
System Analysis ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Import Substitution ◽  
State Regulation ◽  
Tax Administration ◽  
Problems And Solutions ◽  
Original Interpretation ◽  
Instrumental Methods ◽  
Oil And Gas Sector ◽  
Tax Regulation

Subject. Under rapid changes in the external economic environment, new forms and methods of State regulation of oil and gas industries, especially, improving the taxation and tax regulation instruments become relevant. Objectives. The study aims to provide an original interpretation of methods of improving the tax administration of major taxpayers in the oil and gas sector applied at the present stage. Methods. I employ normative and holistic approaches to examine taxation efficiency in the oil and gas sector, general scientific and special methods of scientific cognition, i.e. retrospective, system analysis, observation, classification, instrumental methods of grouping, sampling, comparison and synthesis, as well as evolutionary and dynamic analysis. Results. I consider basic problems and solutions in the sphere of tax administration of major taxpayers of Russian oil and gas industries. The paper offers a package of measures and recommendations aimed at improving the efficiency of tax regulation, underpins the applied approach to tax administration of organizations operating in the oil and gas sector. Conclusions and Relevance. Our country needs a comprehensive program for tax administration of the entire technological cycle: from upstream operations to full-scale import substitution of consumer goods.

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