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 Advanced Leak Detection and Quantification of Methane Emissions Using sUAS

Drones ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 117
Author(s):  
Derek Hollenbeck ◽  
Demitrius Zulevic ◽  
Yangquan Chen
Keyword(s):  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Near Field ◽  
Oil And Gas Industry ◽  
Leak Detection ◽  
Methane Emissions ◽  
Vital Role ◽  
Unmanned Aircraft ◽  
Natural Ecosystems ◽  
Traditional Methods ◽  
Detection Techniques

Detecting and quantifying methane emissions is gaining an increasingly vital role in mitigating emissions for the oil and gas industry through early detection and repair and will aide our understanding of how emissions in natural ecosystems are playing a role in the global carbon cycle and its impact on the climate. Traditional methods of measuring and quantifying emissions utilize chamber methods, bagging individual equipment, or require the release of a tracer gas. Advanced leak detection techniques have been developed over the past few years, utilizing technologies, such as optical gas imaging, mobile surveyors equipped with sensitive cavity ring down spectroscopy (CRDS), and manned aircraft and satellite approaches. More recently, sUAS-based approaches have been developed to provide, in some ways, cheaper alternatives that also offer sensing advantages to traditional methods, including not being constrained to roadways and being able to access class G airspace (0–400 ft) where manned aviation cannot travel. This work looks at reviewing methods of quantifying methane emissions that can be, or are, carried out using small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS) as well as traditional methods to provide a clear comparison for future practitioners. This includes the current limitations, capabilities, assumptions, and survey details. The suggested technique for LDAQ depends on the desired accuracy and is a function of the survey time and survey distance. Based on the complexity and precision, the most promising sUAS methods are the near-field Gaussian plume inversion (NGI) and the vertical flux plane (VFP), which have comparable accuracy to those found in conventional state-of-the-art methods.

scholarly journals A review of close-range and screening technologies for mitigating fugitive methane emissions in upstream oil and gas

2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (5) ◽  
pp. 053002 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas A Fox ◽  
Thomas E Barchyn ◽  
David Risk ◽  
Arvind P Ravikumar ◽  
Chris H Hugenholtz
Keyword(s):  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Methane Emissions ◽  
Close Range

Oil and Gas Offshore Pipeline Leak Detection System: A Feasibility Study

2014 ◽  
Vol 699 ◽  
pp. 891-896 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohamad Fani Sulaima ◽  
F. Abdullah ◽  
Wan Mohd Bukhari ◽  
Fara Ashikin Ali ◽  
M.N.M. Nasir ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Evaluation Method ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Detection System ◽  
Leak Detection ◽  
Inspection Time ◽  
Related Data ◽  
Detection Systems ◽  
System A ◽  
Detection Technology ◽  
Offshore Pipeline

Pipelines leaks normally begin at poor joints, corrosions and cracks, and slowly progress to a major leakage. Accidents, terror, sabotage, or theft are some of human factor of pipeline leak. The primary purpose of Pipeline leak detection systems (PLDS) is to assist pipeline operators in detecting and locating leaks earlier. PLDS systems provide an alarm and display other related data to the pipeline operators for their decision-making. It is also beneficial because PLDS can enhance their productivity by reduced downtime and inspection time. PLDS can be divided into internally based or computational modeling PLDS Systems and external hardware based PLDS. The purpose of this paper is to study the various types of leak detection systems based on internally systemtodefine a set of key criteria for evaluating the characteristics of this system and provide an evaluation method of leak detection technology as a guideline of choosing the appropriate system.

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

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.

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