Explaining Seasonal Variation of Fugitive and Vented Emissions from Upstream Oil and Gas Infrastructure
Abstract
In the oil and gas industry, fugitive and vented releases of trace gases (CO2, CH4 and H2S) are known to originate from many forms of infrastructure including well casings, pipelines and storage tanks. While emission factors for these infrastructure are widely known, we lack a good understanding from top-down studies of how frequently, or infrequently, emissions are present. This study describes an intensive on-wellpad measurement campaign at a large conventional oilfield where fugitive and vented emission frequencies were assessed for over 500 individual producing wells. Using vehicle-based surveys, in which geolocated CO2, CH4 and H2S concentrations were measured at 1 Hz while driving, we conducted full loops around each piece of wellpad infrastructure so that wind was not a factor in detection. Since this oilfield uses pipelines and centralized fluids handling, we hypothesized that on-pad emissions would be much lower than has been reported for other sites with on-pad tank batteries. These intensive on-pad measurements were also used to validate the results of regional on-road campaigns conducted locally. Surveys conducted in fall 2015 estimated that roughly 4.3% of wells had CH4-rich emissions whereas surveys conducted in winter 2016 showed that approximately 7.6% of wells were characteristic of CH4-rich emissions. These figures compared favorably with independent on-road survey programs where detections were measured at distance downwind. Preliminary results suggest that colder climates tended to increase the probability for detection primarily due to increased stability in background values. This study highlights the importance of year-round measurements, as monitoring may underestimate emission frequencies in warmer seasons.
- Publication:
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AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2016
- Bibcode:
- 2016AGUFM.A31I0158M
- Keywords:
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- 0322 Constituent sources and sinks;
- ATMOSPHERIC COMPOSITION AND STRUCTUREDE: 0345 Pollution: urban and regional;
- ATMOSPHERIC COMPOSITION AND STRUCTUREDE: 0365 Troposphere: composition and chemistry;
- ATMOSPHERIC COMPOSITION AND STRUCTUREDE: 0478 Pollution: urban;
- regional and global;
- BIOGEOSCIENCES