Utilizing Large-Scale Aerial Remote Sensing Campaigns to Improve Estimates of Methane Emission Factors from Pipelines in the Permian Basin

Methane (CH4) is a potent greenhouse gas emitted from oil and gas infrastructure across the world and its rapid mitigation is necessary to meet the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement. Compared to emissions from other segments of oil and gas operations, pipeline emissions present unique challenges for measurement efforts. For example, many pipelines are underground and/or located in complex urban environments, and networks of pipelines are more difficult to monitor than discrete facilities. Using Google Street View cars equipped with measurement devices, Weller et al. (2020) substantially improved the understanding of emissions from natural gas utility pipelines; however, emissions from natural gas gathering pipelines present in production basins remain poorly constrained. Emission factors for gathering pipelines in the US EPAs Greenhouse Gas Inventory are based on limited measurements from local distribution pipelines conducted in the 1990s, prior to the large-scale expansion of unconventional oil and gas production in the United States. Direct measurements from ground-based campaigns allow for increased precision but are time-consuming and therefore difficult to aggregate for remote areas in oil and gas production regions. Furthermore, due to the heavy-tailed nature of pipeline emissions indicated by aerial data, limited-scope ground campaigns likely miss certain large leaks and consequently underestimate total emissions. This presentation will cover the frontiers of a different approach: estimating emissions via aerial remote sensing campaigns and geospatial techniques for aggregating their coverage of pipeline infrastructure. Discussion will foreground the pipeline emissions estimates carried out as part of the Environmental Defense Funds ongoing Permian Methane Analysis Project (PermianMAP).