Re-imagining how methane emissions are tracked and analyzed to drive large-scale reductions
GTI Energy previously participated in Project Astra, a collaborative effort led by the University of Texas at Austin, which focused on advancing methane detection and technologies for reducing methane emissions.
The team collaborated to develop an innovative sensor network designed to leverage advances in methane-sensing, data sharing, and analytics to support near-continuous emissions monitoring across oil and gas facilities in the Permian Basin. The sensor network identified leaks more quickly, improved response times and repair efforts, increased inspection frequency, and supported more efficient methane emissions reduction.
Project Astra ( Phase 1)
Phase 1 led by the University of Texas Center for Energy and Environmental Resources, and includes Chevron, the Environmental Defense Fund, ExxonMobil, GTI Energy, Microsoft, Pioneer Natural Resources, and SLB the effectiveness of a shared network of fixed methane emission monitors in detecting methane emissions from oil and gas operations.
The field deployment of Project Astra, located near Midland, Texas, encompasses production sites representative of the Permian Basin. The Permian Basin was based on its status as the largest oil and gas production region in the United States by production volume. This region's flat terrain and strong, consistent winds, makes it an ideal location. Its proximity of oil and gas operations across the Permian Basin also increases the value of a shared sensor network.
Multiple commercially available sensing systems were field tested; two types of high precision infrared sensing systems and one moderate precision metal oxide semiconductor sensing system were chosen for network deployment.
The network was designed to simultaneously test a dense network of moderate resolution sensors and a sparse network of high resolution sensors, with both networks designed to cover the entire test region. Some individual sites were equipped with multiple sensors to enable comparison of single and multiple site deployments. Network design software based on dispersion modeling was developed and tested.
Software systems were developed and tested for background correction and emission event detection. On-going work is developing tools for source attribution, quantifying emission event durations, and reducing uncertainty in emission rate quantification.
PHASE 1: PEER-REVIEWED PUBLICATIONS
- Chen, Q., Modi, M., McGaughey, G.M., Kimura, Y. McDonald-Buller, E.C., Allen, D.T., Simulated methane emission detection capabilities of continuous monitoring networks in oil and gas production regions, Atmosphere, 13(4), 510, doi: 10.3390/atmos13040510 (2022).
- Chen, Q., Schissel, C., Kimura, Y., McGaughey, G., McDonald-Buller, E.C. Allen, D.T., Assessing detection efficiencies for continuous methane emission monitoring systems at oil and gas production sites, Environmental Science & Technology, 57, 1788–1796 doi: 10.1021/acs.est.2c06990 (2023).
- Chen, Q., Kinura, Y., and Allen, D.T., Determining times to detection for large methane release events using continuously operating methane sensing systems at simulated oil and gas production sites, preprint at ChemRxiv, doi: 10.26434/chemrxiv-2023-p8lfk (2023).
- Torres, V.M., Sullivan, D.W., He’Bert, E., Spinhirne, J., Modi, M., Allen, D.T., Field inter-comparison of low-cost sensors for monitoring methane emissions from oil and gas production operations, Preprint amt-2022-24 (2022).
Project Astra ( Phase 2)
In 2023, the U.S. Department of Energy funded the next phase of Project Astra through the National Energy Technology Laboratory. Phase 2 of Project Astra is a four-year effort to expand and improve the capabilities of the surface-based methane monitoring network. The types of facilities sampled will be expanded from primarily oil and gas production pads to include gas gathering and boosting sites, and gas processing sites.
This phase will continue work on emission detection, focusing on characterizing the frequency and duration of emission events and assessing the network's ability to quantify emissions. This expansion of detection and quantification capabilities will enable the development of emission factors, region-specific emission inventories, and the characterization of the magnitudes, frequencies, and durations of emission events.
Current data analysis methods are often labor-intensive and time-consuming. The forthcoming automation of these data analytics processes will streamline operations and provide valuable insights to guide the development of future monitoring system designs.
The operation of methane emission monitoring systems necessitates specialized training. Accordingly, comprehensive training programs will be devised to enhance workforce development.
PHASE 2: PEER-REVIEWED PUBLICATIONS
Chen, Q., Kimura, Y., and Allen, D.T., Defining detection limits for Continuous Monitoring Systems for methane emissions at oil and gas facilities, Atmosphere, 15 (3), 383; doi: 10.3390/atmos15030383 (2024).
Link: https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos15030383
Why is this work so important?
Methane is a considerable. In addition to its potency, it continues to degrade in the atmosphere after 10-20 years.
The United States has become the world’s largest producer of natural gas and a major exporter. With more than 1 million existing oil and gas wells in the U.S., comprehensive and continuous monitoring of well sites and associated infrastructure is critical to reducing methane emissions.
Methane leaks can occur anywhere and anytime. If unknown or undetected, these leaks can persist for extended periods and result in significant emissions.
Project Astra is about tested a technology concept that can scale continuous monitoring to the entire industry – for companies big and small – at or below the cost of today’s monitoring technologies.
Project Astra was a collaboration of expert innovators, committed to rigorously testing the best solutions for delivering the fastest, least costly reductions and demonstrating the technologies with the potential to help an entire industry improve its methane performance.
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