scholarly journals Methane emissions in the Netherlands: The Groningen field

Elem Sci Anth ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tara I. Yacovitch ◽  
Bruno Neininger ◽  
Scott C. Herndon ◽  
Hugo Denier van der Gon ◽  
Sander Jonkers ◽  
...  

The Groningen natural gas field in the Netherlands – one of Europe’s major gas fields – deploys a “production cluster” infrastructure with extraction, some processing and storage in a single facility. This region is also the site of intensive agriculture and cattle operations. We present results from a multi-scale measurement campaign of methane emissions, including ground and airborne-based estimates. Results are compared with inventory at both the facility and regional level. Investigation of production cluster emissions in the Groningen gas field shows that production volume alone is not a good indicator of whether, and how much, a site is emitting methane. Sites that are nominally shut down may still be emitting, and vice-versa. As a result, the inventory emission factors applied to these sites (i.e. weighted by production) do a poor job of reproducing individual site emissions. Additional facility-level case studies are presented, including a plume at 150 ± 50 kg CH4 hr–1 with an unidentified off-shore emission source, a natural gas storage facility and landfills. Methane emissions in a study region covering 6000 km2 and including the majority of the Groningen field are dominated by biogenic sources (e.g. agriculture, wetlands, cattle). Total methane emissions (8 ± 2 Mg hr–1) are lower than inventory predictions (14 Mg hr–1) but the proportion of fossil fuel sources is higher than indicated by the inventory. Apportionment of methane emissions between thermogenic and biogenic source types used ethane/methane ratios in aircraft flasks and ground-based source characterization. We find that emissions from the oil and gas sector account for 20% of regional methane, with 95% confidence limits of (0%, 51%). The experimental uncertainties bound the inventory apportionment of 1.9%, though the central estimate of 20% exceeds this result by nearly 10 times. This study’s uncertainties demonstrate the need for additional research focusing on emissions apportionment, inventory refinement and offshore platforms.

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
K.. Francis-LaCroix ◽  
D.. Seetaram

Abstract Trinidad and Tobago offshore platforms have been producing oil and natural gas for over a century. Current production of over 1500 Bcf of natural gas per year (Administration, 2013) is due to extensive reserves in oil and gas. More than eighteen of these wells are high-producing wells, producing in excess of 150 MMcf per day. Due to their large production rates, these wells utilize unconventionally large tubulars 5- and 7-in. Furthermore, as is inherent with producing gas, there are many challenges with the production. One major challenge occurs when wells become liquid loaded. As gas wells age, they produce more liquids, namely brine and condensate. Depending on flow conditions, the produced liquids can accumulate and induce a hydrostatic head pressure that is too high to be overcome by the flowing gas rates. Applying surfactants that generate foam can facilitate the unloading of these wells and restore gas production. Although the foaming process is very cost effective, its application to high-producing gas wells in Trinidad has always been problematic for the following reasons: Some of these producers are horizontal wells, or wells with large deviation angles.They were completed without pre-installed capillary strings.They are completed with large tubing diameters (5.75 in., 7 in.). Recognizing that the above three factors posed challenges to successful foam applications, major emphasis and research was directed toward this endeavor to realize the buried revenue, i.e., the recovery of the well's potential to produce natural gas. This research can also lead to the application of learnings from the first success to develop treatment for additional wells, which translates to a revenue boost to the client and the Trinidad economy. Successful treatments can also be used as correlations to establish an industry best practice for the treatment of similarly completed wells. This paper will highlight the successes realized from the treatment of three wells. It will also highlight the anomalies encountered during the treatment process, as well as the lessons learned from this treatment.


2011 ◽  
Vol 133 (04) ◽  
pp. 52-52
Author(s):  
Rainer Kurz

This article discusses the importance of gas turbines, centrifugal compressors and pumps, and other turbomachines in processes that bring natural gas to the end users. To be useful, the natural gas coming from a large number of small wells has to be gathered. This process requires compression of the gas in several stages, before it is processed in a gas plant, where contaminants and heavier hydrocarbons are stripped from the gas. From the gas plant, the gas is recompressed and fed into a pipeline. In all these compression processes, centrifugal gas compressors driven by industrial gas turbines or electric motors play an important role. Turbomachines are used in a variety of applications for the production of oil and associated gas. For example, gas turbine generator sets often provide electrical power for offshore platforms or remote oil and gas fields. Offshore platforms have a large electrical demand, often requiring multiple large gas turbine generator sets. Similarly, centrifugal gas compressors, driven by gas turbines or by electric motors are the benchmark products to pump gas through pipelines, anywhere in the world.


1973 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 166
Author(s):  
M. A. Stratton

The discovery by the partnership of Esso Exploration and Production Australia Inc. and Hematite Petroleum Pty Ltd during the past eight years of the natural gas and crude oil fields off the east Victorian coast has often been compared to that of gold in the State in the 1850's in its impact .on the economic, industrial and social life of the community.To date the amount spent in the State on the discovery and overall development of these fields is approximately $600 million. The value of oil and gas recovered over the period of nearly four years since production commenced in 1969 and distributed and utilised by various means to 31 December 1972, amounts to about $500 million. In addition the value of refined products from Victoria's three refineries and items produced by industrial processes through the use of natural gas and petroleum products as fuels, amount to many more millions of dollars. The total impact on Victoria in one form or another could, if measured in monetary value, he equivalent to about $1200 million-all in the course of about eight years.Other States have also benefited. The building of tankers, barges, tugs and work boats and the modification of refineries in New South Wales and Queensland, have probably cost in the region of $200 million whilst indirectly the success of the Gippsland oil and gas discoveries has spurred other explorers to step up the search in many areas and, as far as natural gas is concerned, with considerable success.The speed and efficiency with which the four gas and oil fields developed to date were brought into production, the necessary treatment plants erected, the pipelines laid and distribution facilities organised; and with which the gas industry changed over to the new fuel and refineries modified their processes to use indigenous crudes have, by world standards, been exceptional. From the time the first gas field-Barracouta, was found in February 1965 until the last oil field in the program -Kingfish came fully on stream late in 1971, less than seven years elapsed.During that time Victorian fuel patterns underwent vast changes. Today over 95% of all gas consumers are using natural gas and about 70% of crude processed by local refineries comes from the Gippsland Basin. The significance of natural gas in particular is demonstrated by a 41% increase in gas sales in Victoria in 1971/72 over the previous twelve months and this trend is expected to accelerate as a result of recent arrangements for the supply of large volumes of this fuel to industrial plants including paper mills, cement works and an alumina smelter.Also of major significance to the State has been the development of the port of Western Port where the loading of tankers and LPG carriers has resulted in it becoming the State's second busiest port. Of less immediate impact but still of great value in the long term, has been the building of better roads and facilities needed to service the installations and the emergence of many valuable skills in the petroleum industry which will make easier the task of future development of new fields and facilities in Victoria and other parts of Australia.


Author(s):  
Matthieu Vierling ◽  
Michel Moliere ◽  
Paul Glaser ◽  
Richard Denolle ◽  
Sathya Nayani ◽  
...  

Abstract Gas turbines are often the master pieces of the utilities that power Oil and Gas (O&G) installations as they most often operate in off-grid mode and must reliably deliver the electric power and the steam streams required by all the Exploration/Production (EP) or refining processes. In addition to reliability, fuel flexibility is an important score card of gas turbines since they must permanently accommodate the type of fuel which is available on the particular O&G site. For instance, during the operation of an associated gas field, crude oil comes out from the well heads as the gas reserves are declining or depleted. The utility gas turbine must then be capable to successively burn natural gas and crude oil and often to co-fire both fuels. An important feature of crude oils is that their combustion tends to emit significantly more particulate matter (PM) than do distillate oil and natural gas as they contain some heavier hydrocarbon ends. Taking account of the fact that some alternative liquid fuels emit more particulates matter (PM) than distillate oils, GE has investigated a class of soot suppressant additives that have been previously tested on light distillate oil (No 2 DO). As a continuation of this development, these products have been field-tested at an important refining site where several Frame 6B gas turbines have been converted from natural gas to crude oil with some units running in cofiring mode. This field test showed that proper injections of these fuel additives, at quite moderate concentration levels, enable a substantial abatement of the PM emissions and reduction of flue gas opacity. This paper outlines the main outcomes of this field campaign and consolidates the overall results obtained with this smoke suppression technology.


Subject Senegalese gas scandal. Significance A high-profile scandal implicating President Macky Sall's brother Aliou continues to prompt controversy. A BBC documentary aired last month alleging an improper relationship between controversial Romanian-Australian businessman Frank Timis and Aliou surrounding offshore natural gas field licences. Impacts The scandal may dent Senegal’s democratic credentials but is unlikely to dampen overall interest in the burgeoning oil and gas sector. Concerns will mount that Sall is gradually instituting a form of ‘civil authoritarianism’, with a growing clampdown on dissent. The youthful Ousmane Sonko, who placed third in the February elections, could use the scandal to bolster his anti-corruption credentials. Fears may grow that Sall could ultimately pursue a third-term bid, using a new 2016 constitution as his validation.


2017 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 69-80
Author(s):  
Barbara Uliasz-Misiak ◽  
Katarzyna Chruszcz-Lipska

Abstract Formation waters extracted with crude oil and natural gas, due to their amount and chemical composition can be a problem for petroleum companies operating hydrocarbon deposits. On average, the world generates 2 to 3 times more water than oil. On average, the world generates 2 to 3 times more water than crude oil. T he amount of extracted water increases with the time of exploitation of the deposit, in the case of deposits at the final stage of depletion, the amount of extracted water is 5 to 8 times bigger than petroleum. Formation waters from hydrocarbons deposits are usually the highly mineralized brines. Large quantities of highly mineralized waters extracted with crude oil and gas are disposed of in various ways or neutralized. T he most common way of disposing of these waters is by injecting them into rock mass. As a result of injection of reservoir waters into hydrocarbon deposits, the waters interact with the storage formations. In these formations, there may be numerous reactions of mineral water with the rock environment. T he injection of reservoir waters will also cause mixing of waters that can disturb the state of thermodynamic equilibrium and will alter the chemistry of these waters. It was analyzed by the geochemical modeling of the interaction of the reservoir waters of Przemyśl natural gas field. Using the PHREEQC program, the chemical reactions related to the mixing of reservoir waters of different chemical types have been studied. It has been found that is possible to precipitation appropriated minerals as a result of mixing water with different chemical composition.


2014 ◽  
Vol 14 (17) ◽  
pp. 24943-24984
Author(s):  
R. A. Field ◽  
J. Soltis ◽  
M. C. McCarthy ◽  
S. Murphy ◽  
D. C. Montague

Abstract. Emissions from oil and natural gas development during winter in the Upper Green River Basin of Wyoming are known to drive episodic ozone (O3) production. Contrasting O3 distributions were observed in the winters of 2011 and 2012, with numerous episodes in 2011 compared to none in 2012. During 2011 wintertime O3 episodes at two sites near Boulder Wyoming, situated ∼5 km apart, were observed to sometimes differ. In 2012 the lack of O3 episodes coincided with a reduction in ambient levels of total non-methane hydrocarbons (NMHC). Measurements of speciated NMHC, and other air quality parameters, were performed to better understand emission sources and to determine which compounds are most active in promoting O3 formation. Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF) analyses of the data were carried out to help achieve these goals. PMF analyses revealed three contributing factors that were identified with different emission source types: factor 1, combustion/traffic; factor 2, fugitive natural gas; and factor 3, fugitive condensate. Compositional signatures of three contributing factors were identified through comparison with independently derived emission source profiles. Fugitive emissions of natural gas and of condensate were the two principal emission source types for NMHC. A water treatment and recycling facility was found to be a significant source of condensate range NMHC, in particular toluene and m+p-xylene. Emissions from water treatment have an influence upon peak O3 mixing ratios at downwind measurement sites.


2020 ◽  
Vol 60 (2) ◽  
pp. 506
Author(s):  
Jarrod Pittson ◽  
Jeff Kerferd

Mercury is a heavy metal that is widespread and persistent in the environment and, even at low concentrations, poses a risk of adverse effects to human health and ecosystems. Mercury is commonly found in hydrocarbon reservoirs. Approximately 1.5 tonnes of mercury arrive at the Karratha Gas Plant each year in feed gas from offshore platforms. Because mercury reacts with aluminium, it must be removed from the liquefied natural gas (LNG) process before the main cryogenic heat exchangers, which comprise ~1000 km of aluminium tubing. For over a decade mercury has been safely removed from the Woodside LNG process and sent to Switzerland for recovery of metals and complete recycling of waste constituents. Here we present the outcome of a 3-year collaboration between Woodside and Contract Resources that resulted in the opening of Australia’s first industrial-scale state-of-the-art mercury recovery facility in Karratha in July 2018. The AU$20 million plant is the largest of its type in the Southern Hemisphere and was underpinned by Woodside providing foundation funding through a long-term contract. The facility can handle all mercury-contaminated waste produced by the Australian oil and gas sector now and into the foreseeable future. An unparalleled project delivery taking 3 years to implement from initial discussion to the first batch of waste being processed in Karratha. This paper illustrates the collaboration, innovation and acceleration that occurred to deliver a sustainable outcome for Australian LNG.


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