scholarly journals Gathering Pipeline Methane Emissions in Utica Shale Using an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle and Ground-Based Mobile Sampling

Atmosphere ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 716 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hugh Z. Li ◽  
Mumbi Mundia-Howe ◽  
Matthew D. Reeder ◽  
Natalie J. Pekney
Keyword(s):  
Natural Gas ◽  
Unmanned Aerial Vehicle ◽  
Environmental Protection Agency ◽  
The United States ◽  
Methane Emissions ◽  
Dispersion Modeling ◽  
Utica Shale ◽  
Sampling Campaign ◽  
Pipeline Systems ◽  
Aerial Vehicle

The United States Environmental Protection Agency Greenhouse Gas Inventory only recently updated the emission factors of natural gas gathering pipelines in April 2019 from the previous estimates based on a 1990s study of distribution pipelines. Additional measurements are needed from different basins for more accurate assessments of methane emissions from natural gas midstream industries and hence the overall climate implications of natural gas as the interim major energy source for the next decade. We conducted an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) survey and a ground-based vehicle sampling campaign targeting gathering pipeline systems in the Utica Shale from March to April in 2019. Out of 73 km of pipeline systems surveyed, we found no leaks on pipelines and two leaks on an accessory block valve with leak rates of 3.8 ± 0.4 and 7.6 ± 0.8 mg/s. The low leak frequency phenomenon was also observed in the only existing gathering pipeline study in Fayetteville Shale. The UAV sampling system facilitated ease of access, broadened the availability of pipelines for leak detection, and was estimated to detect methane leaks down to 0.07 g/s using Gaussian dispersion modeling. For future UAV surveys adopting similar instrument setup and dispersion models, we recommend arranging controlled release experiments first to understand the system’s detection limit and choosing sampling days with steady and low wind speeds (2 m/s).

scholarly journals Natural Gas Fugitive Leak Detection Using an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle: Measurement System Description and Mass Balance Approach

Atmosphere ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (10) ◽  
pp. 383 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shuting Yang ◽  
Robert Talbot ◽  
Michael Frish ◽  
Levi Golston ◽  
Nicholas Aubut ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Natural Gas ◽  
Mass Balance ◽  
Unmanned Aerial Vehicle ◽  
The United States ◽  
Tunable Diode Laser ◽  
Leak Rate ◽  
System Description ◽  
Balance Approach ◽  
Aerial Vehicle ◽  
Mass Balance Approach

Natural gas is an abundant resource across the United States, of which methane (CH4) is the main component. About 2% of extracted CH4 is lost through leaks. The Remote Methane Leak Detector (RMLD)-Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) system was developed to investigate natural gas fugitive leaks in this study. The system is composed of three major technologies: miniaturized RMLD (mini-RMLD) based on Backscatter Tunable Diode Laser Absorption Spectroscopy (TDLAS), an autonomous quadrotor UAV and simplified quantification and localization algorithms. With a miniaturized, downward-facing RMLD on a small UAV, the system measures the column-integrated CH4 mixing ratio and can semi-autonomously monitor CH4 leakage from sites associated with natural gas production, providing an advanced capability in detecting leaks at hard-to-access sites compared to traditional manual methods. Automated leak characterization algorithms combined with a wireless data link implement real-time leak quantification and reporting. This study placed particular emphasis on the RMLD-UAV system description and the quantification algorithm development based on a mass balance approach. Early data were gathered to test the prototype system and to evaluate the algorithm performance. The quantification algorithm derived in this study tended to underestimate the gas leak rates and yielded unreliable estimations in detecting leaks under 7 × 10 − 6 m3/s (~1 Standard Cubic Feet per Hour (SCFH)). Zero-leak cases can be ascertained via a skewness indicator, which is unique and promising. The influence of the systematic error was investigated by introducing simulated noises, of which Global Positioning System (GPS) noise presented the greatest impact on leak rate errors. The correlation between estimated leak rates and wind conditions were investigated, and steady winds with higher wind speeds were preferred to get better leak rate estimations, which was accurate to approximately 50% during several field trials. High precision coordinate information from the GPS, accurate wind measurements and preferred wind conditions, appropriate flight strategy and the relative steady survey height of the system are the crucial factors to optimize the leak rate estimations.

scholarly journals Methane Emissions from Process Equipment at Natural Gas Production Sites in the United States: Liquid Unloadings

2014 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
pp. 641-648 ◽  
Author(s):  
David T. Allen ◽  
David W. Sullivan ◽  
Daniel Zavala-Araiza ◽  
Adam P. Pacsi ◽  
Matthew Harrison ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Natural Gas ◽  
The United States ◽  
Methane Emissions ◽  
Gas Production ◽  
Process Equipment ◽  
Natural Gas Production

scholarly journals Methane Emissions from Natural Gas Production Sites in the United States: Data Synthesis and National Estimate

2018 ◽  
Vol 52 (21) ◽  
pp. 12915-12925 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Omara ◽  
Naomi Zimmerman ◽  
Melissa R. Sullivan ◽  
Xiang Li ◽  
Aja Ellis ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Natural Gas ◽  
The United States ◽  
Methane Emissions ◽  
Gas Production ◽  
Data Synthesis ◽  
Natural Gas Production ◽  
States Data

scholarly journals Efektivitas Penggunaan Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) dalam Strategi Kontra-Terorisme Amerika Serikat di Pakistan (2004-2012)

2015 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Egalita Irfan
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Unmanned Aerial Vehicle ◽  
Terrorist Attack ◽  
The United States ◽  
Terrorist Organizations ◽  
Counter Terrorism ◽  
Advanced Technologies ◽  
The World ◽  
Aerial Vehicle

Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) is an armed unmanned plane, which is also one of the most advanced technologies developed by the United States. UAV is more superior compared with other kinds of weapon. Currently, it is used in many parts of the world as a part of the United States' counter-terrorism measure. However, the use of UAV in Pakistan since 2004 to 2012 does not successfully reduce the number of terrorist attack that happens on that country. This research aims to figure out the reasons behind this failure through the use of congruence in retrospective. The results show that the failure of UAV relies upon 3 factors: (1) US did not really understand the characteristic of targeted terrorist organizations, (2) there is a mistake in the decision making based on the intelligence cycle, and (3) the nonexistent of local society's support.

scholarly journals Concurrent variation in oil and gas methane emissions and oil price during the COVID-19 pandemic

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
David R. Lyon ◽  
Benjamin Hmiel ◽  
Ritesh Gautam ◽  
Mark Omara ◽  
Kate Roberts ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Natural Gas ◽  
Commodity Prices ◽  
Oil Prices ◽  
The United States ◽  
Methane Emissions ◽  
Gas Production ◽  
Satellite Observations ◽  
Permian Basin ◽  
Natural Gas Production ◽  
Oil And Natural Gas

Abstract. Methane emissions associated with the production, transport, and use of oil and natural gas increase the climatic impacts of energy use; however, little is known about how emissions vary temporally and with commodity prices. We present airborne and ground-based data, supported by satellite observations, to measure weekly to monthly changes in total methane emissions in the United States’ Permian Basin during a period of volatile oil prices associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. As oil prices declined from ~$ 60 to $ 20 per barrel, emissions changed concurrently from 3.4 % to 1.5 % of gas production; as prices partially recovered, emissions increased back to near initial values. Concurrently, total oil and natural gas production only declined by a maximum of ~10 % from the peak values seen in the months prior to the crash. Activity data indicate that a rapid decline in well development and subsequent effects on associated gas flaring and midstream infrastructure throughput are the likely drivers of temporary emission reductions. Our results, along with past satellite observations, suggest that under more typical price conditions, the Permian Basin is in a state of overcapacity in which rapidly growing natural gas production exceeds midstream capacity and leads to high methane emissions.

scholarly journals A Near-Field Gaussian Plume Inversion Flux Quantification Method, Applied to Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Sampling

Atmosphere ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 396 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adil Shah ◽  
Grant Allen ◽  
Joseph R. Pitt ◽  
Hugo Ricketts ◽  
Paul I. Williams ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Unmanned Aerial Vehicle ◽  
Near Field ◽  
Methane Emissions ◽  
Point Sources ◽  
Flux Analysis ◽  
Maximum Height ◽  
Spatial Dimensions ◽  
Aerial Vehicle ◽  
Specific Source ◽  
Gaussian Plume

The accurate quantification of methane emissions from point sources is required to better quantify emissions for sector-specific reporting and inventory validation. An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) serves as a platform to sample plumes near to source. This paper describes a near-field Gaussian plume inversion (NGI) flux technique, adapted for downwind sampling of turbulent plumes, by fitting a plume model to measured flux density in three spatial dimensions. The method was refined and tested using sample data acquired from eight UAV flights, which measured a controlled release of methane gas. Sampling was conducted to a maximum height of 31 m (i.e. above the maximum height of the emission plumes). The method applies a flux inversion to plumes sampled near point sources. To test the method, a series of random walk sampling simulations were used to derive an NGI upper uncertainty bound by quantifying systematic flux bias due to a limited spatial sampling extent typical for short-duration small UAV flights (less than 30 min). The development of the NGI method enables its future use to quantify methane emissions for point sources, facilitating future assessments of emissions from specific source-types and source areas. This allows for atmospheric measurement-based fluxes to be derived using downwind UAV sampling for relatively rapid flux analysis, without the need for access to difficult-to-reach areas.

scholarly journals Hazardous Air Pollutants Associated with Upstream Oil and Natural Gas Development: A Critical Synthesis of Current Peer-Reviewed Literature

2019 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 283-304 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diane A. Garcia-Gonzales ◽  
Seth B.C. Shonkoff ◽  
Jake Hays ◽  
Michael Jerrett
Keyword(s):  
Natural Gas ◽  
Environmental Protection Agency ◽  
Air Pollutants ◽  
The United States ◽  
Hazardous Air Pollutants ◽  
Adverse Health Outcomes ◽  
Energy Demands ◽  
Natural Gas Development ◽  
The Us ◽  
Oil And Natural Gas

Increased energy demands and innovations in upstream oil and natural gas (ONG) extraction technologies have enabled the United States to become one of the world's leading producers of petroleum and natural gas hydrocarbons. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) lists 187 hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) that are known or suspected to cause cancer or other serious health effects. Several of these HAPs have been measured at elevated concentrations around ONG sites, but most have not been studied in the context of upstream development. In this review, we analyzed recent global peer-reviewed articles that investigated HAPs near ONG operations to ( a) identify HAPs associated with upstream ONG development, ( b) identify their specific sources in upstream processes, and ( c) examine the potential for adverse health outcomes from HAPs emitted during these phases of hydrocarbon development.

scholarly journals Methane Emissions from Process Equipment at Natural Gas Production Sites in the United States: Pneumatic Controllers

2014 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
pp. 633-640 ◽  
Author(s):  
David T. Allen ◽  
Adam P. Pacsi ◽  
David W. Sullivan ◽  
Daniel Zavala-Araiza ◽  
Matthew Harrison ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Natural Gas ◽  
The United States ◽  
Methane Emissions ◽  
Gas Production ◽  
Process Equipment ◽  
Natural Gas Production
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