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Super-emitters in natural gas infrastructure are caused by abnormal process conditions

Author

Listed:
  • Daniel Zavala-Araiza

    (Environmental Defense Fund)

  • Ramón A Alvarez

    (Environmental Defense Fund)

  • David R. Lyon

    (Environmental Defense Fund)

  • David T. Allen

    (Center for Energy and Environmental Resources, The University of Texas at Austin)

  • Anthony J. Marchese

    (Colorado State University)

  • Daniel J. Zimmerle

    (The Energy Institute, Colorado State University)

  • Steven P. Hamburg

    (Environmental Defense Fund)

Abstract

Effectively mitigating methane emissions from the natural gas supply chain requires addressing the disproportionate influence of high-emitting sources. Here we use a Monte Carlo simulation to aggregate methane emissions from all components on natural gas production sites in the Barnett Shale production region (Texas). Our total emission estimates are two-thirds of those derived from independent site-based measurements. Although some high-emitting operations occur by design (condensate flashing and liquid unloadings), they occur more than an order of magnitude less frequently than required to explain the reported frequency at which high site-based emissions are observed. We conclude that the occurrence of abnormal process conditions (for example, malfunctions upstream of the point of emissions; equipment issues) cause additional emissions that explain the gap between component-based and site-based emissions. Such abnormal conditions can cause a substantial proportion of a site’s gas production to be emitted to the atmosphere and are the defining attribute of super-emitting sites.

Suggested Citation

  • Daniel Zavala-Araiza & Ramón A Alvarez & David R. Lyon & David T. Allen & Anthony J. Marchese & Daniel J. Zimmerle & Steven P. Hamburg, 2017. "Super-emitters in natural gas infrastructure are caused by abnormal process conditions," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 8(1), pages 1-10, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:8:y:2017:i:1:d:10.1038_ncomms14012
    DOI: 10.1038/ncomms14012
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    Cited by:

    1. Shuo Sun & Linwei Ma & Zheng Li, 2021. "Methane Emission Estimation of Oil and Gas Sector: A Review of Measurement Technologies, Data Analysis Methods and Uncertainty Estimation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(24), pages 1-29, December.
    2. Kemfert, Claudia & Präger, Fabian & Braunger, Isabell & Hoffart, Franziska M. & Brauers, Hanna, 2022. "The expansion of natural gas infrastructure puts energy transitions at risk," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 7, pages 582-587.
    3. Titchener, James & Millington-Smith, Doug & Goldsack, Chris & Harrison, George & Dunning, Alexander & Ai, Xiao & Reed, Murray, 2022. "Single photon Lidar gas imagers for practical and widespread continuous methane monitoring," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 306(PB).
    4. Rashid, Kashif & Speck, Andrew & Osedach, Timothy P. & Perroni, Dominic V. & Pomerantz, Andrew E., 2020. "Optimized inspection of upstream oil and gas methane emissions using airborne LiDAR surveillance," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 275(C).
    5. Mark Omara & Daniel Zavala-Araiza & David R. Lyon & Benjamin Hmiel & Katherine A. Roberts & Steven P. Hamburg, 2022. "Methane emissions from US low production oil and natural gas well sites," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-10, December.
    6. James J. Winebrake & James J. Corbett & Fatima Umar & Daniel Yuska, 2019. "Pollution Tradeoffs for Conventional and Natural Gas-Based Marine Fuels," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(8), pages 1-19, April.

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