Mobile Measurement System for the Rapid and Cost-Effective Surveillance of Methane and Volatile Organic Compound Emissions from Oil and Gas Production Sites

In
this study, a ground-based mobile measurement system was developed
to provide rapid and cost-effective emission surveillance of both
methane (CH4) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from
oil and gas (O&G) production sites. After testing in several controlled
release experiments, the system was deployed in a field campaign in
the Eagle Ford basin, TX. We found fat-tail distributions for both
methane and total VOC (C4–C12) emissions (e.g., the top 20%
sites ranked according to methane and total VOC (C4–C12) emissions
were responsible for ∼60 and ∼80% of total emissions,
respectively) and a good correlation between them (Spearman’s R = 0.74). This result suggests that emission controls targeting
relatively large emitters may help significantly reduce both methane
and VOCs in oil and wet gas basins, such as the Eagle Ford. A strong
correlation (Spearman’s R = 0.84) was found
between total VOC (C4–C12) emissions estimated using SUMMA
canisters and data reported from a local ambient air monitoring station.
This finding suggests that this system has the potential for rapid
emission surveillance targeting relatively large emitters, which can
help achieve emission reductions for both greenhouse gas (GHG) and
air toxics from O&G production well pads in a cost-effective way.