Purpose
This project will demonstrate if work truck- mounted sensor technologies are reliable, scalable and could be effectively deployed for methane detection and measurement from major sources such as cold light/medium and heavy oil production and natural gas production in the Canadian unconventional oil and gas (UOG) sector. These sensors could provide a low cost, efficient solution to manage field-wide ambient air monitoring that reduces methane emissions from unplanned emissions and removes the need for interval-based leak inspections. The overall project impact would meaningfully contribute to the federal government’s goal to reduce methane emissions by allowing screening and triage of emission sources so that operators and regulators can focus on super emitters in order to create early emissions reduction gains. It would also enable cost reductions of mitigation measures through potential deployment of sensors once developed among several operators.
Executive Summary
This final report summarizes outcomes for the Area Methane Detection Using Work Trucks project undertaken by Petroleum Technology Alliance Canada (PTAC) in collaboration with mAIRsure and Encana Corporation. This project commenced on November 1, 2016 and concluded on March 31, 2018. The project demonstrated a near commercial (TRL 6 – 8) clean technology for the detection and monitoring of methane emissions in the upstream oil and gas (UOG) sector in support of the Canadian Government’s policy to reduce methane and VOC emissions between 40% – 45% by 2025.
The project consisted of two phases: (1) Field Demonstration of Advanced Sensors and Analytics Mounted on Work Trucks; and (2) Project Management and Reporting.
The objectives of this project were to (1) demonstrate clean technologies, (2) demonstrate technologies for methane detection and measurement, (3) disseminate project achievements.
The project fulfilled these objectives through the following achievements:
• The primary objective of the field study (Task 1.5) was to provide emissions data on oil and gas sites. The project effectively obtained a valuable dataset of emissions across multiple, disparate sites, while also providing firsthand experience of operations with the mAIRsure system.
• With respect to Task 1.5, the techno-economic analysis indicates the Return of Investment (ROI) for this project is less expensive than adherence to existing reporting protocols with greater frequency of coverage (approximately $200-500 per annum per site).
• The aim of the controlled release tests (Task 1.4) were to validate the full sensor system’s ability to accurately and quantitatively detect leaks of different sizes. Data analysis from these tests provide an initial verification of the full leak detection system.