Mobile Measurements of Oil and Natural Gas operations in the Denver-Julesberg(DJ) basin. February 20, 2014, By Jon Kofler, for Clean Energy Action

Transcription

1 Mobile Measurements of Oil and Natural Gas operations in the Denver-Julesberg(DJ) basin February 20, 2014, By Jon Kofler, for Clean Energy Action

2 1. NOAA Global Monitoring Division, Boulder Our Mission: To provide the best observations possible on how our global atmosphere chemical and physical properties are changing To contribute to the objective knowledge used by scientists around the world to quantify the changes and attribute them to various drivers To support decision makers need for robust evidence based data

3 Co-authors and Funding Sources Data Acquisition and Analysis: Colm Sweeney, Anna Karion, Benjamin Miller, Steve Montzka, Gregory Frost, Michael Trainer, Russ Schnell, Bryan Johnson, Sam Oltmans, DetlevHelmig, Bruce Vaughn, Jana Milford, Mike Hannigan, Arlyn Andrews, Steve Brown, Pieter Tans Air sampling, Chemical Analysis, Calibration, QA/QC: Jonathan Kofler, Benjamin Miller, Ed Dlugokencky, Patricia Lang, Bradley Hall, Carolina Siso, Bill Dubé, Don Neff, Sonja Wolter, Tim Newberger, Jack Higgs, Andy Crotwell, Doug Guenther, Duane Kidzis, Molly Crotwell, Eric Moglia, Jacques Hueber Data Management: Ken Masarie, Dan Chao, Kirk Thoning, Benjamin Miller Collaborators: Eric Crosson, Chris Rella, Tracy Tsai (Picarro) Scott Herndon, Tara Yacovitch(Aerodyne) Funding: NOAA, State of Utah, EPA region 8, WEA, EDF, NSF

4 How do we measure or sample the air composition? Tower, aircraft and van in-situ measurements and canister sampling sampling system CCGG MAGICC CO 2 CH 4 N 2 O SF 6 CO H 2 HATS GC-MS 43 species

5 NOAA Global Monitoring Division, Boulder Climate forcing and Climate change - Air quality - Ozone depletion Carbon Cycle Program Long-term collaborative measurement/sampling platforms Global Network 72 active surface sites 4 observatories North America Network 10 tall towers 17 aircraft profiles Carbon Cycle Gases: CO 2, CH 4, N 2 O, SF 6, CO, H 2 World Central Calibration Center for CO 2, CH 4, N 2 O, SF 6, CO

6 The Tall Tower Network since 2008, to understand regional sinks and sources of CO2

7 Colorado Northern Front Range: BAO ~20,000 oil and gas wells Tower o 300 meter tall tower o located in Erie, Weld County o GMD Measurements since 2007 Tower PI: Dan Wolfe Northeastern Colorado is a non attainment area for surface ozone (since 2007). Until 2012, most O&G regulations came from States and Colorado has had some of the most stringent regulations because of the O 3 problem in the Front Range. NOAA GMD Tower team: Arlyn Andrews, Jonathan Kofler, Jonathan Williams

8 Denver-Julesburg oil and gas basin Colorado Frton Range Boulder Weld County Orange dots: active oil & gas wells Pink bubbles: State Air Quality monitors

9 Atmospheric Methane at Mauna Loa CH4 (ppb) Year

10 Radiativeforcing, relative to 1750, of all the long-lived greenhouse gases CO 2 Radiativeforcing is the change in the balance between radiation coming into the atmosphere and radiation going out. CH 4 NOAA GMD, James Butler and Stephen Montzka,

11 It All Started with Gaby, (Gabrielle Petron, PhD, CIRES Research Scientist)

12 History of the Global Monitoring Division (GMD) and Natural Gas Studies: 2009 Denver Metro 2011 DJ Basin (Weld county) 2012 DJ Basin (Weld county) 2013 DJ Basin (Weld county) 2014 DJ Basin (Weld county) Late 2011, and early 2012 Vernal Utah (Uintah Basin) April 2013 Texas (Barnett)

13 Give it to Johnny, he will do anything, with a little help From his friends Bill Dube

14 We were not the first to make measurements from a van NOAA -GMD Aerodyne

15 We spent a day with the EPA to compare measurement methods

16 Beautiful Boulder County Near the Erie tower Does this look like clean energy?

17 2. Background information on natural gas Part of the Jonah natural gas field, Wyoming

18 US Natural Gas Production The US became the world s largest gas producer in s-1960s Buildup of pipeline network Ohio historical society 1980s-Today 1970s-1990s Advances in horizontal drilling & DOE research hydraulic programs fracturing Consumpt Shale gas and coalbed ion methane Dry Production Early 2000s Success of Mitchell/Devon Energy in Barnett Net Shale Imports Today boom in shale gas E&P Price of gas increases steeply Energy Information Administration, 2010 Annual Energy Review

19 Increasing Reliance on Tight Gas & Oil * * 2011: tight gas 25% of US gas production shale gas: 34% 514,637 active wells 2011: tight oil 22% of US oil production 535,951 active wells Source: US Energy Information Administration, AEO2013

20 Conventional and unconventional gas Underground sources of natural gas Conventional natural gas deposits have been the most practical and easiest deposits to mine Unconventional gas refers to gas that is more difficult or less economical to extract. Source: modified from U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet Extraction in the unconventional low permeability formations requires hydraulic fracturing.

21 US Unconventional Gas Plays

22 Feb : Uinta Basin Flight over gas field - Low Wind Conditions Flight Track color-coded by CH 4 level Low wind Anna Karion, Colm Sweeney, Steve Conley, Tim Newberger, Sonja Wolter

23 Principle of Hydraulic Fracturing Source: Total Hydraulic fracturing or "fracking" is a stimulation technique used to increase the amount of natural gas or oil that can be extracted from compact formations. Frackingconsists in injecting millions of gallons of water mixed with sand (9.5%) and chemical additives (0.5%) down the hole. The high pressure mixture causes the rock layer to crack. The natural gas present in very fine pores can flow to the well head via the fissures which are held open by the sand particles.

24 Map of FrackedShale Wells

25 Multiplication of surface operations All numbers indexed to Well pad in Utah, 2011 Number of Gas Wells Dry Production Consumpt ion Well Pads Activities & Equipment: Road/Pad construction Well drilling and stimulation Well head Dehydrators Separators Liquid Storage Tanks Additives (Methanol) Servicing by trucks (oil, water) Workover, Restimulation Midstream Sector: Pipelines Compressor Stations Processing Plants

26 3. Risks and Impacts of O&G Development CAUTION Very few scientific studies have been devoted to quantitatively characterize the environmental and heath risks and impacts of oil and gas development.

27 Natural Gas System in the US >1 million oil and gas wells in US 20,000 miles of gathering pipelines ~ 500 processing plants 300,000 miles of transmission pipelines > 1400 compressor stations 400 underground storage US Statistics: EIA, DOT, OGJ 2,000,000 miles of distribution pipeline

28 O&G Operations: Complex mix of Point, Area & Mobile Sources Drilling Rig Condensate Tank Flashing emissions Truck loading/unloading Flaring emissions Compressor Station Venting emissions Processing Plant Wellhead Weld County summer 2008: >17,000 wells, ~ 900 new wells

29 Surface ozone precursors NGLs What s in natural gas? i-pentane n-butane i-butane Propane Ethane n-pentane Cycloalkanes Benzene Toluene C6+ Heavies CO2 N2 Air Toxics Composition of gas can vary from one basin/formation/w ell to another. Methane (CH 4 ) Produced raw gas is composed of 70-90% methane Distribution gas is >90% methane

30 Potential Air Impacts of (Shale) Gas/Oil Development: Global Scale Long-term Climate Forcing Methane Carbon dioxide Regional Scale Air Quality Ozone, Particles Local-Regional Scale Health Air Toxics, Ozone Particles

31 Risks and Potential Impacts associated with O&G Development Air Emissions of air pollutants, air toxics and greenhouse gases Climate forcing Impaired air quality Surface Intensive industrial activity Land disturbance and ecosystem fragmentation (pads, access roads, pipelines) Road traffic, road damage Contamination (Surface spills) Property value Underground Faulty casing Uncontrolled fracturation Pre-existing fractures Fluid Migration Aquifer/soil contamination (fracking fluid or gas Health Contaminated air/water/soil Changing environment/community Sickness Stress Water Intensive industrial activity Quantity Depletion of aquifers/reservoirs/surface streams Quality Contamination of surface water or subsurface water Waste Disposal Spills, contamination (toxics, radioactivity) from drilling mud, Frackingfluids, Produced water Evaporation ponds, spraying on roads Seismicity (Produced waterinjectionwells)

32 Different approaches to assess impacts Well completion 1. Emissions Inventories + Dispersion & Chemistry Modeling Well workover Liquid unloading Well normal fugitives Separators Dehydrators Pneumatic Devices Tank vents Meters Compressors Activity data, Emission factors Atmospheric model 2. Field Measurements Facility/process level Regional Emissions= Σ(Equipment count x Emission Factor)

33 4. What can atmospheric measurements tell us? Methane and VOC cloud wind In-situ measurements and discrete air samples are collected by instrumented van, tower or aircraft upwind and downwind of point or area sources.

34 Uinta Basin: Many other hydrocarbons are emitted with CH 4 February 2012 Anna Karion et al., 2013 One area source: oil and gas operations

35 For Natural Gas to have less of a greenhouse effect than Coal Burning requires a leak rate of less than 3.2 %

36 Some Results Emissions Factors: Utah Uintah Basin 8% Colorado DJ Basin 4% Texas Barnet? EPA estimates are lower, but have recently been updated.

37 What it is like to drive.

38 Oil and Gas Field Drive Methane Investigator Survey on July 7, 2013 in CO Front Range. A few hot spots are visible in the data, indicative of nearby sources/leaks. Early day sampling shows accumulation along the Platte River. Platte River

39 Alarming Stories (Drop the Science, and appeal to common sense): -Utah Fracking Site - Utah Evaporation Ponds - Dish Texas, (mayor and moving parked van) -My House

40 Utah Fracking Site OSHA: Short-term exposure limit (STEL). The employer shall assure that no employee is exposed to an airborne concentration of benzene in excess of five (5) ppm as averaged over any 15 minute period. Atmospheric Benzene on the county road near this flow back was close to OSHA s 5 ppm limit.

41 Flow back pond near fracking site in utah. The contents are allowed to evaporate, then the plastic is folded up and covered with dirt as remediation.

42

43

44 Dish, TX

45

46 Utah Evaporation Ponds

47 Symptoms: Eyes watering, throat burning, body sensations. Oil and Gas workers stand on top of their trucks to reduce these effects while waiting for their trucks to unload.

48

49

50 Frackingin Weld County: A bunch of trucks

51 Weld County Compressor Station Big Emitter possibly 10% of basin emissions

52 Compressor Station My House Approx 1 mile Parts Per Million Methane at House from compressor station Leaks over 24 hour period

53 What is in your neighborhood?

54 Links: Air pollution measurements at the [Erie,CO] tower revealed high levels of a class of pollutants called alkanes The power of doing something locally is that you can have a big impact, she said. You have direct access to people who have a strong interest in your measurements. Our analysis suggests that the emissions of the measured species are most likely underestimated in current inventories study estimates that natural-gas producers in an area known as the Denver-Julesburg Basin are losing about 4% of their gas to the atmosphere more than double the official inventory Nature 482, (09 February 2012) Gabrielle Petron--Response to Christopher W. Moore Presentation view video around hour 2 Total methane emissions may even be as high as to negate the natural gas greenhouse savings (compared to burning coal), Critical questions asked now may prevent future regrets including whether touting shale gas as a "bridge fuel" is actually justified

55 Thank you!