Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
J Air Waste Manag Assoc. 2011 Feb;61(2):190-200. doi: 10.3155/1047-3289.61.2.190.
Alberta, Canada, is an important global producer of petroleum resources. In association with this production, large amounts of gas (1.14 billion m3 in 2008) are flared or vented. Although the amount of flaring and venting has been measurably reduced since 2002, data from 2005 reveal sharp increases in venting, which have important implications in terms of resource conservation and greenhouse gas emissions (which exceeded 8 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent in 2008). With use of extensive monthly production data for 18,203 active batteries spanning the years 2002-2008 obtained in close cooperation with the Alberta Energy Resources Conservation Board, a detailed analysis has been completed to examine activity patterns of flaring and venting and reasons behind these trends in the Alberta upstream oil and gas industry. In any given year, approximately 6000 batteries reported flaring and/or venting, but the distribution of volumes flared and vented at individual sites was highly skewed, such that small numbers of sites handled large fractions of the total gas flaring and venting in the Province. Examination of month-to-month volume variability at individual sites, cast in terms of a nominal turndown ratio that would be required for a compressor to capture that gas and direct it into a pipeline, further revealed that volumes at a majority of sites were reasonably stable and there was no evidence that larger or more stable sites had been preferentially reduced, leaving potential barriers to future mitigation. Through linking of geospatial data with production data coupled with additional statistical analysis, the 31.2% increase in venting volumes since 2005 was revealed to be predominantly associated with increased production of heavier oils and bitumen in the Lloydminster region of the Province. Overall, the data suggest that quite significant reductions in flaring and venting could be realized by seeking mitigation solutions for only the largest batteries in the Province.
加拿大阿尔伯塔省是全球重要的石油资源产地之一。在石油生产过程中，大量天然气（2008 年为 11.4 亿立方米）被燃烧或放空。虽然自 2002 年以来燃烧和放空的数量已经显著减少，但 2005 年的数据显示放空量急剧增加，这对资源保护和温室气体排放（2008 年超过 800 万吨二氧化碳当量）有重要影响。利用与阿尔伯塔省能源资源保护委员会密切合作获得的 2002-2008 年期间 18203 个活跃油井的广泛月度生产数据，对阿尔伯塔省上游石油和天然气行业燃烧和放空活动模式及其背后的趋势进行了详细分析。在任何给定年份，约有 6000 口油井报告燃烧和/或放空，但在单个站点放空和燃烧的气量分布高度偏斜，只有少数站点处理了全省总燃烧和放空气量的很大一部分。以压缩机为捕获该气体并将其导入管道所需的名义降压比为单位，对单个站点的月度气量变化进行考察，进一步表明大多数站点的气量相对稳定，没有证据表明较大或较稳定的站点已被优先减少，这可能成为未来减排的障碍。通过将地理空间数据与生产数据相关联，并结合其他统计分析，揭示了自 2005 年以来放空量增加 31.2%的主要原因是该省 Lloydminster 地区重质油和沥青产量增加。总体而言，数据表明，仅针对该省最大的油井寻求缓解措施，就可以实现燃烧和放空的显著减少。
