Willyard Katherine Ann, Schade Gunnar W
Department of Sociology, Texas A&M University, 311 Academic Building, Mail Stop 4351, College Station, TX 77843, United States of America.
Department of Atmospheric Sciences, Texas A&M University, United States of America.
Sci Total Environ. 2019 Nov 15;691:243-251. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.06.465. Epub 2019 Jul 2.
Since advances in horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing technologies have opened oil and gas development in previously unreachable areas, air pollution emissions have increased from the burning (i.e., flaring) or releasing (i.e., venting) of natural gas at oil and gas extraction sites. While venting and flaring is a growing concern, accounting of how much gas is vented and flared, and where this occurs, remains limited. The purpose of this paper is to describe two methods for estimating venting and flaring volumes - self-reports required by state law and satellite imagery radiant heat measurements - and to compare these methods using the case of Texas Eagle Ford and Permian Basin venting and flaring practices from 2012 to 2015. First, we used data self-reported by companies to the Texas Railroad Commission (TxRRC), and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) data captured by satellite-based Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite sensors, to estimate the annual total volumes of gas vented and flared in the Eagle Ford and Permian Basin from 2012 to 2015. Next, we developed a method using a geographic information system to link and compare TxRRC and NOAA county-based and point-based volume estimates. Finally, we conducted case studies of two oil and gas fields to better understand how TxRRC and NOAA venting and flaring volumes differ. We find both TxRRC and NOAA estimated venting and/or flaring volumes steadily increased from 2012 to 2015. Additionally, TxRRC reports captured about half the volumes estimated by NOAA. This suggests that self-reported volumes significantly underestimate the volume of gas being vented or flared. However, this research is limited by the data currently available. As such, future research and policy should further develop methods to systemically capture the extent to which oil and gas extraction facilities vent and flare natural gas.
由于水平钻井和水力压裂技术的进步使得此前无法开采的地区得以进行油气开发，油气开采场地燃烧（即火炬燃烧）或排放（即放空）天然气所导致的空气污染排放有所增加。尽管放空和火炬燃烧问题日益受到关注，但对于放空和火炬燃烧的天然气量以及发生地点的统计仍然有限。本文的目的是描述两种估算放空和火炬燃烧量的方法——州法律要求的自我报告以及卫星图像辐射热测量，并以2012年至2015年得克萨斯州伊格福特和二叠纪盆地的放空和火炬燃烧情况为例对这些方法进行比较。首先，我们使用公司向得克萨斯州铁路委员会（TxRRC）自我报告的数据，以及基于卫星的可见红外成像辐射计组传感器获取的美国国家海洋和大气管理局（NOAA）数据，来估算2012年至2015年伊格福特和二叠纪盆地放空和火炬燃烧的天然气年总量。接下来，我们开发了一种利用地理信息系统的方法，以关联和比较TxRRC以及NOAA基于县和基于点的气量估算值。最后，我们对两个油气田进行了案例研究，以更好地了解TxRRC和NOAA的放空和火炬燃烧量有何不同。我们发现，TxRRC和NOAA估算的放空和/或火炬燃烧量在2012年至2015年期间均稳步增加。此外，TxRRC报告的气量约为NOAA估算值的一半。这表明自我报告的气量显著低估了放空或火炬燃烧的天然气量。然而，本研究受到现有数据的限制。因此，未来的研究和政策应进一步开发方法，以系统地掌握油气开采设施放空和火炬燃烧天然气的程度。
