Presenter: Anna Karion, NOAA/ESRL, University of Colorado/CIRES
35 slide

Karion, Anna

English

Colorado Law

University of Colorado Law School Colorado Law Scholarly Commons Water and Air Quality Issues in Oil and Gas Development: The Evolving Framework of Regulation and Management (Martz Summer Conference, June 5-6) 2014 6-6-2014 SLIDES: What We Know (and Don't Know) About Air Quality Impacts of Oil and Gas Development Anna Karion Follow this and additional works at: https://scholar.law.colorado.edu/water-and-air-quality-issues-in-oil-and-gas-development  Part of the Energy and Utilities Law Commons, Environmental Health and Protection Commons, Environmental Law Commons, Environmental Public Health Commons, Hydraulic Engineering Commons, Natural Resource Economics Commons, Natural Resources Law Commons, Oil, Gas, and Energy Commons, Oil, Gas, and Mineral Law Commons, Science and Technology Law Commons, and the Water Law Commons Citation Information Karion, Anna, "SLIDES: What We Know (and Don't Know) About Air Quality Impacts of Oil and Gas Development" (2014). Water and Air Quality Issues in Oil and Gas Development: The Evolving Framework of Regulation and Management (Martz Summer Conference, June 5-6). https://scholar.law.colorado.edu/water-and-air-quality-issues-in-oil-and-gas-development/20 Reproduced with permission of the Getches-Wilkinson Center for Natural Resources, Energy, and the Environment (formerly the Natural Resources Law Center) at the University of Colorado Law School. WHAT WE KNOW (AND DON’T KNOW) ABOUT AIR QUALITY IMPACTS OF OIL AND GAS DEVELOPMENT ANNA KARION NOAA/ESRL UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO/CIRES Photo: Uinta Basin, UT credit: David Oonk, CIRES NOAA Cooperative Global Air Sampling Network - Greenhouse Gases http://www.esrl.noaa.gov/gmd/ccgg/flask.html GHGs (including methane) are measured in weekly air samples collected around the globe.  Data is free and available online at: http://www.esrl.noaa.gov/gmd/dv/data/ Potential Air Impacts of  Unconventional Oil and Gas Development Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) & Nitrogen Oxides: Ozone Precursors Air Toxics  (Benzene, Toluene, H2S…) Particles (dust) Methane (CH4),  Carbon dioxide (CO2) Global Scale Regional Scale Local-Regional Scale Health Air Quality Climate Forcing Slide credit: G. Pétron Raw gas is composed of  70-90% methane Distribution gas   is >90% methane Slide credit: G. Pétron eia.gov So what are the CH4 emissions from natural gas? 0246810122004 2009Tg CH4/yr Year 2010Report2011Report2013Report0510151 2 3Tg CH4/yr Report DistributionTransmissionProcessingProduction2013 2011 2010 EPA Inventory of GHG Sources and Sinks So what are the CH4 emissions from natural gas? 01231 2 3% CH4 Leakage Report DistributionTransmissionProcessingProduction2013 2011 2010 0246810122004 2009Tg CH4/yr Year 2010Report2011Report2013Report0510151 2 3Tg CH4/yr Report DistributionTransmissionProcessingProduction2013 2011 2010 EPA Inventory of GHG Sources and Sinks How can one assess atmospheric impacts of an industry?  Well completion Well workover Well normal fugitives Liquid unloading Separators Dehydrators Tank vents Pneumatic Devices Meters Compressors … Inventory approach estimates emissions for various types of operations or equipment using activity data and emission factors Atmospheric evidence-based approach estimates emissions at various scales using atmospheric measurements Slide: Gabrielle Pétron Can we detect emissions in the atmosphere? wind Concentrations of pollutants measured by tower, instrumented van, or aircraft downwind of the area source reflect emissions from oil and gas production operations surface emissions Slide: Gabrielle Pétron Uinta Basin, Utah Horse Pool ~60 km Colorado Utah oil wells gas wells Uinta Basin Utah, 2012 Distance perpendicular to wind (km) CH4 (ppb) downwind upwind Karion, A., C. Sweeney, et al. (2013). Methane emissions estimate from airborne measurements over a western United States natural gas field. Geophysical Research Letters.  10 High emissions (6-12% leak rate of NG), but this field only represents ~1% of US production.  Best inventory: ~5%. What we know 11 Katzenstein et al., PNAS 2003 Miller et al., PNAS 2013 12/11/2014 Green River Basin, WY: high winter time surface ozone in natural gas field (Schnell et al., 2009)  Uinta Basin, UT: Jan/Feb 2012 winter-time ozone study (Feb. 2012: Karion et al., 2013.) - Feb. 2013 (Oltmans et al., in prep.) What we know 12 Denver-Julesburg Basin, CO: Hydrocarbon emissions from oil and gas operations in Weld County  (Pétron et al., 2012; Gilman et al., 2013; Pétron et al., 2014) 12/11/2014 13 Barnett Shale, TX: Third largest shale gas field in the US.  Marcellus Shale, PA Haynesville Shale (LA/TX) & Fayetteville Shale (AR) 12/11/2014 [NOAA: Peischl, in prep.] [Zavala-Araiza et al, 2014; Karion et al, in prep.] What we know [NOAA: Peischl, in prep.] 14 Marcellus Shale, PA San Juan Basin, CO/NM 12/11/2014 [DOE Penn State] Bakken, ND [NOAA] [NOAA] Upcoming work 12/11/2014 15 Brandt et al., 2014: Emissions estimates from atmospheric measurements generally exceed inventories by ~50%.  Allen et al., 2013: On-site measurements show leakage similar to EPA estimates. 12/11/2014 16 But… many production regions have not yet been sampled.   (i.e. what we don’t know!) 12/11/2014 17 What are inventories missing? (what we don’t know)   Processes that emit that are not accounted for (e.g. Caulton et al., 2014)  Long-tailed emissions distribution (a few sources causing the majority of leaks). Air Toxics and Methane in Colorado 18 1. Top-down oil and gas emission estimates based on flight data in May 2012 are ~2 times larger than state inventory estimates for NMHCs and 7 times larger for the carcinogen benzene (C6H6).  2. CH4 emissions are close to 3 times larger than an estimate based on EPA GHGRP data.  C6H6 CH4 NMHC cars Pétron et al., 2014 Benzene *Measured NMHC: propane, n-butane, i-pentane, n-pentane, benzene Pétron et al., 2014 Denver-Julesburg Basin Methane Enhancement (ppb) Propane Enhancement (ppb) Photochemical Ozone (O3) production 12/11/2014 20 Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC):   venting, flashing, flaring, fugitive emissions OH HO2 NO NO2 O3 O2 VOCs,  CO, CH4 OVOCs,  CO2, H2O (O2) Sunlight Slide: Jessica Gilman Photochemical Ozone (O3) production 12/11/2014 21 Nitrogen Oxides (NOx=NO + NO2):   engine exhaust, drill rigs, compressor engines  OH HO2 NO NO2 O3 O2 VOCs,  CO, CH4 OVOCs,  CO2, H2O (O2) Sunlight Slide: Jessica Gilman Photochemical Ozone (O3) production 12/11/2014 22 Sunlight: UV from sunlight to trigger photochemistry OH HO2 NO NO2 O3 O2 VOCs,  CO, CH4 OVOCs,  CO2, H2O (O2) Sunlight Slide: Jessica Gilman Photochemical Ozone (O3) production 12/11/2014 23 Ingredients: VOC + NOx + Sunlight        Ozone OH HO2 NO NO2 O3 = ozone O2 VOCs,  CO, CH4 OVOCs,  CO2, H2O (O2) Slide: Jessica Gilman Sunlight Summertime Ozone: Typical in urban areas.  Weld County, Colorado is non-attainment in summer.  Wintertime Ozone: Rural western oil and gas basins, such as in Utah and Wyoming. 12/11/2014 24 Gilman et al., “Source Signature of Volatile Organic Compounds from Oil and Natural Gas Operations in Northeastern Colorado”, ES&T, 2013 A NOAA study in 2011 estimated that 55% of OH reactivity in the DJ region was attributable to VOCs emitted by oil and gas operations. 12/11/2014 25 Schnell et al., 2009 Upper Green River Basin, Wyoming Uinta Basin’s record surface ozone - 2013 • High emissions of ozone precursors • Snow covered ground (reflected UV) • Shallow inversion layer 75 ppb 8hr average standard 11am 4-6pm Summary  What we know:  Oil and gas production emissions affect air quality globally (greenhouse gases) and regionally (air toxics and ozone).  Atmospheric  measurements show that emissions are greater than inventory accounts.  What we don’t know:  How inventories can be improved / what they are missing  What the emissions from US oil and gas production are and how they will change.  12/11/2014 27 Gabrielle Pétron, Colm Sweeney, Jessica Gilman, Sam Oltmans, Russ Schnell, Eric Kort, Ben Miller, Stephen Montzka… and more  Photo: sunset over the Denton, TX  airport, courtesy S. Wolter Contact: Anna.Karion@noaa.gov Thanks to contributions from: Thank you! 12/11/2014 29 Some references 12/11/2014 30 Daniel Zavala-Araiza, David W. Sullivan & David T. Allen, Atmospheric Hydrocarbon Emissions and Concentrations in the Barnett Shale Natural Gas Production Region, 48 ENVTL. SCI. TECH. 5, 314, 5,315-5,319 (2014).  Studies of Uintah:  Edwards, P. et al., (2013). Ozone photochemistry in an oil and natural gas extraction region during winter: simulations of a snow-free season in the Uintah Basin, Utah. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics.  D. Helmig et al., (2014) Highly Elevated Atmospheric Levels of Volatile Organic Compounds in the Uintah Basin, Utah, 48 ES & T.  Ahmadov R., et al. (in prep). Understanding high wintertime ozone in an oil and natural gas producing region of the western U.S.  Carter & Seinfeld, Winter Ozone Formation and VOC Incremental Reactivities in the Upper Green River Basin of Wyoming, 50 ATMOSPHERIC ENVT. 255, 255 (2012). Barnett Shale, TX Upwind (Duchess) Downwind (Mooney) 12/11/2014 31 ~200 km 19 Oct 2013 CH4 C2H6 5 downwind transects 12/11/2014 32 Karion et al., in prep. Ethane to Methane Ratio: Barnett Shale 12/11/2014 33 12/11/2014 34 ~10% ~2-3% Kort et al., in prep. Ethane to Methane Ratio: Barnett Shale Downwind (Mooney) CH4 C2H6 CO CH4 CO Upwind (Duchess) Karion et al., in prep. 

SLIDES: What We Know (and Don\u27t Know) About Air Quality Impacts of Oil and Gas Development

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SLIDES: What We Know (and Don\u27t Know) About Air Quality Impacts of Oil and Gas Development

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