Methane Cost Curve Report

EconomicAnalysisof
MethaneEmission
ReductionOpportunities
intheU.S.OnshoreOil
andNaturalGas
Industries

March2014
Preparedfor
EnvironmentalDefenseFund
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EconomicAnalysisofMethaneEmissionReductionOpportunitiesintheU.S.OnshoreOilandNaturalGas
Industries
ICFInternational iii March2014
Contents
1. ExecutiveSummary....................................................................................................................11
2. Introduction...............................................................................................................................21
2.1. GoalsandApproachoftheStudy..............................................................................................21
2.2. OverviewofGasSectorMethaneEmissions.............................................................................22
2.3. ClimateChangeForcingEffectsofMethane.............................................................................25
2.4. CostEffectivenessofEmissionReductions...............................................................................26
3. ApproachandMethodology.......................................................................................................31
3.1. OverviewofMethodology.........................................................................................................31
3.2. Developmentofthe2011EmissionsBaseline...........................................................................32
3.3. Projectionto2018.....................................................................................................................34
3.4. IdentificationofTargetedEmissionSources.............................................................................36
3.5. SelectedMitigationTechnologies.............................................................................................39
3.6. SourceCategoriesNotAddressed...........................................................................................323
4. AnalyticalResults.......................................................................................................................41
4.1. DevelopmentofEmissionControlCostCurves.........................................................................41
4.2. EmissionReductionCostCurves................................................................................................42
4.3. CoBenefits..............................................................................................................................411
5. CaseStudies...............................................................................................................................51
5.1. WetSealCompressorDegassingforCentrifugalCompressors.................................................51
5.2. DrySealReplacement/Retrofit..................................................................................................52
5.3. WetSealDegassingCaptureSystems........................................................................................52
5.3.1. EconomicAnalysisofInstallingWetSealDegassingCaptureSystems........................53
5.4. LiquidsUnloading......................................................................................................................56
5.4.1. Background...................................................................................................................56
5.4.2. PlungerLifts..................................................................................................................57
5.4.3. AdditionalOptionsforRemovingorRemediatingLiquidsProblems...........................59
5.4.4. LiquidsIssuesinHorizontalWells...............................................................................512
6. Conclusions................................................................................................................................61
AppendixA.AdditionalSensitivities..................................................................................................A1
AppendixB.Developmentofthe2011EmissionsBaseline................................................................B1
AppendixC.EmissionProjectionto2018..........................................................................................C1
AppendixD.MethaneMitigationTechnologies.................................................................................D1
Figures
Figure11MarginalAbatementCostCurveforMethaneReductionsbySource...................................12
Figure21NaturalGasIndustryProcessesandExampleMethaneEmissionSources............................23
Figure31EmissionProjectionto2018(IncludingOffshore)..............................................................35
Figure32DistributionofEmissionsin2018...........................................................................................35
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ICFInternational iv March2014
Figure33EIAOilandGasRegions..........................................................................................................36
Figure342018ProjectedOnshoreEmissions........................................................................................38
Figure35ReciprocatingCompressorRodPacking...............................................................................313
Figure36WetSealCompressorSchematic..........................................................................................315
Figure37PlungerLiftSchematic..........................................................................................................317
Figure41ExampleMACCurve...............................................................................................................42
Figure42NationalAggregateMACCurveforBaselineTechnologyAssumptions................................43
Figure43DistributionofEmissionReductionPotential.........................................................................45
Figure44EmissionReductionbyIndustrySegment..............................................................................46
Figure45EmissionReductionsfortheGasProductionSegment.........................................................47
Figure46EmissionReductionsfortheOilProductionSegment............................................................48
Figure47EmissionReductionsfortheGatheringandBoostingSegment.............................................49
Figure48EmissionsReductionsfortheGasTransmissionSegment.....................................................49
Figure49NationalAggregateMACCurvewithBaselineTechnologyAssumptionand
EconomyWideValueRecognition.........................................................................................410
Figure410NationalAggregateMACCurvebyRegion.........................................................................411
Figure411CoBenefitReductionsofVOCsandHAPs.........................................................................412
Figure412VOCReductionCoBenefits................................................................................................412
Figure413HazardousAirPollutantCoBenefits..................................................................................413
Figure51DrySealsonaCentrifugalCompressor..................................................................................52
Figure52Wetsealdegassingrecoverysystemforcentrifugalcompressors(SourceU.S.
EPA)..........................................................................................................................................53
Figure53PlungerLiftSchematic............................................................................................................57
Figure54InstallationofVelocityTubingServingtoReductiontheCrossSectionAreaof
theProductionTubing............................................................................................................511
Figure55DifferentTypesofHorizontalWells......................................................................................513
Tables
Table31Summaryof2011MethaneEmissionsBaseline......................................................................33
Table32HighestEmittingOnshoreMethaneSourceCategoriesin2018.............................................37
Table33LDARHourlyCostCalculation................................................................................................310
Table34CostCalculationQuarterlyLDAR........................................................................................312
Table35AssumptionsforRodPackingReplacement..........................................................................314
Table36SummaryofMitigationMeasuresApplied............................................................................321
Table37SummaryofMitigationMeasureCharacteristics..................................................................322
Table41AnnualizedCostandReductionandInitialCapitalCost.........................................................44
Table42InitialCapitalCostbyIndustrySegment..................................................................................47
Table51DegassingRecoverySystemEstimatedInstallationandEquipmentCosts.............................54
Table52WetSealDegassingRecoverySystemCostsandSavingsforOneCompressor......................56
Table53WetSealDegassingRecoverySystemCostsandSavingsforFourCompressors
ataStation...............................................................................................................................56
Table54ReportedCapitalandOperatingCostRangesforInstallingPlungerLift
Systems....................................................................................................................................59
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ICFInternational v March2014
Acknowledgement
ICFreceivedandconsidereddataandcommentaryfromnumerousstakeholderorganizations,
includingoilandgasproducers,pipelines,equipmentvendors,serviceproviders,andatrade
organization.Noinformationinthisreportshouldbeattributedtoanysingleorganization,asall
dataisaggregatedfrommultiplesourcesandoftenusesaveragevalues.Furthermore,
acknowledgementofindustryparticipationdoesnotimplytheiragreementwiththestudy
conclusions,whichreflecttheprofessionaljudgmentofICF.
Wethankallofthestakeholderorganizationsforprovidinginputtothisstudy,andspecifically
acknowledgethefollowingentities:AnadarkoPetroleum,BGGroup,PioneerNaturalResources,
SouthwesternEnergy,andtheAmericanGasAssociation.

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ICFInternational vi March2014
AcronymsandAbbreviations
Acronym/Abbreviation StandsFor
AEO AnnualEnergyOutlook
BAMM BestAvailableMonitoringMethods
bbl Barrel
Bcf BillionCubicFeet
BTEX Benzene,Toluene,Ethylbenzene,andXylenes
CapEx CapitalExpenditures
CH
4
Methane
CO
2
CarbonDioxide
CO
2
e CarbonDioxideEquivalent
DI&M DirectedInspectionandMaintenance
EDF EnvironmentalDefenseFund
EIA U.S.EnergyInformationAdministration
EPA U.S.EnvironmentalProtectionAgency
ESD EmergencyShutdown
FERC FederalEnergyRegulatoryCommission
GDP GrossDomesticProduct
GGFR GlobalGasFlaringReduction
GHG GreenhouseGas
GHGRP GreenhouseGasReportingProgram
HAP HazardousAirPollutant
hp Horsepower
IR Infrared
LDAR LeakDetectionandRepair
LDCs LocalDistributionCompanies
LNG LiquefiedNaturalGas
MAC MarginalAbatementCost
Mcf ThousandCubicFeet
MMcf MillionCubicFeet
MMTCH
4
MillionMetricTonnesMethane
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ICFInternational vii March2014
Acronym/Abbreviation StandsFor
MMTCO
2
e MillionMetricTonnesCO
2
equivalent
NESHAP NationalEmissionStandardsforHazardousAirPollutants
NPV NetPresent Value
NSPS NewSourcePerformanceStandards promulgatedundertheFederalCleanAirAct
OpEx OperatingExpenditures
PRO PartnerReportedOpportunity
psig PoundsperSquareInch Gauge
RECs ReducedEmissionCompletions
scf StandardCubicFeet
scfd StandardCubicFeetperDay
scfh StandardCubicFeetperHour
scfm StandardCubicFeetperMinute
TEG TriethyleneGlycol
TSD TechnicalSupportDocument
USD U.S.Dollars
VOC VolatileOrganicCompound
VRU VaporRecoveryUnit
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ExecutiveSummary
ICFInternational 11 March2014
1. ExecutiveSummary
Methaneisanimportantclimatechangeforcinggreenhousegas(GHG)withashorttermimpactmany
timesgreaterthancarbondioxide.Methanecomprised9%ofU.S.greenhousegas(GHG)emissionsin
2011accordingtotheU.S.EPAInventoryofUSGreenhouseGasEmissionandSinks:19902011
1
,and
wouldcompriseasubstantiallyhigherportionbasedonashortertimescalemeasurement.Recent
researchalsosuggeststhatmitigationofshorttermclimateforcerssuchasmethaneisacritical
componentofacomprehensiveresponsetoclimatechange
2
.Emissionsfromtheoilandgasindustryare
amongthelargestanthropogenicsourcesofU.S.methaneemissions.Atthesametime,therearemany
waystoreduceemissionsoffugitiveandventedmethanefromtheoilandgasindustryand,becauseof
thevalueofthegasthatisconserved,someofthesemeasuresactuallysavemoneyorhavelimitednet
cost.
EnvironmentalDefenseFund(EDF)commissionedthiseconomicanalysisofmethaneemissionreduction
opportunitiesfromtheoilandnaturalgasindustriestoidentifythemostcosteffectiveapproachesto
reducethesemethaneemissions.Thestudyprojectstheestimatedgrowthofmethaneemissionsfrom
theseindustriesthrough2018asafuturedateatwhichnewemissionreductiontechnologiescouldbe
installed.Itthenidentifiesthelargestemittingsegmentsandestimatesthemagnitudeandcostof
potentialreductionsachievablethroughcurrentlyavailabletechnologies.Thekeyconclusionsofthe
studyinclude:
EmissionGrowthMethaneemissionsfromoilandgasactivitiesareprojectedtogrow4.5%from
2011to2018includingreductionsfromEPAregulationsadoptedin2012(knownasNewSource
PerformanceStandards(NSPS)SubpartOOOO).Alloftheprojectednetgrowthisfromtheoil
sector,largelyfromflaringandventingofassociatedgas.Growthfromnewnaturalgassourcesis
offsetbytheNSPSandothercontinuingemissionreductionactivities.Nearly90%oftheemissions
in2018comefromexistingsources(sourcesinexistencein2011).
80/20RuleforSources22oftheover100emissionsourcecategoriesaccountforover80%ofthe
2018emissions,primarilyatexistingfacilities.
AbatementMagnitudeandEconomicsA40%percentreductioninonshoremethaneemissionsis
projectedtobeachievablewithexistingtechnologiesandtechniquesatanettotalcostof
$0.66/Mcfofmethanereduced,orlessthan$0.01/Mcfofgasproduced,takingintoaccountsavings
thataccruedirectlytocompaniesimplementingmethanereductionmeasures(Figure11).Ifthefull
economicvalueofrecoverednaturalgasistakenintoaccount,includingsavingsthatdonotdirectly
accruetocompaniesimplementingmethanereductionmeasures,the40%reductionisachievable
1
Calculatedata100yearGWPof21seeSection2.3.
2
Shoemaker,J.et.al.,WhatRoleforShortLivedClimatePollutantsinMitigationPolicy?.ScienceVol34213December2013
Industries
ExecutiveSummary
whilesavingtheU.S.economyandconsumersover$100millionperyear.Thecostforsome
measuresandsegmentsoftheindustryismoreorlessthanthenettotal.Theinitialcapitalcostof
themeasuresisestimatedtobeapproximately$2.2billionwiththemajorityofthecostsintheoil
andgasproductionsegments.
Figure11MarginalAbatementCostCurveforMethaneReductionsbySource
AbatementOpportunitiesByvolume,thelargestopportunitiestargetleakdetectionandrepairof
fugitiveemissions(leaks)atfacilitiesandgascompressors,reducedventingofassociatedgas,and
replacementofhighemittingpneumaticdevices.
CoBenefitsReducingmethaneemissionswillalsoreduceatnoextracostconventional
pollutantsthatcanharmpublichealthandtheenvironment.Themethanereductionsprojected
herewouldalsoresultina44%reductioninvolatileorganiccompounds(VOCs)andhazardousair
pollutants(HAPs)associatedwithmethaneemissionsfromtheoilandgasindustry.
Thereareseveralcaveatstotheresults:
The2011EPAinventoryisthebeststartingpointforanalysis,butitisbasedonmanyassumptions
andsomeolderdatasources.Althoughtheinventoryisimprovingwithnewdata,itisdesignedto
beaplanningandreportingdocumentandisimperfect,especiallyatthedetailedlevel,fora
granularanalysisofthistype.
Emissionmitigationcostandperformancearehighlysitespecificandvariable.Thevaluesusedhere
areestimatedaveragevalues.
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ExecutiveSummary
Theanalysispresentsareasonableestimateofpotentialcostandmagnitudeofreductionswithina
rangeofuncertainty.
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Introduction
2. Introduction
Methaneemissionshaveanenhancedeffectonclimatechangebecausemethanehasaclimateforcing
effect25timesgreaterona100yearbasisthanthatofcarbondioxide,theprimarygreenhousegas
(GHG).Methanesimpactisalmostthreetimesgreaterona20yearbasisandthereisresearchthatmay
causebothfactorstobeincreased.(SeeSection2.3)Recentresearchalsosuggeststhatmitigationof
shorttermclimateforcerssuchasmethaneisacriticalcomponentofacomprehensiveresponseto
climatechange.
EmissionsfromtheoilandgasindustriesareamongthelargestanthropogenicsourcesofU.S.methane
emissionsaccordingtotheU.S.EPAInventoryofU.S.GreenhouseGasEmissions
3
,andrecentanalyses
indicatethattheEPAinventoryestimatesmayunderstatetotalmethaneemissionsfromthissource
category
4
.Atthesametime,therearemanywaystoreduceemissionsoffugitiveandventedmethane
fromtheoilandgasindustriesand,becauseofthevalueofthegasthatisconserved,someofthese
measuresactuallysavemoneyorhavelimitednetcost.
Companiesintheoilandgasindustrieshavemadesignificantvoluntaryreductionsinmethane
emissions.However,voluntaryadoptionofcontroltechniquesisuneven.TheU.S.hasestablished
emissionregulationsforconventionalpollutants(NSPSSubpartOOOOandoilandgasNESHAPS)that
willhavetheeffectofsignificantlyreducingmethaneemissionsfromcertainnewsourcesinsome
segmentsofthegasindustry.Somestatesalsohaveproposedorestablishedregulationsthatlimit
methaneemissionsfromtheoilandgasindustry.However,theseregulationsgenerallydonotapplyto
emissionsfromtheexistinginfrastructure,sothereisalargepopulationofuncontrolledsources.
Overall,methaneemissionsaresignificantandthereisasizeablepotentialforadditionalcosteffective
reductionopportunities.
2.1. GoalsandApproachoftheStudy
EnvironmentalDefenseFund(EDF)commissionedthiseconomicanalysisofmethaneemissionreduction
opportunitiesfromtheoilandnaturalgasindustry.ThisICFanalysisissolutionsorientedand
complementsEDFsongoingworkonmethaneemissionsintheoilandnaturalgassectors.The
approachtothestudywasto:
Defineabaselineofmethaneemissionsfromtheoilandgassectors.Thebaselinewasestablished
for2018asaconservativeestimateofapointwhennewmitigationtechnologiescouldhavebeen
installed.
3
U.S.EPA,InventoryofU.S.GreenhouseGasEmissionsAndSinks:19902011.April2013.
http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/ghgemissions/usinventoryreport.htmlBasedona100yearGWPof21seeSection2.3
4
Brandt,A.et.al.,MethaneLeaksfromNorthAmericanNaturalGasSystems.ScienceVOL34314February2014
Industries
Introduction
Reviewexistingliteratureandconductfurtheranalysistoidentifythelargestreduction
opportunitiesandvalidateandrefinecostbenefitestimatesofmitigationtechnologies.
Conductinterviewswithindustry,technologyinnovators,andequipmentvendorswithaspecific
focustoidentifyadditionalmitigationoptions.
Usethisinformationtodevelopmarginalabatementcost(MAC)curvesformethanereductionsin
theseindustries.
Documentandpresenttheresults.
Thefinaloutputsofthestudyinclude:
Theprojected2018emissionsbaseline.(Chapter3andAppendixC)
Inventoryofmethanemitigationtechnologies.(Chapters3and6andAppendixD)
Emissionsabatementcostcurvesacrossarangeofscenarios(Chapter4andAppendixA)
Indepthcasestudiesoftwospecificmethanemitigationoptions.(Chapter5)
Conclusions(Chapter6)
2.2. OverviewofGasSectorMethaneEmissions
Therearemanysourcesofmethaneemissionsacrosstheentireoilandgassupplychain.These
emissionsarecharacterizedaseither:
Fugitiveemissionsmethanethatleaksunintentionallyfromequipmentsuchasfromflanges,
valves,orotherequipment.
Ventedemissionsmethanethatisreleasedduetoequipmentdesignoroperationalprocedures,
suchasfrompneumaticdevicebleeds,blowdowns,incompletecombustion,orequipmentventing.
Althoughleaksissometimesusedtorefertoallmethaneemissionsfromtheoilandgasindustry,we
usethemorenarrowtechnicaldefinitionsinthisreport.
Figure21illustratesthemajorsegmentsofthenaturalgasindustryandexamplesoftheprimary
sourcesofmethaneemissionsasgasisproduced,processed,anddeliveredtoconsumers.Naturalgasis
producedalongwithoilinmostoilwells(asassociatedgas)andalsoingaswellsthatdonotproduce
oil(asnonassociatedgas).Upuntilthepastfewyears,mostoftheU.S.naturalgassupplycamefrom
theGulfofMexicoandfromwesternandsouthwesternstates.Morerecently,midcontinentaland
northeasternshaleplayshavebeenagrowingsourceofoilandgassupply.
Industries
Introduction
Figure21NaturalGasIndustryProcessesandExampleMethaneEmissionSources
Sources:AmericanGasAssociation;EPANaturalGasSTARProgram
Rawgas(includingmethane)isventedatvariouspointsduringtheproductionprocess.Gascanbe
ventedwhenthewelliscompletedattheinitialphaseofproduction.Further,becausegaswellsare
ofteninremotelocationswithoutelectricity,thegaspressureisusedtocontrolandpoweravarietyof
controldevicesandonsiteequipment,suchaspumps.Thesepneumaticdevicestypicallyreleaseor
bleedsmallamountsofgasduringtheiroperation.Inbothoilandgasproduction,waterand
hydrocarbonliquidsareseparatedfromtheproductstreamatthewellhead.Theliquidsreleasegas,
whichmaybeventedfromtanksunlessitiscaptured.Waterisremovedfromgasstreambyglycol
dehydrators,whichventtheremovedmoistureandsomegastotheatmosphere.Insomecases,thegas
releasedbytheseprocessesandequipmentmaybeflaredratherthanvented,tomaintainsafetyandto
relieveoverpressuringwithindifferentpartsofthegasextractionanddeliverysystem.Flaringproduces
CO
2
,asignificantbutlesspotentGHGthanmethane,butnoflareis100%efficient,andsomemethaneis
emittedduringflaring.Inadditiontothevarioussourcesofventedemissions,themanycomponents
andcomplexnetworkofsmallgatheringlineshavethepotentialforfugitiveemissions.
Althoughsomegasispureenoughtobeusedasis,mostgasisfirsttransportedbypipelinefromthe
wellheadtoagasprocessingplant.Thegatheringsystemhaspneumaticdevicesandcompressorsthat
ventgasaswellaspotentialfugitiveemissions.Gasprocessingplantsremoveadditionalhydrocarbon
liquidssuchasethaneandbutaneaswellasgaseousimpuritiesfromtherawgas,includingCO
2
,inorder
forthegastobepipelinequalityandreadytobecompressedandtransported.Suchplantsareanother
sourceoffugitiveandventedemissions.
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Introduction
Fromthegasprocessingplant,naturalgasistransported,generallyoverlongdistancesbyinterstate
pipelinetothecitygatehubandthentoconsumers.Thevastmajorityofthecompressorsthat
pressurizethepipelinetomovethegasarefueledbynaturalgas,althoughasmallshareispoweredby
electricity.CompressorsemitCO
2
andmethaneemissionsduringfuelcombustionandarealsoasource
offugitiveandventedmethaneemissionsthroughleaksincompressorseals,valves,andconnections
andthroughventingthatoccursduringoperationsandmaintenance.Compressorstationsconstitute
theprimarysourceofventedmethaneemissionsinnaturalgastransmission.
Somepowerplantsandlargeindustrialfacilitiesreceivegasdirectlyfromtransmissionpipelines,while
othersaswellasresidentialandcommercialconsumershavegasdeliveredthroughsmallerdistribution
pipelinesoperatedbylocalgasdistributioncompanies(LDCs).Distributionlinesdonottypicallyrequire
gascompression;however,somemethaneemissionsdooccurduetoleakagefromolderdistribution
linesandvalves,connections,andmeteringequipment.Thisisespeciallytrueforoldersystemsthat
havecastirondistributionmains.
Manyoftheemissionsourcesfromdomesticoilproductionaresimilartothoseingasproduction
completionemissions,pneumaticdevices,processingequipmentandengine/compressors.Crudeoil
containsnaturalgasandthegasisseparatedfromtheoilstreamatthewellheadandcanbecaptured
forsale,vented,orflared.Ventingorflaringismostcommoninregionsthatdonothavegasgathering
infrastructure.ThisisthecasecurrentlyinNorthDakota,whererapidgrowthinoilproductionhastaken
placeinaregionwithlittlegasgatheringinfrastructure.Whilenewgatheringlinesarebeingbuilt,
productionisstillaheadofthegatheringcapacity,resultingincontinuedflaring.
Oilistakenfromthewellheadinelectricpoweredpipelinesandmorerecentlybyrail,torefineriesfor
processing.Petroleumproductsarethentakentoconsumersbypipeline,truck,rail,orbarge.The
downstreammethaneemissionsinthepetroleumsectoraremuchsmallerthaninthegassectoras
mostofthemethanehasbeenremovedfromtheoilbythispoint.
Forthelast100years,domesticoilproductionhasbeenprimarilyintheSouthwest(Texas,Arkansas,
Oklahoma),theGulfofMexico,California,andAlaska.Domesticgasproductionhasbeenmostlyinthe
Southwest,GulfofMexico,andtheRockies.Morerecently,thefocusofnewnaturalgasandoil
developmenthasbeenintheextractionofgasfromshaleformations.Shaleisasedimentaryrock
composedofcompactedmud,clayandorganicmatter.Overtime,theorganicmaterialcanproduce
naturalgasand/orpetroleum,whichcanslowlymigrateintoformationswhereitcanberecoveredfrom
conventionaloilandgaswells.Theshalerockitselfisnotsufficientlypermeabletoallowthegastobe
economicallyrecoveredthroughconventionalwells;thatis,gaswillnotflowsufficientlyfreelythrough
theshaletoawellforproduction.
Gasandoilfromshaleformationsisrecoveredbyhydraulicallyfracturingtheshalerocktoreleasethe
hydrocarbons.Thisinvolvespumpingwaterandadditivesathighpressureintothewelltofracture
theshale,creatingsmallcracksthatallowthegasand/oroiltoflowout.Whenthewaterflowsback
Industries
Introduction
outofthewell,methaneisentrainedandmaybevented.Duetothehighglobalwarmingpotentialof
methane,thiscanbealargesourceofGHGs.Forthesereasons,theincreasedproductionofshalegasis
apotentialsourceofincreasedGHGemissions.
Federalregulationspromulgatedin2012requirethemajorityofnewhydraulicallyfracturedgaswellsto
captureorflaretheflowbackgas.Theseregulationsandotherfederalandstateregulationsalsorequire
controlofothermethaneemittingprocesses,thoughmanyapplyonlytonewsourcesandtothose
wellsthatprimarilyproducenaturalgasratherthanwellsthatprimarilyproduceoil,sothereremainsa
largepopulationofexistinguncontrolledsources.
Significantamountsofbothoilandgasareproducedfromoffshorefacilities.Whilethesefacilities
reportsignificantmethaneemissions,thereportsdonothavethedetailandspecificityoftherestofthe
methaneinventoryandthereforecannotbeincludedinthesamemethodologyappliedtotherestof
theinventoryforthisanalysis.Therefore,thisstudyfocusesonlyononshoreoilandgasindustry
operations.Additionalstudyofoffshoreemissionsandreductionopportunitieswouldbeauseful
followuptothisanalysis.
2.3. ClimateChangeForcingEffectsofMethane
Differentgreenhousegasespersistintheatmospherefordifferentlengthsoftimeandhavedifferent
warmingeffects,andthushavedifferenteffectsonclimatechange.Inordertocomparethem,the
scientificcommunityusesafactorcalledtheglobalwarmingpotential(GWP),whichrelateseachGHGs
effecttothatofCO
2
,whichisassignedaGWPof1.Thescienceandpolicycommunitieshavehistorically
lookedtotheIntergovernmentalPanelonClimateChange(IPCC)assessmentreportsasthe
authoritativebasisforGWPvalues.ThecurrentlyacceptedvaluesarefromtheIPCCFourthAssessment
report
5
(AR4).
CO
2
emissionsdeterminetheamountofclimatechangeoverthelongterm,duetotheirlonglifetimein
theatmosphere.BecausestabilizingclimatewillrequiredeepcutsinCO
2
emissions,GWPvaluesare
mostcommonlyexpressedona100yeartimehorizon.Ona100yearbasis,methaneisassignedaGWP
of25bytheAR4.Thismeansthatonetonofmethanehasthesameeffectas25tonsofCO
2
over100
years.The100yearGWPisthestandardvalueusedbytheEPAandotherfederal,state,and
internationalagenciestomeasureGHGemissions.(OneexceptionistheEPAGHGinventory,whichuses
a100GWPof21,asspecifiedbytheUnitedNationsFrameworkConventiononClimateChange(UNFCC)
inventoryprotocol.)
5
IPCC.ClimateChange2007:ThePhysicalScienceBasis.ContributionofWorkingGroupItotheFourthAssessmentReportof
theIntergovernmentalPanelonClimateChange.(CambridgeUniversityPressandNewYork,NY,Cambridge,UnitedKingdom,
2007).
Industries
Introduction
SomeGHGs,includingmethane,haveastrongerclimateforcingeffectthanCO
2
butashorterlifetimein
theatmosphere(12yearsformethane).Inordertoevaluatetheshorttermeffects,theGWPisalso
calculatedona20yearbasis.Ona20yearbasis,theAR4assignsmethaneaGWPof72.TheIPCCis
currentlypreparingaFifthAssessmentReport(AR5)
6
.Thefirstphaseofthatworkhasadoptedhigher
GWPvaluesduetoupdateddataonmethanesroleintheatmosphere.TheAR5valuesarea100year
GWPof28anda20yearGWPof84formethane.Insummary:
TheEPAGHGinventoryusesa100yearGWPof21.
Mostotherregulationsandinventories(includingtheEPAGreenhouseGasReportingruleasof
2013)usetheAR4100yearGWPof25.TheAR420yearGWPis72.
TheGWPsbeingputforthintheAR5are28for100yearsand84for20years.
ThisreportusestheAR4100yearGWPof25exceptwhereotherwisenoted.
2.4. CostEffectivenessofEmissionReductions
Itiscommonindiscussingemissionreductionstodescribecosteffectiveemissionreductions.
However,therearethreedifferentconceptsofcosteffectivenessthatmustbeunderstoodand
differentiated.
Thefirstconceptiscosteffectivenessforthecompanyimplementingthemeasure.Inthiscase,cost
effectivemeansthatthevalueofgasthatisrecoveredthroughamethanereductionmeasureexceeds
theincrementalcapitalandoperatingcostofthemeasuresufficientlytocreateapaybackorrateof
returnthatmeetsthecompanysinvestmentcriteria.Measuresthatmeetthesecriteriamightbe
describedashavingapositivenetpresentvalue(NPV),ashortpaybackperiod,oraninternalrateof
returnthatmeetsacertainthreshold.
Inorderforameasuretomeetthiscosteffectivenesscriterion,themeasuremustrecoverthemethane
emissionsandbeabletorecovertheirmonetaryvalue.Flaringofmethaneemissionsdoesnotmeetthis
criterion,forexample.Inaddition,thecompanymustbeabletomonetizethevalueoftherecovered
methane.Forexample,ifaproducerreducesmethanelosses,itwillhavemoregastosellandwill
receiveaneconomicbenefit.
Thesecondconceptiscosteffectivenessattheeconomywidescale.Insegmentsinwhichthecompany
ownsthegas,suchasoilandgasproduction,thecompanycanclearlymonetizethevalueofreduced
gaslosses.Thisisalsotrueinsomeothersectors.Mostmidstreamcompanies(gathering,processing,
6
IPCC.ClimateChange2013:ThePhysicalScienceBasis.ContributionofWorkingGroupItotheFifthAssessmentReportof
theIntergovernmentalPanelonClimateChange.(CambridgeUniversityPressandNewYork,NY,Cambridge,UnitedKingdom,
2013).
Industries
Introduction
storage)arepaidafixedfeeforgaslostandconsumedduringtheiroperations.Iftheycanreducetheir
lossesthentheywillbenefitdirectlyfromthereducedlosses.
Althoughtransmissionandlocaldistributioncompaniestypicallyhaveasimilarcoststructure,theyare
usuallyrequiredbyregulatorstoreturnthevalueofreducedlossestotheircustomers,sotheycannot
recoverthebenefitofreducedmethanelosses.Methanereductionsinthesesegmentsoftheindustry
willnothaveapositivereturntothecompanyorbecosteffectiveinthissense.Thatsaid,thevalueof
reducedlosseswillaccruetootherpartsoftheeconomy.IfapipelineorLDCreducesitslosses,the
benefitwilleventuallyflowthroughtothecustomersandtotheeconomyoverall.Reducedlosseswill
eventuallyflowthroughaslowerpricesforgasdeliveryanddeliveredcostofgastoconsumers.Thus,
evenwhentheentityimplementingareductioncannotdirectlybenefitfromreducedlosses,thereisa
broaderbenefitandthatfulleconomicbenefitcanbecalculatedandallocatedagainstthecostofthe
methanereduction,thesecondkindofcosteffectiveness.
Thelastconceptofcosteffectivenessisinthecontextofpollutioncontrolprograms.Inconventional
pollutioncontrolprogramsthecontroltechnologyrarelyresultsinacostreductiontothecompanythat
isrequiredtoimplementit.Thatis,thecostofcontrolisalmostalwayspositiveandthenetpresent
valueisnegativeandthereisnopaybackfortheinvestment.Nevertheless,theseprogramsincorporate
theconceptofcosteffectiveness,meaningthatthecostisacceptabletosocietyasameansofmeeting
publichealthandenvironmentalgoals.Thecosteffectivenessvariesfordifferentpollutantsand
differentregulatoryprograms.Forexample,$10,000/tonofVOCreducedmaybeconsideredcost
effectiveinsomeozonenonattainmentareaswhile$100/tonofSO
2
maybeconsideredcosteffective
foranacidrainreductionprogram.Inthiscontext,methanereductionscanbeconsideredcosteffective
eveniftheyhaveanetcosttothecompanyorsocietyoverall.Wheremethanereductionsdocreatea
netvaluetotheimplementingcompany,thecostofcontrolwillbenegative,i.e.,thecompanyis
reducingemissionsandsavingmoneyratherthanspendingmoney.
Inthisstudy,thevalueofrecoveredgasisincludedincalculatingthecosteffectivenessofmitigation
measureswherethegascanberecoveredandwhereitcanbemonetizedbythecompany.Therefore,
thesamemeasuremayhavedifferentcostsfordifferentsegments,e.g.,reducingcompressoremissions
willhavealowernetcostintheproductionsegmentthaninthetransmissionsegment.Thisreflectsthe
netcosttothecompanytoimplementthemeasure.However,wheregascanberecoveredthrougha
mitigationmeasure,itwillhavevaluetothebroadereconomy,evenifitisnotrecognizedbythe
companythatmustmaketheinvestment.Thereforewealsoshow,incertaincases,aneconomywide
costeffectivenessmeasure,whichrecognizesthevalueofallrecoveredgas,evenifitcannotbe
recognizeddirectlybytheaffectedcompany.Thesecasesareclearlylabeledassuch.Thecostof
control,whetherpositiveornegative,canbealsoevaluatedintheregulatorysenseandcomparedto
otheravailableemissionreductionoptions.Finally,thereareadditionalsocialandenvironmental
benefitsofmethanereductionsthatarenotcapturedinthesecalculations,includingthebroader
Industries
Introduction
economicvalueofreducedclimateriskandcobenefitreductionsofconventionalpollutantssuchas
groundlevelozoneandhazardousairpollutants.
Industries
ApproachandMethodology
3. ApproachandMethodology
3.1. OverviewofMethodology
Thissectionprovidesanoverviewofthemethodologyappliedforthisstudy.Themajorstepswere:
Establishthe2011BaselineforanalysistheanalysisstartedwiththemostrecentU.S.EPA
inventoryofmethaneemissionsintheEPAInventoryofU.S.GHGEmissionspublishedin2013with
datafor2011
7
.Thisinventorywasreviewedandrevisedtoaccountforadditional,morerecent
informationsuchasinformationfromtheEPAGHGReportingProgram
8
andtheUniversityof
Texas/EDFgasproductionmeasurementstudy
9
.ThesechangeswereappliedtodevelopanICF2011
Baseline,whichwasusedasthebasisforprojectingonshoremethaneemissionsto2018.
Projectemissionsto2018theanalysisofpotentialreductionswasbasedontheprojected2018
emissionlevel.Theyear2018waschosenasaconservativedatebywhichnewcontroltechnologies
couldhavebeeninstalled.TheinventorywasalsodisaggregatedfromthenationallevelintheEPA
inventorytothesevenregionsusedintheU.S.EIAsoilandgasdatatoprovideregionalreporting.
Identificationofmajorsourcesandkeymitigationoptionsthenextstepwastoidentifythe
largestemittingsourcesintheprojected2018inventoryandthemitigationoptionsthatwouldbe
mosteffectiveandcosteffectiveforthesesources.
Characterizationofemissionreductiontechnologiesakeypartofthestudywastoreviewand
updateinformationonthecostandperformanceoftheselectedmitigationtechnologies.
Informationwasgatheredfromequipmentmanufacturers,oilandgascompanies,andother
knowledgeableparties.
Developmentofthemarginalabatementcostcurvesthetechnologyinformationwasappliedto
theemissionsinventorytocalculatethepotentialemissionreductionandcost.Theresultswere
displayedinaseriesofmarginalabatementcostcurves.
Thekeystepsarediscussedfurtherinthefollowingsections.
7
U.S.EPA,InventoryofU.S.GreenhouseGasEmissionsAndSinks:19902011,
http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/ghgemissions/usinventoryreport.html
8
http://www.epa.gov/ghgreporting/
9
Allen,David,et.al.,MeasurementsofMethaneEmissionsatNaturalGasProductionSitesintheUnitedStates.
10.1073/pnas.1304880110
Industries
3.2. Developmentofthe2011EmissionsBaseline
Thedevelopmentofthe2011BaselinetakesasitsstartingpointtheU.S.EPAsInventoryofU.S.
GreenhouseGasEmissionsandSinks:19902011publishedin2013withdatafor2011
10
,specifically
theportiononmethanefromNaturalGasandPetroleumSystems.WhiletheEPAInventoryisthemost
comprehensivesourceforthistypeofinformation,itisdesignedtobeaplanningandreportingtool
ratherthanthebasisforthistypeofgranularanalysis.ThereforeICFdevelopedanew2011Baseline,
adaptingtheEPAstructuretotheneedsoftheanalysisandincorporatingmorerecentinformation.This
wasnotacompleteupdateoftheinventory,whichwasbeyondthescopeofthisproject,butanupdate
ofanysectionsforwhichneworbetterdatacouldbereadilyidentified.TheEPAInventory
11
estimates
436billioncubicfeet(Bcf)or8.4millionmetrictonnesofmethaneemissionsforthepetroleumand
naturalgassectorsincludingoffshoreproductionin2011.Thepetroleumandnaturalgassectorsare
thenfurtherdividedintothevarioussegmentsforthenaturalgassector(GasProduction,Gatheringand
Boosting,GasProcessing,GasTransmission,GasStorage,LNGImport/Export,andDistribution)andthe
petroleumsector(OilProduction,Transportation,andRefining).
TheEPAInventorybreaksoutmethaneemissionsforapproximately200sources,andcalculates
uncontrolledemissionsusingactivityfactors(e.g.,equipmentcounts)multipliedbyemissionfactors
(averageemissionsfromeachsource)toestimatethetotalemissions.Thetotaluncontrolledemissions
arereducedbyemissionreductionsreportedprimarilyfromtheEPAsvoluntaryNaturalGasSTAR
Program,plusadditionalreductionsfromothersources,suchasstateregulations.
Thedevelopmentofthe2011Baselinereliedonthe2011EPAInventoryanddatafromseveralpublically
availablereferences.ThemostcommonsourceofupdatedinformationwastheU.S.EPAsmandatory
GreenhouseGasReportingRule(GHGRP)subpartsC(combustionfromstationarysources)andW
(methaneemissionsfrompetroleumandnaturalgassystems).ICFalsousedinformationanddatafrom
theU.S.EnergyInformationAdministration(EIA),EPAs1996GRIstudyofmethaneemissions
12
,theEPA
ManualofEmissionFactorsAP42
13
,variousstateenergyandenvironmentaldepartments,andthe
EDF/UniversityofTexasmethanemeasurementstudy.Muchofthisinformationwasnotavailableatthe
timethatthe2011EPAinventorywasoriginallydeveloped.
Whilesomesourcecategoriesincreasedandsomedecreasedduetotheseadjustments,theoverall
effectwasanincreaseof2.4%inthenetestimatedmethaneemissionsfromtheoilandgassectorsto
10
11
Whilethe2013editionoftheInventorywasthecurrentversionatthetimethestudywasinitiated,EPAhassincereleased
thedraftofthe2014edition.HoweverthisstudydoesnotaddressthatnewerversionoftheInventory.
12
http://epa.gov/gasstar/tools/related.htmlunderMethaneEmissionsfromtheNaturalGasIndustry
13
http://www.epa.gov/ttn/chief/ap42/index.html
Industries
446Bcf(8.6millionmetrictonnes)ofmethane.Theestimatedemissionsfromthenaturalgassector
were2%(10Bcf)lowerwhiletheemissionsfromtheoilsectorincreasedby26%(20Bcf)comparedto
theEPAinventory.Table31summarizestheemissionsinthe2011Baselinecomparedtothe2011EPA
Inventory.
ThechangesbyindustrysegmentareshowninTable31.
Table31Summaryof2011MethaneEmissionsBaseline
Segment
2011EPAInventory ICF2011Baseline
Change(%)
(Million
tonnesCH
4
)
(BcfCH
4
)
(Million
tonnesCH
4
)
(BcfCH
4
)
NaturalGas
GasProduction 2.2 113 2.0 103 9%
GatheringandBoosting 0.5 24 0.8 43 80%
GasProcessing 0.9 48 0.8 44 9%
GasTransmission 1.7 87 1.4 75 14%
GasStorage 0.3 17 0.3 15 11%
LNG 0.1 5 0.1 6 22%
GasDistribution 1.3 69 1.3 69 0%
Petroleum
OilProduction 1.4 72 1.8 92 27%
OilTransportation < 0.1 < 1 < 0.1 <1 1%
OilRefining < 0.1 1 < 0.1 1 0%

TotalNetGasEmissions 7.0 362 6.8 353 2%
TotalNetOilEmissions 1.4 73 1.8 93 26%

TotalEmissions 8.4 436 8.6 446 2.4%
ThelargestchangetothestructureoftheNaturalGassegmentinthe2011Baselinewasbreakingout
theGatheringandBoostingsegment.ThisisthesegmentbetweenonshoreProductionandeitherGas
ProcessingorGasTransmission.ThissegmentisincludedintheonshoreProductionsegmentoftheEPA
Industries
Inventorybasedonthe1996GRImeasurementstudyratherthanbeingfullybrokenoutasaseparate
segment.Inthisstudy,somesourcesweremovedfromProductiontotheGatheringandBoosting
segmentinordertoallowthemtobeanalyzedseparatelyforthissegment,andnewemissions
estimates,forsomesourcesunderrepresentedinthe2011EPAinventory,wereadded.Themajor
sourceadditionswerenewestimatesofcompressorandpneumaticdeviceemissions.Inaddition,
emissionsfromcondensatetanksweremovedfromtheProductionsegmenttotheGatheringand
Boostingsegment.
TheoverallnetchangetotheNaturalGassegmentoftheU.S.Inventoryisadecreaseof2%compared
totheEPAInventoryvalue.Thisistheneteffectofincreasedestimatesforwellheadfugitivesand
GatheringandBoosting(forcompressorsandpneumaticdevices)anddecreasesintheestimatesfor
wellcompletionandworkoveremissions(basedondataandfactorsfromSubpartW)andcompressor
exhaustemissions.ThesechangesarediscussedinAppendixB.
ThenetchangetothePetroleumsegmentofthe2011Baselineis26%higherthantheEPAInventory
value.Thebiggestcategoriescontributingtothisincreaseweretheinclusionofstrandedgasventing
fromoilwellsandupdatedestimatesofassociatedgasflaringestimates.Allofthesechangesare
discussedinmoredetailinAppendixB.
3.3. Projectionto2018
The2018forecastofnaturalgasandpetroleumsystemsmethaneemissionsstartswiththe2011
BaselinedescribedinSection3.2.Oneprimarydriverfortheprojectingthe2011emissionsto2018was
theU.S.EIAsAnnualEnergyOutlook2013and2014EarlyRelease.ICFalsoreliedupona2011studyfor
theINGAAFoundation
14
thatforecastrequirementsforselectedinfrastructureandequipmentforthe
naturalgasandpetroleumindustry.Inaddition,expectedemissionreductionsasaresultofNSPS
SubpartOOOOwereincorporatedintotheforecast.WithouttheNSPS,emissionsgrowfrom446Bcfin
2011to491Bcfin2018.WiththeNSPSadjustments,totalemissionsareprojectedtogrowby4.5%to
466Bcfthrough2018.Almostallofthisgrowthisfromtheoilsectorwhereasthenetemissionsforthe
gassectorarealmostunchanged(Figure31).Growthfromnewsourcesinthegassectorisoffsetby
NSPSreductions,andreductionsfromexistingsourcessuchascontinuingreplacementofcastiron
mainsandturnoverofhighemittingpneumaticdevices.Despitetheoverallgrowth,nearly90%ofthe
emissionsin2018comefromexistingsources(sourcesinplaceasof2011)asshowninFigure32.
14
NorthAmericanMidstreamInfrastructureThrough2035ASecureEnergyFuture,PreparedfortheINGAAFoundation,ICF
International,2011.
Industries
Figure31EmissionProjectionto2018(IncludingOffshore)
Figure32DistributionofEmissionsin2018
Industries
Theprojectionalsodisaggregatedthenationallevelemissionsestimateofthe2011inventorytoregions
usedbytheEIAtoreportoilandgasdata(Figure33).Thedetailsoftheanalysisarediscussedin
AppendixC.
Figure33EIAOilandGasRegions
3.4. IdentificationofTargetedEmissionSources
Table32summarizesthelargestemittingsourcecategoriesintheprojected2018emissionsfortheoil
andgassectorsbymajorsourcecategory.Duetothelackofspecificdataontheemissionsourcesfor
offshoreoilandgasproduction,thestudyfocusedononshoreproductionandoffshoreemissionsare
excludedfromthislist.Thetop22sourcecategoriesaccountfor80%ofthetotal2018onshoremethane
emissionsof404Bcfandtheremaining100+categoriesaccountfor1%orlessofthetotalemissions
each.Althoughthesesourcecategorieswerenotincludedinthisanalysisduetotheirsmallsize,there
aredemonstratedmethanereductiontechnologiesthatcanprovidecosteffectivereductionsformany
ofthem.
Figure34showsthedistributionofsourcesgraphically.Fugitiveemissionsarethelargestemission
sourcecategoryoverall.Ventedemissionsfrompneumaticcontrollersandpumpsarealsosignificantas
isventedassociatedgasfromoilwellcompletionsandproduction.Ventingfromwetsealcentrifugal
compressorsisalsoalargesource.
Industries
Table32HighestEmittingOnshoreMethaneSourceCategoriesin2018
Source
2018
Emissions
(Bcf)
Percentof
Total
Cumulative
Bcf
Cumulative
%
ReciprocatingCompressorFugitives 53.8 13% 53.8 13%
HighBleedPneumaticDevices 28.7 7% 82.5 20%
LDCMetersandRegulators 28.7 7% 111.2 28%
CentrifugalCompressors(wetseals) 24.0 6% 135.3 33%
GasEngineExhaust 22.2 5% 157.5 39%
WellFugitives 20.8 5% 178.3 44%
ReciprocatingCompressorRodPacking 17.6 4% 195.9 48%
LiquidsUnloadingWellsw/PlungerLifts 13.2 3% 209.1 52%
IntermittentBleedPneumaticDevices 13.0 3% 222.1 55%
KimrayPumps 11.5 3% 233.6 58%
OilTanks 11.5 3% 245.1 61%
Flares 9.0 2% 254.1 63%
StrandedGasVentingfromOilWells 8.4 2% 262.5 65%
IntermittentBleedPneumaticDevicesDumpValves 7.7 2% 270.2 67%
OilWellCompletionswithFracturing 6.9 2% 277.1 69%
PipelineLeaks(All) 6.7 2% 283.8 70%
PipelineVenting(Transmission) 6.6 2% 290.4 72%
CentrifugalCompressors(dryseals) 6.4 2% 296.8 73%
MainsPlastic 6.3 2% 303.2 75%
MainsCastIron 6.3 2% 309.4 77%
TransmissionStationVenting 6.2 2% 315.7 78%
ChemicalInjectionPumps 5.9 1% 321.6 80%
Residential 5.6 1% 327.2 81%
GatheringandBoostingStations 5.6 1% 332.8 82%
EconomicAnalysisofMethaneEmissionReductionOpportunitiesintheU.S.OnshoreOilandNaturalGasIndustries
Figure342018ProjectedOnshoreEmissions
Industries
3.5. SelectedMitigationTechnologies
Thefollowingsectionsdescribethemitigationmeasuresincludedinthisanalysistoaddressthehigh
emittingsourcecategories.Someofthemostsignificantmeasuresarediscussedingreaterdetailin
AppendixD.Muchofthecostandperformancedataforthetechnologiesisbasedoninformationfrom
theEPANaturalGasSTARprogram
15
buthasbeenupdatedandaugmentedwithinformationprovided
byindustryandequipmentvendorsourcesconsultedduringthisstudy.Thediscussionisorganized
accordingtotheemissionsourceandmitigationoption.
Thisanalysisattemptstodefinereasonableestimatesofaveragecostandperformancebasedonthe
availabledata.Thecostsandperformanceofanactualindividualprojectmaynotbedirectly
comparabletotheaveragesemployedinthisanalysisbecauseimplementationcostsandtechnology
effectivenessarehighlysitespecific.Costsforspecificactualfacilitiescouldbehigherorlowerthanthe
averagesusedinthisanalysis.
FugitiveEmissionsFugitiveemissionsaretheunplannedlossofmethanefrompipes,valves,flanges,
andothertypesofequipment.Fugitiveemissionsfromreciprocatingcompressors,compressorstations
(transmission,storage,andgathering),wells,andLDCmeteringandregulatorequipmentarethelargest
combinedemissioncategory,accountingforover120Bcf,or30%ofthehighlightedsources.
LeakDetectionandRepair(LDAR)isthegenerictermfortheprocessoflocatingandrepairingthese
fugitiveleaks.Thereareavarietyoftechniquesandtypesofequipmentthatcanbeusedtolocateand
quantifythesefugitiveemissions.ExtensiveworkhasbeendonebyEPAandotherstodocumentand
describethesetechniques,bothintheGasSTARreferencematerialsandinseveralregulatoryanalyses.
Thepotentialsizeandnatureofthesefugitiveemissionscanvarywidelybyindustrysegmentandeven
bysite.LDARprogramshavebeenanalyzedforseveralrecentregulatoryinitiatives,includingforthe
EPAsNSPSSubpartOOOO
16
andthecurrentproposedrevisionstotheColoradoAirQualityControl
CommissionRegulationNumber7(5CCR10019)
17
.ThisstudyusedboththeColoradoregulatory
analysisandtheEPATechnicalSupportDocument(TSD)
18
forNSPSSubpartOOOOasthebasisforcost
andreductioneffectivenesscalculations.
15
http://www.epa.gov/gasstar/
16
http://www.epa.gov/airquality/oilandgas/
17
http://www.colorado.gov/cs/Satellite/CDPHEAQCC/CBON/1251647985820
18
U.S.EPA,OilandNaturalGasSector:StandardsofPerformanceforCrudeOilandNaturalGasProduction,Transmission,and
Distribution.BackgroundSupplementalTechnicalSupportDocumentfortheFinalNewSourcePerformanceStandards.
http://www.epa.gov/airquality/oilandgas/pdfs/20120418tsd.pdf
Industries
Thekeyfactorsintheanalysisarehowmuchtimeittakesaninspectortosurveyeachfacility,howmany
inspectionsarerequiredeachyear,howmuchreductioncanbeachieved,andhowmuchtimeis
requiredforrepairs.ResearchcitedbybothColoradoandEPAindicatesthatmorefrequentinspections
resultingreaterreductions,summarizedasapproximately:
Annualinspection=40%reduction
Quarterlyinspection=60%reduction
Monthlyinspection=80%reduction
ICFadaptedtheColoradoanalysis,whichcalculatesthecapitalandlaborcosttofieldafulltime
inspector,includingallowancesfortravelandrecordkeeping(Table33).ICFaddedadditionaltimefor
training.Thecapitalcostincludesaninfraredcamera(whichisusedtolocatefugitiveemissions)atruck
andthecostofarecordkeepingsystem.Thecombinedhourlycostwasthebasisforthecost
estimates.
Table33LDARHourlyCostCalculation
Labor CapitalandInitialCosts
InspectionStaff $75,000 InfraredCamera $122,200
Supervision(@20%) $15,000 PhotoIonizationDector $5,000
Overhead(@10%) $7,500 Truck $22,000
Travel(@15%) $11,250 Recordkeepingsystem $14,500
Recordkeeping(@10%) $7,500 Total $163,700
Reporting(@10%) $7,500
Fringe(@30%) $22,500 TrainingHours 80
SubtotalCosts $146,250 TrainingDollars $6,223

Hours/yr 1880 AmortizedCapital +Training $44,825
HourlyLaborRate $77.79 AnnualLabor $146,250
AnnualTotal Cost $191,075
TotalCostasHourlyRate $101.64
Manyanalyseshaveusedfacilitycomponentcountsandhistoricaldataonthetimerequiredtoinspect
eachcomponenttoestimatefacilitysurveytimes.However,theuseoftheinfraredcameratechnology
Industries
allowsmuchshortersurveytimes
19
andtheEPAandColoradotimeestimateshavebeencriticizedastoo
long.Theestimatesherearebasedonexperiencewiththeinfraredcameraandareshorterthanthe
ColoradoandEPAestimatesthatbasedoncomponentcounts.
ICFthenadoptedthebaselineemissionvaluesforwells,gatheringandtransmissionstations,and
processingstationsfromtheEPAanalysis.EPAincludesthreewellpadsizeswithdifferentbaseline
emissions.TheEPAanalysisdidnotprovideestimatesofthedistributionofthethreesizesforexisting
facilitiessothemiddleestimatewasusedforthisanalysis.Usingthesmallerandlargerwellpad
emissionestimateswouldresultinhigherandloweremissionreductioncostsrespectively.
ForLDCs,theanalysisonlyincludeslargemeterandregulatorfacilities.Smallerfacilitieshadamuch
highercostduetothesmallbaselineemissions.TheLDCcostingwasdoneusingthesameoperatorand
capitalcostsasfortheupstreamandmidstreamfacilities.ThebaselineemissionfactorsforLDCswere
adaptedfromanEPAGasSTARdocument
20
whichfoundthatonaveragetwo100Mcf/yearleakswere
foundat50%ofthefacilitiesandtheleakswerereducedby50%throughtheprogram.
Table34summarizestheassumptionsfortheoverallLDARcalculation.Thisanalysisassumesquarterly
emissionsurveysforallfacilities.Thereductionisassumedtobe60%,whichisconsistentwithdata
presentedintheNSPSTSDandColoradoanalysis.Inadditiontothesurveys,theestimateincludesone
initialvisittoeachsitetoinventorytheequipment(equivalenthourstotwoinspectionvisitsforeach
sitewithcostaveragedoverfiveyears)andadditionalvisitsforrepairs.Gasprocessingplantsare
alreadysubjecttosomeLDARrequirementsforconventionalpollutants,whichresultincobenefit
methanereductions.Themiscellaneousfugitiveemissionsforgasprocessingwerebelowthesize
thresholdforthisanalysisbutthecostsdevelopedhereforgasprocessingareappliedtocompressorsin
thatsegment.
Somerepairscanbemadeatthetimeofthesurvey,suchastighteningvalvepackingorflangesbut
otherswillrequireadditionalrepairtime.Thisanalysisassumesrepairtimeequivalenttothreesurvey
visitsforeachfacilityforrepairseachyear.Thecapitalcostoflargerrepairsisnotincludedonthe
assumptionthattheserepairswouldneedtobemadeanywayandtheLDARprogramissimplyalerting
theoperatortotheneed.ThetimeforrepairsisconsistentwiththelowendoftheColoradoanalysis
thatwasderivedbasedoncomponentcountsandleakrates.Thislowerrepairestimatetakesinto
accountthat:
Theseareaveragevaluesacrossfacilitiesnoteveryfacilitywillrequirerepairs.
19
Robinson,D,et.al.,RefineryEvaluationofOpticalImagingtoLocateFugitiveEmissions.JournaloftheAir&Waste
ManagementAssociation.Volume57June2007.
20
EPAGasSTARDirectedInspectionandMaintenanceatGateStationsandSurfaceFacilities.
http://epa.gov/gasstar/documents/ll_dimgatestat.pdf
Industries
Theseareaveragevaluesovertimenoteveryfacilitywillneedrepairseveryyearwhilebeing
monitoredonacontinuingbasis.
Someorallofcostofmajorrepairsisassumedtobepartofregularfacilitymaintenance.
Table34CostCalculationQuarterlyLDAR
WellPads Gathering Processing Transmission LDC
MethaneMcf/yr 440 1,676 2,448 4,671 150
%Reduction 60% 60% 60% 60% 60%
ReductionMcf 264 1,006 1,469 2,803 90
HourseachInspection 2.7 8 8 8 2
Frequency(peryear) 4 4 4 4 4
AnnualInspectionCost $1,084 $3,252 $3,252 $3,252
$813
InitialSetUp $108 $325 $325 $325
$81
RepairLaborCost $813 $2,439 $2,439 $2,439
$407
TotalCost/yr $2,006 $6,017 $6,017 $6,017
$1301
RecoveredGasValue* $1,340 $5,105 $7,455 $12,416
$399
NetCost $666 $912 $1,438 $6,399
$902
CostofReduction($/Mcfmethanereduced)
WithoutGasCredit $7.60 $5.98 $4.10 $2.15 $14.45
WithGasCredit $2.52 $0.91 $0.98 $2.28 $10.03
*Gasat$4/Mcf
Thevalueofreducedgaslossesiscreditedtotheprogramfortheupstreamsegments.Thesefinal
reductioncostvalueswereusedfortheanalysis.
ReciprocatingCompressorRodPackingReciprocatingcompressorsareusedinmostsegmentsofthe
naturalgasandoilindustry,thoughmuchlesscommonlyinlocalgasdistributionthaninother
segments.Rodpackingsystemsareusedtomaintainasealaroundthepistonrod,minimizingthe
leakageofhighpressuregasfromthecompressorcylinder,whilestillallowingtherodtomovefreely
(Figure35).However,somegasstillescapesthroughtherodpacking,andthisvolumeincreasesasthe
packingwearsoutovertime,potentiallytomanytimestheinitialleakrate.Thereisnostandard
optimumintervaltoreplacetherodpacking,buttheNSPSSubpartOOOOrequiresrodpackinginnew
Industries
reciprocatingcompressorsintheproductionandprocessingsectorstobereplacedevery26,000hours
ofoperation(approximatelyeverythreeyears).
Figure35ReciprocatingCompressorRodPacking
Industryreportsthattherodpackingforcompressorsatgasprocessingplantsandsometransmission
stationsisroutinelyreplacedatleastthatfrequentlyaspartofroutinemaintenance.However,itis
believedthatrodpackingintheproductionandgatheringandboostingsectorsisreplacedless
frequently.Thisisdue,inpart,toseveralfactors,includingtheremotelocationofthesecompressors,
thelackofabackupcompressorforuseduringcompressordowntime,andbecausemanyofthe
compressorsinthesesectorsareleasedratherthanowned.Thisanalysisassumesarequirementto
replacerodpackingforallreciprocatingcompressorsevery26,000hoursofoperation.
GasSTARdata
21
indicatethatrings(thecompressorpacking)costbetween$300and$600percylinder
and$1,000to$2,500percompressortoinstall.Industrysourcesforthisstudyputthecostat$5,000per
cylinder,whichwasadoptedforthisanalysis.TheTechnicalSupportDocument(TSD)forNSPSSubpart
OOOOprovidesadetailedanalysisofrodpackingreplacement.Theemissionsfromnewrodpackingare
estimatedintheTSDat11.5standardcubicfeetperhour(scfh).Baselineemissionsforrodpackingare
estimatedatapproximately57scfh,howevertheageofthepackingatthattimeisnotstated.Thereis
littledataontheemissionsfromrodpackingovertimebutreductionsforthismitigationoptioncome
fromreplacingtherodpackingatashorterintervalthancurrentlybeingpracticedatgivenfacility.
21
ReducingMethaneEmissionsFromCompressorRodPackingSystems
http://www.epa.gov/gasstar/documents/ll_rodpack.pdf
Industries
Forthisanalysisitwasassumedthatthefacilitycurrentlyreplacestherodpackingeveryfiveyearsand
thattheintervalisreducedtothreeyears(26,000hours).Itwasassumedthatthenewrodpacking
emits11.5scfhandtheemissionsincreaselinearlyto57scfhafterthreeyearsandincreaselinearly
thereafter.Comparingtheemissionsunderthisscenariofor15years,thethreeyearreplacement
schedulewouldemit35%lessthanthefiveyearreplacementschedule.Inaddition,thecostofrod
packingreplacementwouldbe66%greaterforthethreeyearreplacementschedulethanthefiveyear
schedule.Asnotedabove,itwasassumedthatrodpackingisalreadychangedonthisscheduleinmany
processingplantsandsometransmissionstations,sotheapplicabilitywasreducedto25%for
processingand70%fortransmission,storageandLNG.TheassumptionsaresummarizedinTable35.
Table35AssumptionsforRodPackingReplacement
CentrifugalCompressors(wetseals)Thesealsinacentrifugalcompressorperformasimilarfunction
totherodpackinginareciprocatingcompressorallowingtherotatingshafttomovefreelywithout
allowingexcessivehighpressuregastoescape(Figure36).Centrifugalcompressorswithwetsealsuse
circulatingoilasasealagainsttheescapeofhighpressuregas,andtheoilentrainssomeofthegasasit
circulatesthroughthecompressorseal.Thisgasmustbeseparatedfromtheoiltomaintainproper
operation(calleddegassingthesealoil),andthegasremovedfromthesealoilistypicallyventedto
theatmosphere.
22
Theseemissionscantotal30,000Mcf/yearormore.Whilewetsealscanbereplaced
bydrysealsthatdonotuseoilanddonotventsignificantamountsofgas,thisisanextremelyexpensive
process.Alowercostoptionistocaptureandusetheentrainedsealoilgasratherthanventingit.This
technologycurrentlyexistsatseveralcompressorstationsthathadsuchsystemsinstalledasoriginal
equipment,butithasnotbeenappliedcommerciallyasaretrofit.However,theequipmentneededfora
retrofitiscommerciallyavailable.Themeasuremodeledhereistoapplythistechnologyasaretrofit.
Thisisdescribedasoneofthecasestudiesinsection5.1wherethecapitalcostisestimatedat$33,700
fora99%reduction.Becausethistechnologyhasnotbeencommerciallydemonstratedasaretrofit,the
analysisassumedaconservativecostof$50,000and95%reduction,yieldingacosteffectivenessof
$4.87/Mcfwithcreditforrecoveredgasor$0.21/Mcfwithoutrecovery.Althoughthegascanbere
captured,itmaybedifficulttouseitproductively,asthisdependsonboththepressureofthecaptured
22
ReplacingWetSealswithDrySealsinCentrifugalCompressorshttp://www.epa.gov/gasstar/documents/ll_wetseals.pdf
CapitalCost
per
Compressor
Percent
Reduction
Mcf
Reduced/year
Lifetime
(years)
Costw/oGas
Credit
$6,000 35% 350 3 $6.89/Mcf
Industries
gasandwhetheraneedforthegasexists.Theapplicabilityisthereforediscountedby10%to25%
dependingontheindustrysegment.
Figure36WetSealCompressorSchematic
PneumaticDevicesPneumaticdevicesusethepressureofthenaturalgasstreamtooperatevarious
controlfunctions,suchasadjustingvalvestomaintainproperpressure,actuatingliquidleveland
temperaturecontrollers,etc.Somedevicesrequireacontinuoussmalldischargeofgasaspartofthe
controllerfunction.Thesetypesofdevicesaredesignatedaseitherlowbleeddevices(emitting<6
scf/hr)orhighbleeddevices(emitting6scf/hr,buttypicallymuchmoreoftenmorethan30scf/hr).
Inadditiontothesetwocategories,thereareintermittentbleeddevicesthataredesignedtodischarge
gasonlywhentheyareactuating.Thesetypesofpneumaticdevicescanhaveemissionsanywhere
betweenhighandlowbleedcontrollers.Onecommondeviceisanintermittentlevelcontroldevice
(dumpvalve)thatemitsgasonlywhenactuatedandtypicallyhasemissionssimilartolowbleed
controllers.
TheEPAGHGReportingProgramSubpartWprovidesinformationonpneumaticcontrollersthatcanbe
usedtoestimatethedistributionofthesedevicesineachsegment.ThisanalysisisdiscussedinAppendix
Band,forexample,yieldsadistributionof10%highbleed,50%intermittentbleed,and40%lowbleed
devicesfortheProductionsegment.Furtheranalysiswasperformedtoestimatethedistributionof
higheremittingintermittentdevicesvsloweremittingdumpvalves,alsodiscussedinAppendixB.For
theProductionsegment,itwasestimatedthat75%oftheintermittentbleeddevicesareloweremitting
dumpvalves.
Thetwomitigationoptionsconsideredinthestudyare:
Replacehighbleedcontrollerswithlowbleedcontrollers.
Industries
Replacehighemittingintermittentcontrollers(notdumpvalves)withlowbleedcontrollers.
Somecomponentsrequirehighbleedcontrollersforoperationalreasons,primarilyforfastactingvalves
associatedwithcompressors,sothemeasurewasappliedtoonly60%oftheinventoryofhighbleed
controllersintransmission,storage,andLNG,80%inprocessingand90%ofthehighbleedcontrollersin
othersegments.AlthoughtherearelowercostestimatesfromGasSTARandvendors,thismeasure
assumedacostof$3,000perreplacementbasedonindustrycomments.Bothoptionsyieldagreater
than90%reduction.Thisyieldsareductioncostof$3.08/Mcfofmethaneforreplacementofhighbleed
pneumaticsand$0.58/Mcfofmethaneforreplacementofintermittentbleedpneumatics,includinga
creditforrecoveredgas,whereapplicable.
ChemicalInjectionPumpsThesearesmallpumpsusedtoinjectvariouschemicals,mostcommonly
methanol,intogaswellstopreventwellfreezeupduringcoldweather.Theyaretypicallydrivenbygas
pressureandventgaswhentheyoperate.Thesuggestedmitigationmeasureistoreplacethegasdriven
pumpswithelectricpumpsdrivenbysolarenergy.(Wellpadsandmanygathering/boostingstations
typicallydonothaveelectricity.)ThistechnologyhasbeendemonstratedbyGasSTARPartnersand
industryrespondentsindicatedthatitisgainingbroaderacceptance.Replacementresultsinelimination
ofthemethaneemissions,andthegasdrivenpumpcouldbeleftinplaceasabackup.Thecostofthe
measurewasestimatedat$5,000perpump,yieldinganannualreductionof180Mcf/yearandacost
effectivenessof$0.22/Mcfofmethanereducedwiththerecoveredgascredit.Localconditionsor
operationalconsiderationsmaylimittheapplicabilitysothemeasureisappliedto80%oftheinventory.
OilandCondensateTankswithoutControlDevicesCrudeoilandliquidcondensateproductionat
wellsandgatheringfacilitiesisstoredinfixedrooffieldtanksanddissolvedgasintheliquidsisreleased
andcollectsinthetankspaceabovetheliquid.Ultimately,thisgasisoftenventedtotheatmosphere.
Vaporrecoveryunits(VRUs)collectandcompressthisgas,whichcanthenberedirectedtoasalesline,
usedonsiteforfuel,orflared.BasedonGasSTARandindustrydata,thecapitalcostofthismeasureis
assumedtobe$100,000withanoperatingcost(electricity)of$7,500peryearandareductionof13,410
Mcfperyear.Thisyieldsareductioncostof$0.51/Mcfifthegasisrecoveredforsaleor$4.57/Mcfifit
isflared.SomefacilitiesalreadyhaveVRUsandtheymaynotbeeffectivewheretheliquidvolumeis
smallorthemethanecontentislow.AlsoVRUsrequireelectricity,whichisnotavailableatallsites.For
thesereasons,themeasureisappliedto50%oftheremainingoiland25%oftheremainingcondensate
tankemissioninventory.
KimrayPumpsKimraypumpsaregaspoweredpumpsusedtocirculateglycolingasdehydrators.They
arelargerthanthechemicalinjectionpumpsandventlargeramountsofgas.Inthefacilitiesthathave
electricity,thesecouldbereplacedbyelectricmotordrivenpumps.Thereplacementcostisestimated
at$10,000perpumpbasedonvendorandGasSTARdata.Unlikethesolarpumps,thesepumpswill
requiregridelectricity,estimatedtocost$2,000peryear.Basedona5,000Mcfemissionreduction,the
costeffectivenessis$4.17/Mcfofmethanewithcreditforgasrecoveredanditisappliedto50%ofthe
inventory.
Industries
LiquidsUnloadingLiquidsunloadingistheprocessofremovingliquidsfromthebottomofgaswells
whentheaccumulationisimpedingthegasproduction.Theliquidsmustberemovedinordertoallow
effectiveproductionfromthewell.Historicallythishasbeenpracticedonolder,verticalwellswhose
pressurehasdeclined.
Whilethereareavarietyofmethodsofremovingthisliquid,onemethodisbyventingorblowingthe
welltotheatmosphere,usingthepressurizedgasinthereservoirtoliftandblowtheliquidsoutofthe
well.Thefrequencyanddurationofliquidsunloadingdependsonthewellandreservoirconditions,
however,ventingisnotaveryeffectivemethodofremovingtheliquids.Further,sincethewellisvented
totheatmosphere,itresultsinlargemethaneemissionsandlossesofgas.Therearemultiplemethods
ofremovingliquidswithoutventing,butinstandardpractice,theprimarygoalofliquidsunloadingisto
improvewellperformance,notreduceemissions.Thechoiceofmethodisnormallyafunctionofthe
costversusthevalueofimprovedwellperformance.Thistopicisfurtherdiscussedinsection5.4.
Figure37PlungerLiftSchematic
Plungerliftsaredevicesthatfitintothewellboreandusethe
gaspressuretobringliquidstothesurfacemoreefficiently
whilecontrollingandlimitingtheamountofventing(Figure
37).Ifthereissufficientreservoirpressure,thegascanbe
directedtothesaleslinewithnoventing.Ifthereisinsufficient
pressuretodirectthegastothesaleslineandthegasmustbe
vented,theemissionscanstillbereducedby90%comparedto
uncontrolledventing.Plungerliftsarearelativelylowcost
optionandcanbeimplementedinarelativelysimplemanual
controlmethodormorecomplexautomatedinstallations.That
said,thetechnologydoeshavelimitations.Thewellmusthave
sufficientpressuretooperatetheplungerandolderwellsmay
requirecleanoutsorworkoverstoallowtheplungerto
operate.Further,notallwelltypescanuseaplungerliftfor
liquidsremoval.
GasSTARestimatesforplungerliftinstallationrangefrom$2,500to$10,000
23
butindustrycommenters
onthisstudycitedcostsintherangeof$15,000andpointedoutthatwelltreatmentsandcleanouts
mayberequiredbeforeplungerliftscanbeinstalled.Thisanalysisassumesacostof$20,000,including
theallowancethatsomewellsmayneedcleanoutsorotherwork.GasSTARPartnersreportreductions
ofventingemissionsof90%forplungerliftsthatdonotgotothesalesline.Inaddition,theyreportthat
liquidsunloadingcanincreaseproductionbyanywherefrom3to300thousandcubicfeetperday
23
InstallingPlungerLiftSystemsInGasWellshttp://epa.gov/gasstar/documents/ll_plungerlift.pdf
Industries
(Mcf/day).Theincreasedproductivityofthewellistheprimarygoalofliquidsunloadingandthehigher
gasproductioncanpayforthecostofplungerliftsmanytimesover.However,thesubsequentincrease
inwellproductivityisdifficulttopredictandisnotincludedinthisanalysis.Withoutcreditforthe
productivityincrease,thecosteffectivenessbreakevenpointisatabout1,200Mcf/yearofventing,
estimatedhereasareductioncostof$0.05/Mcfreduced.
Ifthewelldoesnothavesufficientpressureorcannotsupportaplungerlift,thereareavarietyof
mechanicalpumpingtechnologiesthatcanbeemployedtoremoveliquids.However,thesearemuch
moreexpensiveandwhiletheymayhaveapositivepaybackforincreasingwellproduction,theymost
oftendonotpurelyforthemethaneemissionreduction.Moreover,themethanereductionvalueonly
appliesifthewellwouldotherwisebevented.Asthewellpressuredeclines,ventingbecomesa
diminishinglyeffectiveoption.Inaddition,itisnotclearhoweffectiveventingwillbeatremovingliquids
fromlonghorizontalwellsthatarenowbeingdrilled.Itmaybethatventingforliquidsremovalwill
continuetobeprimarilyfocusedonolder,verticalwells.
TheGHGReportingProgramSubpartWprovidesdataonwellsthatareventingforliquidsunloading
withandwithoutplungerlifts.Thedatafor2012showover53,000wellsventinganaverageof167Mcf
peryearwithoutplungerliftsandover74,000wellswithplungerliftsventinganaverageof277Mcfper
year.Wellsthatuseplungerliftsandsendthegastothesaleslinedonothaveanyventingemissions
anddonotreporttothispartofSubpartW.Whileitseemscounterintuitivethatwellswithplungerlifts
thatventwouldbeemittingmorethanthosewithoutplungerlifts,ICFinterpretsthisinformationto
indicatethatmostofthewellswiththelargestventingemissionshavealreadyinstalledplungerlifts
whilemostoftheremainingwellsareventinginfrequentlyorventingsmallvolumesthatdonotjustify
thecostofinstallingplungerlifts.Thatsaid,thereareasmallnumberofwellswithoutplungerliftsthat
reportlargerventingemissionsandaccountforadisproportionatefractionoftheventingemissionsfor
wellswithoutplungerlifts,approximately36%oftotalventingemissions.Installingplungerliftsonthese
wellscouldbecosteffectiveandcreatesignificantemissionreductions.Becauseplungerliftsarenot
applicabletoallwells,themeasurewasappliedto30%ofthisemissionsegmentfortheanalysis.
Asnotedabove,wellswithplungerliftsalsoreportsignificantemissionsfromventing.Operationofa
plungerliftiscomplexanditseffectivenessasanemissionreductiontechniquedependsonmany
factorstooperatetheplungerattheoptimumtimetomaximizeproductionandminimizeemissions.
Approachestoplungerliftoperationrangefromadhocmanualoperation,tofixedmechanicaltimers,to
programmablefuzzylogicautomatedcontrollers.Specificdataonthepotentialreductionsfrom
optimizedplungerliftoperationisnotavailablebutitisclearfromindustryexperiencethatan
integratedprogramoftraining,technology,andautomationcanimprovetheperformanceofplunger
liftsforbothproductivityandemissionreductions.Consequently,theremaybeanopportunityfor
significantemissionreductionthroughoptimizationofplungerlifts,whichisnotincludedhereand
wouldbeadditionaltothereductionestimatesthisanalysisprovidesforinstallationofnewplungerlifts.
Industries
StrandedGasVentingfromOilWellsandVentingofOilCompletionGasOilcontainssomeamountof
naturalgas,whichisseparatedatthewellhead.Wherethereisagassaleslineavailable,thegasissent
tosales.Whennonearbysaleslineexists,thegasiseitherventedorflared.Thiscanoccurduringthe
shortperiodafterthewelliscompletedoritcancontinuethroughoutthelifeofthewell,dependingon
theaccesstogatheringinfrastructure.WhileflaringcreatesCO
2
emissionsfromcombustionandsome
unburnedmethane,thetotalgreenhousegasemissionsaremuchlowerthanventingthemethane,with
itshigherglobalwarmingpotential.
Themeasuremodeledhereisflaringofthegasontheassumptionthatthegaswouldbesenttosalesif
theinfrastructurewereavailable.WhileGasSTARandvendorinformationciterelativelylowcostflares,
industrycitedmoreexpensiveflaringequipmentthatisbeingrequiredtomeetregulatory
requirements.ICFadoptedthishigherestimate,assumingacapitalcostof$50,000andafuelcostof
$6,000forignition.Theflareisassumedtobe98%effective.Thecosteffectivenessdependsonthe
amountofgasflared,whichislowerforcompletionemissionsthanflaringofassociatedgasona
continuousbasis.Thecosteffectivenessisestimatedat$1.86/Mcfofmethaneforcompletiongasand
$0.26/Mcfofmethaneforflaringofstrandedassociatedgas.
PipelineVenting(RoutineMaintenance/Upsets)Theseemissionsoccurwhencompaniestake
sectionsofpipelineoutofserviceformaintenanceandventthegasthatisinthepipeline.These
emissionscanbereducedforplannedshutdowns(notemergencyshutdowns)eitherbyusingthe
pipelinecompressorstopumpdownthegasintheaffectedsectionorbyusingleasedmobile
compressorunitswhenthepipelinecompressorsarenotappropriatelylocated.Theanalysisassumeda
combinationofbothmeasuresappliedto10milesectionsofpipeline,basedonaGasSTARanalysis
24
.
Usingthepipelinecompressorrequiresnocapitalcostbutonlythefuelcosttopumpdowntheline.The
secondoptionwastoleaseaportablecompressorandpayforthedeliveryandfuelconsumption.The
reductionsaregenerallygreaterusingaportablecompressor,asthesecompressorscangenerallybring
thepipelinedowntoalowerpressurethantheinlinecompressorsalone.Assumingthataleased
compressorisusedforoneoutoffiveoccurrences,thecostwas$0.41/Mcfofmethanereduced,with
nofuelrecoverycredit.
TransmissionStationVentingThemajorreasonfortransmissionstationventingisthegovernment
requiredannualtestingofreliefvalvestoassureemergencyshutdown(ESD)functionsproperly.During
thestandardpracticeintestingthesesystems,gasisventedfromallofthereliefvalvesatthestationfor
afewminutes.Theseemissionscanbeavoidedbyputtingquickopeningclosuresoverthereliefvalveto
containthegaswhenthereliefvalveiscycledopenandclosed,butallowafastresponseifthereisan
emergencyduringthetest.WhileGasSTARhasestimatedthecostofthismeasureat$8,000,industry
24
UsingPipelinePumpDownTechniquesToLowerGasLinePressureBeforeMaintenance.
http://www.epa.gov/gasstar/documents/ll_pipeline.pdf
Industries
respondentssuggestedacostof$30,000forafullstationredesign.Thecostadoptedfortheanalysis
was$15,000assumingachangeinprocedurebutnostationredesign,yieldingacosteffectivenessof
$0.98/Mcfwithnogasrecoverycredit.
Summary
Table36summarizesthemitigationmeasuresappliedintheanalysisforeachmajoremissionsource.
Table37summarizesthecharacteristicsofthemeasuresmodeled.Thecosteffectiveness($/Mcfof
methaneremoved)wascalculatedwithandwithoutcreditforanyrecoveredgas.Theannualcostwas
calculatedastheannualamortizedcapitalcostovertheequipmentlifeplusannualoperatingcosts.This
wasdividedbyannualmethanereductionstocalculatethecosteffectivenesswithoutcreditfor
recoveredgas.Wheregascanberecoveredandmonetizedbytheoperatingcompany,thevalueofthat
gaswassubtractedfromtheannualcosttocalculatethecosteffectivenesswithcreditforrecovered
gas.Thecostsshownherearethebaselinecosts,whichareadjustedforregionalcostvariationinthe
analysis.Asnotedearlier,theseareaveragecoststhatmaynotreflectsitespecificconditionsat
individualfacilities.

Industries
Table36SummaryofMitigationMeasuresApplied
Source MitigationMeasure
Oil/Condensate Tanksw/oControlDevices VaporRecoveryUnits
LiquidsUnloadingWellsw/oPlungerLifts Plungerlifts
HighBleedPneumaticDevices Replacewithlowbleeddevices
IntermittentBleedPneumaticDevices Replacewithlowbleeddevices
ChemicalInjectionPumps Solarelectricpumps
KimrayPumps Electricpumps
PipelineVenting(RoutineMaintenance/Upsets) Pipelinepumpdown
CentrifugalCompressors(wetseals) Wetsealgascapture
TransmissionStationVenting Gascapture
OilWellCompletionswithFracturing Flaring
StrandedGasVentingfromOilWells Flaring
ReciprocatingCompressorRodPacking Rodpackingreplacement
ReciprocatingCompressorFugitives Leakdetectionandrepair(LDAR)
CompressorStationFugitives Leakdetectionandrepair(LDAR)
WellFugitives Leakdetectionandrepair(LDAR)
GatheringStationFugitives Leakdetectionandrepair(LDAR)
LargeLDCFacilityFugitives Leakdetectionandrepair(LDAR)
EconomicAnalysisofMethaneEmissionReductionOpportunitiesintheU.S.OnshoreOilandNaturalGasIndustries
Table37SummaryofMitigationMeasureCharacteristics
Name CapitalCost
Operating
Cost
Percent
Reduction
$/Mcf
w/Credit
$/Mcf
w/oCredit
Earlyreplacementofhighbleeddeviceswithlowbleeddevices $3,000 $0 97% $3.08 $1.99
Earlyreplacementofintermittentbleeddeviceswithlowbleeddevices $3,000 $0 91% $0.58 $5.65
ReplacementofReciprocatingCompressorRodPackingSystems $6,000 $0 35% $1.82 $6.89
InstallFlaresCompletion $50,000 $6,000 98% N/A $1.86
InstallFlaresVenting $50,000 $6,000 98% N/A $0.26
LiquidUnloadingInstallPlungerLiftSystemsinGasWells $20,000 $2,400 95% $0.05 $5.03
InstallVaporRecoveryUnitsonTanks $100,000 $7,500 95% $0.51 $4.57
TransmissionStationVentingRedesignBlowdownSystems/ESDPractices $15,000 $0 95% $4.10 $0.98
ReplacePneumaticChemicalInjectionPumpswithSolarElectricPumps $5,000 $75 100% $0.22 $4.86
ReplaceKimrayPumpswithElectricPumps $10,000 $2,000 100% $4.17 $0.91
PipelineVentingPumpDownBeforeMaintenance $0 $12,000 80% $4.67 $0.41
WetSealDegassingRecoverySystemforCentrifugalCompressors $50,000 $0 95% $4.87 $0.21
LDARWells $169,923 $146,250 60% $2.52 $7.60
LDARGathering $169,923 $146,250 60% $0.91 $5.98
LDARLargeLDCFacilities $169,923 $146,250 60% $10.03 $14.45
LDARProcessing $169,923 $146,250 60% $0.98 $4.10
LDARTransmission $169,923 $146,250 60% $2.28 $2.15
Industries
3.6. SourceCategoriesNotAddressed
Severalsourcecategorieswithrelativelylargeemissionswerenotaddressedintheanalysis.Thesources
andthereasonsfortheirtreatmentaresummarizedbelow.
OffshoreoilandgasproductionAsnotedearlier,theEPAinventoryprovidesverylimiteddataon
offshoreemissions,whichwerenotadequatetoapplythemethodologyusedforothersources.This
isanareainwhichfurtheranalysiswouldprobablyyieldadditionalopportunitiesforreduction.
CastirongasmainsCastironmainshavebeenidentifiedisasignificantemissionsource,however
theyareprimarilylocatedincongestedurbanareaswherereplacementorrepairisveryexpensive,
reportedas$1millionto$3millionpermile.Thismakesforaveryexpensivecontroloptionbased
purelyonemissionreduction.Moreover,theseexpendituresmustbeapprovedbystateutility
commissions,whosepurviewtypicallydoesnotextendtoenvironmentalremediationofthistype.
Thatsaid,approximately3%ofcastironmainsarebeingreplacedeachyearforsafetyreasons,so
theemissionsaregraduallydeclining.Newtechnologiescouldreducethecostofreductioninthe
future.
EngineexhaustTheexhaustfromgasburningenginesandturbinescontainsasmallamountof
unburnedmethanefromincompletecombustionofthefuel.Whileitisasmallpercentage,itis
significantinaggregate.Oxidationcatalystdevicesareusedtoreduceunburnedemissionsofother
hydrocarbonsintheexhaustbuttheyarenoteffectiveatreducingemissionsofmethaneduetoits
lowerreactivity.However,newcatalystsarebeingdeveloped,inpartfornaturalgasvehicles,which
maybeapplicabletothesesources.Thisisatopicforfurtherresearchandtechnologydeployment.
OthersourcesThereareadditionalcosteffectivemeasuresformethanereductionthathavebeen
identifiedbytheEPAGasSTARprogramandothers.Theyarenotincludedherebecausethisreport
focusesonlyonthelargestemittingsources.However,theiromissionshouldnotbetakento
indicatethatthemeasureslistedherearetheonlycosteffectivemethanereductionmeasures.
Industries
4. AnalyticalResults
4.1. DevelopmentofEmissionControlCostCurves
Withthe2018ProjectedBaselineestablishedandmitigationtechnologiesidentifiedandcharacterized
forthemajoremittingsectors,emissioncostreductioncurveswerecalculatedforavarietyofscenarios.
Themodeldevelopedforthistaskincludestheindividualsourcecategoriesforeachsegmentoftheoil
andgasindustrybyregion.Mitigationtechnologiescanbematchedtoeachsourcebyregionand/or
individualsourceapplied.Themodelcanalsospecifywhatportionofeachsourcepopulationthe
measureappliestoandwhetheritappliestonew(post2011),existing(asof2011),orallfacilities.The
modelcalculatesthereductionachievedforeachsourceandcalculatesthecostofcontrolbasedonthe
capitalandoperatingcosts,theequipmentlife,andwhereappropriate,thevalueofrecoveredgas.Key
globalinputassumptionsinclude:whetheraparticularsegmentisabletomonetizethevalueof
recoveredgas,thevalueofgas,andthediscountrate/costofcapital.Aconstructioncostindexisused
toaccountforregionalcostdifferences,whichare13%to24%higherforcontinentalU.S.locations
otherthanthebaselineGulfCoastcosts.
TheresultsarepresentedprimarilyasaMarginalAbatementCostCurve(MACcurve),showninFigure
41.Thisrepresentationshowstheemissionreductionssortedfromlowesttohighestcostofreduction
andshowstheamountofemissionreductionavailableateachcostlevel.Theverticalaxisshowsthe
costperunitin$/Mcfofmethanereduced.Anegativecostofreductionindicatesthatthemeasurehas
apositivefinancialreturn,i.e.savesmoneyfortheoperator.Thehorizontalwidthofthebarsshowsthe
amountofreduction.Theareawithinthebarsisthetotalcostperyear.Theareabelowthehorizontal
axisrepresentssavingsandtheareaabovetheaxisrepresentscost.Thenetsumofthetwoisthetotal
netcostperyear.
Industries
AnalyticalResults
Figure41ExampleMACCurve
4.2. EmissionReductionCostCurves
Thissectionpresentstheresultsofthecostcurveanalysis.Thecurvesrepresentdifferentviewsofa
potentialemissioncontrolscenarioin2018basedonmeasuresinstalledbetween2011and2018.The
emissionreductioncostsaretheannualcostsperMcfofmethanereduced.Thisshouldnotbeconfused
withcostperMcfofnaturalgasproduced,whichisanentirelydifferentmetric.Inthecasesshownhere,
thetotalannualcostofreductionsdividedbytotalU.S.gasproductionislessthan$0.01/Mcfofgas
producedinallcases.
rangeofuncertainty.
Industries
AnalyticalResults
Thebasecaseassumptionfortheresultsinthissectionassumesa$4/Mcfpriceforrecoveredgasanda
10%discountrate/costofcapitalforcalculatingthecostofcontrol.Additionalsensitivityand
alternativecasesareshowninAppendixA.
Figure42showsthenationalaggregateMACcurveforthebaselinetechnologyassumptionsbysource
category.Itshowsthereductionsachievablefromeachsourcewiththerelevantemissioncontrol
measure.Theseresultsareaggregatedacrossindustrysegments,sothereciprocatingcompressor
fugitivesblock,forexample,includesthecostandreductionsfromthesourceamongallsegments.The
variationsbetweenregionsandbetweensegmentsforagiventechnologyareaveragedforeachblock.
Figure42NationalAggregateMACCurveforBaselineTechnologyAssumptions
Thetotalreductionsare163Bcfofmethaneperyearor40%ofthe2018onshoreemissionsfromtheoil
andgasindustries.Thetotalannualizedcosttoachievethosereductionsis$108million/yearor
$0.66/Mcfofmethanereduced.Thistotalannualcostisthenetofthe$164millionannualsavings
(greenbarsbelowtheaxis)and$272millionannualcost(bluebarsabovetheaxis).Thechartshows
whichsourcesandtechnologieshavethelowestcostofcontrol(heightverticalaxis)andthegreatest
reduction(widthhorizontalaxis).TheresultsarealsosummarizedinTable41.Thecostrangesfrom
$4.05/McfmethanereducedforreplacementofKimraypumpswithelectricpumpsto$19.75/Mcf
methanereducedforLDARatlargeLDCfacilities.Thesecostsincluderegionalcostadjustmentsandare
thereforedifferentthanthebaselinecostslistedinSection3.Creditforrecoveredgasaccruestoall
sectorsexcepttransmissionandLDCs,whicharelimitedbyrateregulationfrommonetizingthe
Industries
AnalyticalResults
emissionreductions.ThereductionsfromVRUsoncondensatetanksareincludedbutaretoosmallto
appearonthecurve.
Table41alsoshowstheestimatedinitialcapitalcost.Thisisatopdownestimatebasedonthe
projectedreductionsandthecapitalcostpermeasuresothecostsarelesscertainthaninabottomup
costing,particularlywithrespecttodifferencesbetweensegments.Thetotalinitialcapitalcostis
estimatedat$2.2billion.
Table41AnnualizedCostandReductionandInitialCapitalCost
Source/Measure
Annualized
Cost
($million/yr)
BcfMethane
Reduced/yr
$/MCF
Methane
Reduced
InitialCapital
Cost
($million)
KimrayPumpsElectricPump $23.4 5.8 $4.05 $23.1
CentrifugalCompressors(wetseals)GasCapture $58.7 19.1 $3.07 $79.6
CompressorStations(Storage)LDAR $4.5 1.5 $3.03 $2.8
HighBleedPneumaticDevicesLowBleed $67.4 25.4 $2.65 $246.8
ReciprocatingCompressorFugitivesLDAR $10.5 32.3 $0.33 $61.6
CondensateTanksw/oControlDevicesVRU $0.1 0.4 $0.21 $8.5
StrandedGasVentingfromOilWellsFlares $2.4 8.2 $0.30 $228.3
OilTanksVRU $1.8 5.5 $0.33 $105.1
PipelineVentingPumpDown $2.3 4.2 $0.53 $0.0
ChemicalInjectionPumpsSolarPumps $2.7 4.8 $0.57 $432.0
LiquidsUnloadingUncontrolledPlungerLift $1.2 1.6 $0.74 $27.8
TransmissionStationVentingGasCapture $7.5 5.9 $1.27 $49.4
GatheringandBoostingStationsLDAR $5.0 3.3 $1.51 $17.7
IntermittentBleedPneumaticDevicesLowBleed $20.9 12.1 $1.72 $455.4
OilWellCompletionswithFracturingFlares $14.5 6.8 $2.13 $50.4
CompressorStations(Transmission)LDAR $7.7 2.8 $2.79 $5.3
WellFugitivesLDAR $43.9 12.5 $3.51 $84.4
ReciprocatingCompressorRodPackingRodPacking $22.3 3.6 $6.11 $182.3
LDCMetersandRegulatorsLDAR $140.6 7.1 $19.75 $91.5
GrandTotal $108.3 162.9 $0.66 $2,151.9
Industries
AnalyticalResults
Figure43showstheemissionreductionsbymajorcategory.Reducingfugitiveemissionsisthemain
opportunityforreduction,followedbyreducedventingandreplacementofpneumaticdevices.While
thosecategoriesincludeawiderangeofsources,wetsealcentrifugalcompressorsrepresentsasingle
equipmenttypeandmitigationmeasure.
Figure43DistributionofEmissionReductionPotential

Industries
AnalyticalResults
Figure44showsthereductioninmethaneemissionsbyindustrysegmentforthesamecase.The
transmissionanddistributionsectorsarenotabletomonetizetheirreductionsandthereforehaveanet
positivecost.TheLDCsegmenthasonlyonemeasureandisthehighestcost.Thecostsfortheother
sectorsdependontheparticularmitigationoptionsavailableineachandtheiraggregatecost.Theoil
andgasproductionsegmentsplusgastransmissionaccountforalmost70%ofthetotalreductions.
Figure44EmissionReductionbyIndustrySegment
Table42showstheinitialcapitalcostbyindustrysegment.Themajorityofthecosts,likethemajority
ofthereductions,areintheoilandgasproductionsegments,followedbytransmission.Again,this
aggregationbysegmentisapproximateduetothetopdownmethodologyusedtodevelopthe
estimates.

Industries
AnalyticalResults
Table42InitialCapitalCostbyIndustrySegment
Segment
InitialCapitalCost
($million)
GasProcessing $85.3
GasStorage $42.1
GatheringandBoosting $106.0
LNG $12.4
GasProduction $707.8
OilProduction $865.6
GasTransmission $241.2
GasDistribution $91.5
GrandTotal
$2,151.9
Figure45showsthebreakdownofreductionoptionsfortheGasProductionsegment.Replacementof
highbleedandintermittentbleedpneumaticdevicesaccountsforoverhalfthereductions.LDARfor
reductionofwellfugitivesisapositivecostandaccountsforoverathirdofreductions.Replacementof
highbleedpneumaticsandKimraypumpsarethenegativecost(savings)options.Thetotalreductionis
35Bcfwithanetcostof$0.44/Mcfofmethanereduced.
Figure45EmissionReductionsfortheGasProductionSegment
Industries
AnalyticalResults
Figure46showsthereductionsfortheOilProductionsegment.Replacementofhighandintermittent
bleedpneumaticsaresignificantcomponents,asinGasProduction,accountingfornearlyhalfofthe
reductions.Inaddition,flaringofcompletionemissionsandstrandedassociatedgasarealsosignificant
butnogasisrecoveredfromtheflaring.Methanerecoveryfromoiltanksistheothersignificant
measureforthissegment.Thetotalreductionis39.5Bcfatacostof$0.10/Mcfofmethanereduced.
Figure46EmissionReductionsfortheOilProductionSegment
Figure47showsthereductionsforGatheringandBoosting.LDARtoreducefugitivesatstationsand
reciprocatingcompressorsaccountsforoverhalfthereductionswhileelectrificationofKimraypumps
accountsforoverathird.Thetotalreductionis15Bcfatacostof$1.97/Mcfofmethanereduced.
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Figure47EmissionReductionsfortheGatheringandBoostingSegment
Figure48showsthereductionsforthegastransmissionsegment.LDARreductionsoffugitivesfrom
stationsandcompressorsarethelargestcomponents.Captureofdegassingemissionsfromwetseal
centrifugalcompressorsandreducedventingaretheothersignificantmeasures.Duetoregulatory
limitations,transmissionpipelinesarenotabletomonetizeemissionreductions,sothecostof
reductionsispositiveforallmeasures,$2.24/Mcfofmethanereducedfor37Bcfofreductions.
Figure48EmissionsReductionsfortheGasTransmissionSegment
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Asdiscussedearlier,thebaselinecosteffectivenessassumptionisthatthevalueofrecoveredgasis
recognizedinalloftheupstreamsectorsbutnotintransmissionordistribution,duetoregulatory
constraints.Figure49showsthesectorwideMACcurveforthebasecasewhenthevalueofthe
recoveredgasisrecognizedforallsectorsasaneconomywidevalue.Theorderofthemeasuresis
slightlyreorderedbutmoreimportantly,muchofthecostcurveisshifteddownwardasaresultof
includingthefullvalueofthegasrecovered.Thetotalnetcostnowis$150million/yearor$0.92/Mcf.
Inotherwords,iftheeconomicvalueofallpotentiallyrecoveredgasisaccountedfor,onshore
emissionscanbecutbyover40%atanetnegativecost.
Figure49NationalAggregateMACCurvewithBaselineTechnologyAssumptionandEconomyWideValueRecognition
Figure410showstheMACcurveresultsbyregion.Themagnitudeofthereduction(widthofthebar)is
drivenbythereductionpotentialintheregion,whichisrelatedtothesizeoftheregionandtheamount
ofoilandgasactivity.Itisalsoaffectedbytheregionalcostadjustments,whichadd13%to24%tothe
costforregionsoutsidetheGulfCoast.TheGulfCoastandMidcontinentaccountforalmosthalfthe
reductionsduethelargeamountofproductioninthoseregions.TheNortheastalsohasalargeshare
becauseitincludestheeasternthirdoftheU.S.andhasanincreasingamountofproduction.Thecost
(heightofthebar)isdeterminedbythemixofcontrolmeasureswithineachregion.Theproducing
regionshavemoreupstreammeasureswithlowercost.TheWestCoastandNortheasthavealower
shareofproductionandagreatershareoftransmissionanddistributionsourcesthatcannotmonetize
theirreductions,andthushavehigheraveragecost.
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Figure410NationalAggregateMACCurvebyRegion
4.3. CoBenefits
Measuresthatreducegasemissionswillalsoreducetheemissionsofconventionalpollutantsvolatile
organiccompounds(VOCs)andhazardousairpollutants(HAPs)inthegasaswellasmethane.Mostof
thesecomponentsareremovedfromthegasatthegasprocessingstagesotheprimarycobenefitsare
atorpriortothatstageinthevaluechain.Figure411showsthatreductionsare44%oftheoriginal
inventoryofbothpollutants.Thenetreductioncostsarelowrelativetoconventionalcontrolprograms
duetotheeconomicvalueofrecoveredgas:$158/tonforVOCsand$4,147/tonforHAPs,howeverthe
costeffectivenessforsomeindividualsourceswithlowemissionsismuchhigher.Moreover,thesame
totalannualcost($108million/year)isappliedtothereductionformethane,VOC,andHAPsthatis
allocatingthefullcosttoeachpollutantratherthandividingthecostamongthepollutants,whichwould
yieldalowercostofcontrol.
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Figure411CoBenefitReductionsofVOCsandHAPs
Figure412andFigure413showthesourcesofthecobenefitsforreductionofVOCsandHAPs.
Figure412VOCReductionCoBenefits
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Figure413HazardousAirPollutantCoBenefits
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5. CaseStudies
Thissectionprovidesadditionalbackgroundontwoemissionssourcesthatareofparticularinterestdue
totheirlargeemissionsand/oropportunityforreduction.Thetwosourcesarewetsealcentrifugal
compressorsandliquidsunloadingfromgaswells.
5.1. WetSealCompressorDegassingforCentrifugalCompressors
Centrifugalcompressorsareusedwidelythroughoutthepetroleumandnaturalgasindustry.These
compressorscanbeusedinawiderangeofapplications.Centrifugalcompressorshaveacentral
rotatingshaftwithimpellersthatacttopressurizeandcompressthenaturalgas.Theseshaftsare
poweredexternallytothecompressorcasing,meaningthattheshaftneedstopassthroughthecasing.
Theopeningwheretheshaftpassesthroughthecasingcreatesapathforthepressurizedgastoescape.
Differenttypesofsealsareusedtopreventthegasfromescaping.
WetSealsWetsealsincentrifugalcompressorsusealubricatingoilkeptatahigherpressurethanthe
gasinthecompressorcasing,forminganeffectivebarrieragainstgasleakage.Verylittlegasescapes
throughthebarrier,butaconsiderableamountgetsentrainedintheoilthatcomesindirectcontact
withthehighpressuresgasattheinboard(compressor)side.Inordertokeepthesealoilingood
condition,thesealoilmustbepurgedofnaturalgasinaprocesscalleddegassing.
Duringthedegassingprocess,thecontaminatedsealoilissentfromthesealtoalowpressuretank,
calledaflashtankkeptnearatmosphericpressure.Whentheoil/gasmixtureentersthetank,thegas
flashesoutoftheoil,effectivelyseparatingthegasfromtheoil.Thenowcleanoilisthensenttoa
holdingtanktobepressurizedandrecirculatedthroughtheseals.Thegasthatisremovedfromtheoilis
generallyventedtotheatmosphere,creatingsignificantmethaneemissions.
DrySealsThemechanicaldrysealdoesnotusecirculatingsealoilbutinsteadoperatesmechanically
undertheopposingforcecreatedbyhydrodynamicgroovesandstaticpressureasshowninFigure51.
Drysealsconsistoftworingsonthecompressorshaftwheretheshaftexitsthecompressorcasing.One
oftheseisastationaryring,andoneisarotatingring.Whenthecompressorisnotrotating,the
stationaryringinthesealhousingispressedagainsttherotatingringbysprings.Whenthecompressor
shaftrotates,hydrodynamicgroovesetchedintothesurfaceoftherotatingringdirectgasbetweenthe
rotatingringandthestationaryring.Theopposingforceofhighpressuregaspumpedbetweentherings
andspringstryingtopushtheringstogethercreatesaminutegapbetweentheringsthroughwhich
littlegascanleak.Further,thisgasbetweentheringsmeansthattheringsdonottouchduring
operation,significantlyreducingwearandeliminatingtheneedforalubricant.
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Sincedrysealsdonotrequirealubricant,therearenoemissionsfromdegassing.Infact,theonly
emissionsfromthesealarethegasthatleaksthroughthesealitself.Accordingtostudies,theleakrate
acrossdrysealsisapproximately3scfm,substantiallylowerthantheemissionsfromwetseals,which
rangefrom40to200scfm.
25,26
Figure51DrySealsonaCentrifugalCompressor
5.2. DrySealReplacement/Retrofit
Oneoptiontoreducemethaneemissionsistouseadrysealcompressorinsteadofawetseal
compressor.Thiscanbeaccomplishedbyeitherreplacingthecompressororretrofittingittousedry
seals.Bothoftheseoptionscanbeviable,dependingontheproject,butarealmostalwaysquite
expensive,usuallyover$300,000percompressor.Therefore,thisoptionisoftennotcosteffective.
5.3. WetSealDegassingCaptureSystems
Another,substantiallylessexpensiveoptionistoinstallequipmenttocaptureanduseorflarethegas
thatflashesoutduringthedegassingofthesealoil.Thissystemusestwoseparators,oneathigh
pressure,andoneatlowerpressure.Thehighpressureseparatoroperatesatthesealoilpressure,and
thegasflowiscontrolledbyacriticalorifice.Thishighpressurecapturedgasisthenroutedtoasealoil
demistertoremoveanyremainingsealoilbeforebeingroutedtobeneficialuse.Theoilthenflowsfrom
thehighpressureseparatortotheatmosphericdegassingseparatorwheretheremainingentrainedgas
25
U.S.EPA.ReplacingWetSealswithDrySealsinCentrifugalCompressors.
http://epa.gov/gasstar/documents/ll_wetseals.pdf
26
Southcott,et.al.DryGasSealRetrofit.http://turbolab.tamu.edu/proc/turboproc/T24/T24221230.pdf
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isremovedandventstotheatmosphere.Thisvolumeofgasisusuallyminimal,asmostofthegascan
beremovedinthehighpressureseparator.Theregeneratedsealoilcanthenberecirculatedbacktothe
compressorsealoilsystem.ThisarrangementisshownFigure52.Thesesystemshavebeeninstalled
operatedsuccessfullyasoriginalequipmentatseveralgascompressionstations.Theiruseasaretrofit
technologyisanewapplication.
Figure52Wetsealdegassingrecoverysystemforcentrifugalcompressors(SourceU.S.EPA)
Wetsealdegassingrecoverysystemscouldpotentiallybeinstalledatmostlocationswithwetseal
centrifugalcompressors,thoughtheremaybelimitationsduetositespecificoperatingrequirements.In
ordertoimplementthissystemtheremustbeausefortherecoveredgas.Operatorshaveseveral
optionsonhowtobestutilizethisgas,andthesechoiceswillimpacttheeconomicsoftheproject.The
mostcommonoptionsare:
Useashighpressureturbinefuel(~250psig)
Routetherecoveredgasaslowpressurefuel(~50psig)
Routebacktocompressorsuction
Useasaflaresweepgas
Notalloftheseapplicationsmaybeavailableatallsites.Inaddition,gasrecoveredfromthelow
pressuresideofthecompressormaynotbeusableforhighpressureapplicationsormayrequire
compressiondependingontheapplication.
5.3.1. EconomicAnalysisofInstallingWetSealDegassingCaptureSystems
Theanalysisofawetsealdegassingrecoverysystemshouldconsiderthecapitalandoperationalcosts
alongwiththemethaneemissionssavings.Twodetailedeconomicanalysesareshownbelow.Thefirst
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scenariodepictsinstallingthewetsealdegassingrecoverysystemonasinglecentrifugalcompressor.
Thesecondillustratesawetsealdegassingrecoverysysteminstalledatacompressorstationwithfour
centrifugalcompressors.
Theinvestmentpercompressortousethistechnologyincludesthecostofahighpressuresealoil
separator,newpiping,pressureandflowcontrols,andthelabortodesignandinstalltheequipment.In
mostcases,incrementaloperatingandmaintenancecostsareexpectedtobeminimal.Ifthegasistobe
usedasfuel,ademisterwillalsoberequiredinordertoremoveanyentrainedsealoilfromthegasthat
exitsthehighpressureseparator.Iftherecoveredgasisroutedtoahigherpressurefuelsystem,an
additionalsealoilhighefficiencyfilter/separatorwilllikelyberequiredtoensurealltheoilmistis
removed.
Theestimatedcapitalcostforeachseparatorincludesthepurchasecostofthevessel,piping,
instrumentation,structuralsupport,electrical,painting,shipping,insurance,andinstallation.Table51
summarizesthesecostestimates(in2013U.S.dollars)foreachpieceofinstalledequipmentina
degassingrecoverysystem.
Table51DegassingRecoverySystemEstimatedInstallationandEquipmentCosts
Equipment
CapitalCost
OneCentrifugal
Compressor
CapitalCost
CompressorStation
(FourCompressors)
SealOil/GasSeparator
*
$19,700 $78,800
SealOilGasDemisterLowQuality
Gas
$9,000 $9,000
SealOilGasDemisterHighQuality
Gas
$5,000 $5,000
Total $33,700 $92,800
*Assumedtwosealspercentrifugalcompressorandfourcentrifugalcompressorsatthestation.
Anindividualhighpressuresealoilgasseparatorcostsabout$9,850perseal.
HighPressureSealOilGasDisengagementSeparators
Foreachcentrifugalcompressor,asealoilgasseparatoristobeinstalledforeachsealorpairofseals
(assumingthepairisoperatingatthesamesealoilpressure).Thesealoilgasseparatorscanbe
designedtooperateatthesamepressureasthesealoilexitingthesealhousing.Thetotalcostofeach
sealoilgasseparatorisestimatedat$9,850,andwithtwoseparatorspercompressor(onefortheseal
ateachendoftheshaft),thetotalcostpercompressoris$19,700.
SealOilRecoveredGasDemister/Filter
Afterbeingrecovered,thegasmustpassthroughatleastonehighefficiencydemistertoremove
entrainedsealoilbeforeitcanbesenttoafuelline.Iftheoilisntremoved,theentrainedoilmayfoul
burnersandpotentiallyclogfuelinjectors.Thisdemistercanbedesignedtoreceivegasfrommultiple
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separators,therebyloweringtheoverallcost.However,thedesigncharacteristicsofthisvesselwillvary
dependingonthenumberseparatorsconnectedtothevessel.Theestimatedcostforasinglestageis
approximately$9,000.Thiscostwillbeusedforboththesinglecompressorandthecompressorstation
examples.
Iftherecoveredgasistobesenttoahighpressurefuelsystem,suchastopowerthecompressor,the
recoverysystemmayneedtoincludeasecondhighefficiencyfilter.Thisisusedtoensurethattrace
amountsofsealoildonotfoulthesemoresensitivefuelinjectors.Theestimatedcostforthesecond
sealoilhighefficiencyfilterisapproximately$5,000.
PipingandInstrumentation
Pipingmodificationswillberequiredinordertoroutethesealoilexitingthecompressorsealtothenew
separatorthentothedegassingtank.Additionalpipesandvalveswillbeneededtotransportthe
recoveredgastothedemistersandfurthertotheendusesite.Controlswillalsoneedtobeinstalledto
regulatethepressureandflowoftherecoveredgasfromeachhighpressureseparator.Thiscanbe
accomplishedwithacriticalorificeonthegasoutletfromeachseparatorwhichrestrictsgasflowusing
chokefloweffects.Thepipingandinstrumentationcostsareincludedintheinstallationandcapital
costsforeachindividualpieceofequipmentlistedinTable51.
EstimatedSavings
Thesavingsfromthissystemarerealizedbygeneratingadditionalgassalesifgasisroutedtothe
compressorinlet,orbyreducedcostsifusingrecoveredgasforsitefuel.Basedonmeasurement
studies,theaveragemethaneemissionsfromcentrifugalcompressorwetsealdegassingare63scfmof
gaspercompressor.Assuming8,000hoursofoperationperyear,thetotalgasemissionsperyearwould
be30millioncubicfeet(MMcf)percompressor.Existingsystemsrecover99percentoftheentrained
gasinthesealoil.Therefore,thisanalysisassumesthatonly1percentofthegasisvented.Thismeans
thatnearly30MMcfofgascanberecoveredpercentrifugalcompressorandwilleitherdisplacethe
samevolumeinfuelgasorresultinadditionalsalesifroutedtocompressorsuction.At$4perthousand
cubicfeet(Mcf),savingsfromreducedfuelgasconsumptionisestimatedtobe$120,000peryearper
centrifugalcompressor,andastationwithfourcentrifugalcompressorscouldexpecttoavoid$480,000
peryearinfuelgascosts.
ComparingCoststoSavings
TheeconomicsofimplementingawetsealdegassingrecoverysystemareshowninTable52usinga
fiveyearcashflowtable.Thisanalysisconsiderscapitalcostsandsavingsfromavoidedfuelgascosts.
Thecapitalcostsassumetheoperatorinstallsboththedemisterforlowpressurefuelgasandahigh
efficiencyfilterforhighpressurefuelgas.Whiletheactualeconomicswillbehighlysitespecific,the
analysishereshowsthattheeconomicsofinstallingawetsealgasrecoverysystemaresoattractivethat
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companiesshouldconsiderimplementingthistechnologyatanyandallfacilitieswithatleastone
centrifugalcompressorwithwetseals.
Table52WetSealDegassingRecoverySystemCostsandSavingsforOneCompressor
CostsandSavings($) Year0 Year1 Year2 Year3 Year4 Year5
Capital&installationcosts ($33,700)

Annualnaturalgassavings
($4.00/Mcf)
$120,000 $120,000 $120,000 $120,000 $120,000
NetPresentValue=$380,000
InternalRateofReturn=350%
PaybackPeriod=3months
Table53WetSealDegassingRecoverySystemCostsandSavingsforFourCompressorsataStation
CostsandSavings($) Year0 Year1 Year2 Year3 Year4 Year5
Capital&installationcosts ($92,800)

Annualnaturalgassavings
($4.00/Mcf)
$480,000 $480,000 $480,000 $480,000 $480,000
NetPresentValue=$1,600,000
InternalRateofReturn=520%
PaybackPeriod=2months
Withtheseassumptions,thewetsealgasrecoverysystemwouldpaybackinlessthanayear.The
economicsarecompelling,butitshouldbenotedthattheinstallationmayrequireeachcompressorto
bebrieflyshutdowninordertotiethesealoilcirculationpipingintothenewgasdisengagement
vessels.Atnewfacilitiesrequiringwetsealcentrifugalcompressors,installationcanalsointegratethe
degassingrecoverysystemsintotheprocessdesign.Wetsealdegassingrecoverysystemsarehighly
effectiveatcapturingemissionsfromwetsealcompressorsandsubsequentlyreducingfuelgas
purchasesand/orincreasinggassaleswithahighrateofreturn.
5.4. LiquidsUnloading
5.4.1. Background
Formanygaswells,particularlyoldergaswells,accumulationoffluidsinthewellisaseriousissue.Ifleft
untreated,thisaccumulatedfluidwillslowlyoffthewelltothepointwhereitwillnolongerproducegas
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tothesalesline.Becauseofthis,thefluidsthataccumulateinthesewellsmustberegularlyremovedor
otherwisedealtwith,aprocessknownasliquidsunloading.
Operatorsofwellswithliquidsloadingissueshaveseveraloptionstotreatthewell.Themostbasic
remedyistosimplyopenandventthewelltotheatmosphere.Byopeningthewelltoatmospheric
pressure,whichissubstantiallylowerthanthegassaleslinepressure,thewellwillbeginproducing
again.Asthewellisproducingtotheatmosphere,thegaswillcarryupandremovesomeofthe
accumulatedliquidsinthewelltubing.Afterventingthewell,whichusuallylastsatleastseveralhours,
thewellwillagainbeabletoproducegastothesalesline.However,studieshaveshownthatsimply
ventingwellstotheatmosphereonlyremovesabout15%oftheaccumulatedfluidsinthewell.This
resultsintheneedtofrequentlyventthewell,aswellasdiminishedoverallproductionfromthewell.Of
courseitalsoresultsinsignificantmethaneemissionsandlostgasrevenue.
Thereareavarietyofotheroptionsavailabletooperatorstoremoveliquidswithoutventingorwith
muchreducedventing.Theserangefromfoamingagentsthatreducethedensityandsurfacetensionof
theliquidtopumpingorartificiallifttechnologiesthatremovetheliquidfromthewelltubing.Several
ofthemostcommonunloadingtechnologiesarediscussedbelow.
5.4.2. PlungerLifts
Aplungerliftisatypeofartificialliftthatharnessesthenaturalenergyofagaswelltopushaplunger
andtheaccumulatedcolumnoffluidinthewelltothesurface.Thegaspressurebuildupinthecasing
tubingannulusisusedtopushtheplungerupthewellwhiletheplungeractsasapistonbetweenthe
gasandtheliquid,maximizingtheliquidremovalandminimizingventing.Ideally,theplungerdischarges
tothesalesline,inwhichcasethereisnoventingofmethanetotheatmosphere.Overtime,however,
thewellmaynothaveenoughpressuretooperatetheplungeragainstthesaleslinepressure,inwhich
caseitwillventtotheatmosphere.However,thisisstilltypicallya90%reductioncomparedtoventing
thewellwithoutaplungerlift.
Aplungerliftsystemconsistsofseveralpartsbeyondjust
theplunger(Figure53).Atthetopofthewell,theplunger
residesinalubricatorduringnormalgaswelloperation.
Thelubricatorensuresthattheplungerwilltravelfreelyup
anddownthewell.Atthebottomofthewellisabumper
springandholddowncomponent.Thebumperspringacts
tocatchandsupportthefallingplungerbeforeliquids
removal.Theholddowncomponentpreventsthebumper
springfromtravellingupthewellwiththeplungerduring
liquidsremoval.Inadditiontothesemandatory
components,manyoperatorschoosetoinstallautomation
Figure53 PlungerLiftSchematic
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equipmentthatwillmonitorandautomaticdeploytheplungerliftwhennecessary.
Plungerliftsoperateonacycle,eitherdeterminedmanuallybytheoperatororautomaticallybyan
associatedcomputerprogram.Thepressuresinthetubingandcasingaremonitored,andchangesin
thesevaluesareusedtodeterminewhentobegintheplungerliftcycle.
Atthebeginningofthecycle,thewellisshutintostoptheflowofgas.Asthewellisbeingshutin,the
plungerfallsfromthelubricatortothebottomofthewellwiththeliquidontopoftheplunger.Pressure
inthecasingthenbeginsbuildingup.Whenthecasingpressureishighenoughtolifttheplungerand
theliquidstothesurface,thesaleslinevalvewillopen,againpermittingtheflowofgasfromthewell.
Thepressurizedgasinthecasingwillthenpushtheplungerandfluidcolumntothesurface.Asthe
plungerarrivesatthetopofthewell,itiscaughtandisheldinplaceinthelubricator.Atthispoint,the
wellwillbeproducingatthemaximumflowrate.Asfluidaccumulatesinthewellagain,thecasingand
tubingpressureswillchange.Whenthosevalueshittheirpredeterminedmarktotriggeraplungercycle,
thesaleslinevalvewillcloseandthecyclewillbeginagain.
Initially,thewellswereshutinmanuallybyanoperator.Thisrequiredtheoperatortodriveouttothe
wellsite,shutinthewell,waitfortheplungertocycle,andthenopenthewellbacktothesalesline.
Thismethodwasthenstreamlinedbycontrollingtheplungercycleswithsimplemechanicaltimers.
Thesetimersensuredthatthewellswereplungedonacertainschedule,andeliminatedtheneedforan
operatortodriveouttothewell.However,wellconditionschangeovertime.Iftheliquidlevelinthe
gaswellisallowedtogettoohigh,thepressureinthewellmaynotbeenoughtoplungethewelltothe
salesline.Inthiscase,theplungermaygetstuckpartwayupthewellandthewellwillneedtobe
plungedtotheatmosphere,resultinginmethaneemissions.Ifthefluidistoolow,theplungermay
comeuptooquicklyanddamagethewellhead.
Amorerecentdevelopmentistheuseofcomputerstoautomateplungerliftcycles.Thesecomputers
collectandanalyzedatatodeterminetheoptimaltimetoplungethewells,ensuringthatthewellruns
asefficientlyaspossible.Activelytrackingthewellconditionscanhelptoensurethatthewellcanbe
plungedtothesaleslineinsteadoftheatmosphere,whichcanlowertheoverallmethaneemissions
fromthewell.However,thistechnologygenerallyonlymakessenseonwellsthatplungefrequently.Ifa
wellisonlycyclingonceortwiceayear,theaddedcostofautomationmaynotmakeeconomicsense
forthewell.
5.4.2.1. Plungerliftcosts
Atypicalplungerliftinstallationincludesthedownholeassembly,thelubricator,andtheplungeritself,
aswellasassociatedvalesandconnections.Theinstallationcostscanbehigherifautomation
equipmentisinstalledaswell.Table54showstypicalcostrangesreportedtotheGasSTARprogramfor
installingplungerliftswithandwithoutautomation,thoughcurrentcostsestimatesaretypically$7,500
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to$15,000andcompaniescontactedforthisstudycitedevenhighercostsifwellcleanoutsorover
treatmentsarerequired.
Table54ReportedCapitalandOperatingCostRangesforInstallingPlungerLiftSystems
MitigationOption CapitalCost AnnualO&M Comments
PlungerLiftSystem $2,500to
$10,000per
well
$1,000to
$10,000perwell
Capitalcostrepresentsplungerliftequipmentand
setupcost.O&Mcostrepresentsplungerlift
maintenancesuchasinspecting/replacing
lubricatorandplunger.
PlungerLifts
Systemwith
Smart"
Automation
>$10,000per
well
$100to$1,000
perwell
TheSmartAutomationSystemcanbeinstalled
atacostoflessthan$12,000perwelldependent
onthenumberofwells,currentautomationand
transmissionsystemsinplace,andthelocation.
Thesystemrequiresadditionalfieldpersonnel
trainingandengineeringtimetorealizeitsfull
benefits.
Plungerliftsaredesignedtoimprovetheproductionefficiencyofolder,liquidsrichgaswells.However,
theycanalsopreventthewellsfrombeingventedtotheatmosphere,aswouldhavebeendone
previouslytoremoveliquids.Theuseofplungerliftscanhelptosubstantiallyreducemethaneemissions
fromwellsbypreventingunnecessaryventingofthewells.However,operatorsmustensurethat
plungerliftimplementationisdesignedtominimizeemissionsaswellasimproveproductivity.
Forexample,plungerliftsaregenerallyusedtoplungetheliquidsinthegaswelltothesalesline.This
requiresthatthepressuresandflowratesinthewellbecloselymonitoredtoensurethatsufficient
energyexiststobringtheplungerupduringitscycle.Ifthepressureisallowedtofalltoolow,thewell
willneedtobeopenedtotheatmospheretoincreasethepressuregradientandallowtheplungerto
bringtheliquidstothesurface.Allowingthistooccurwillreducethepotentialemissionreductions.
Further,sincethewellhasbeenclearedofliquids,thegaswillbeproducingatornearsitsmaximum
rate.Ifthewellremainsopentotheatmosphereafterplunger,whichiscommon,theincreasedgasflow
ratemaynegateorpossiblyevenexceedemissionsfromventinganonplungerwelltotheatmosphere.
5.4.3. AdditionalOptionsforRemovingorRemediatingLiquidsProblems
Thereareavarietyofotheroptionstoaddressliquidsunloading.Themostcommonoftheseoptions
includefoamliftsystems,gaspoweredliftssystems,positivedisplacementsystems,andvelocitytubing
strings.Thesesystemsaregenerallynotapplicabletoallwells,andoftentimeshaveaverylimitedrange
orlifetimeofapplicability.
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5.4.3.1. FoamLiftSystems
Foamliftsystemsworkbyusingasoaporsurfactant(thefoamingagent)toalterthephysical
propertiesofthefluid.Thesurfacetensionandtheliquiddensityoftheliquidsinthewellarechanged
bytheadditionofthefoamingagent,whichthenreducesthecriticalvelocityneededlifttheliquidfrom
thewell.Themainrestrictionwiththeuseofafoamliftsystemisthatthefoamingagentsonlyreact
withwater,meaningthesesystemsarelimitedtowellsinwhichmostoftheliquidphaseiswaterrather
thanahydrocarbonliquid.Themainuseoffoamliftsystemsisinthedeliquificationofwellswithlow
reservoirpressurethatneedtobecontinuouslyproducedtohighsaleslinepressures.Thefoamlift
systemscanalsofindusewhentubingrestrictionspreventtheuseofplungerliftsinawell.
27
5.4.3.2. VelocityTubing
Inagaswell,thevelocityofthegasisthekeyfactorinwhetherornotthegascanliftliquidsoutofthe
well.Oncethegasvelocityfallsbelowthenecessaryvelocitytolifttheliquids,theliquidswillbeginto
accumulateinthewell,leadingtolowerproductionratesandultimatelyshuttinginthewell.Oneoption
toincreasethegasvelocityistolowerthecrosssectionalareaofthegaswelltubing.Thisworks
becausethevelocityofagasflowingthroughasectionofpipeisinverselyproportionaltothecross
sectionalareaofthepipe.Thiscrosssectionalareareductioncanbeachievedinagaswelloneoftwo
ways.Bothofthesewaysinvolveinsertingasmallerpipe,orvelocitytubing,insidetheproduction
tubing.Thefirstoptionusesthevelocitytubingtosimplyreducethecrosssectionalareaofthe
productiontubingbynotallowinggastoflowupthespaceoccupiedbytheinsertedtubingstring.This
methodisshowninFigure54.Thesecondoptionistousetheinsertedvelocitytubingasthenew
productiontubing.Themethodchosenwilldependonhowmuchthecrosssectionalareaneedstobe
reducedinordertoachievetheappropriategasvelocity.
27
Weatherford.FoamLiftAnalysis.http://www.clientdemos.net/weatherford_tus/lift_systems/foamlift_systems
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Figure54InstallationofVelocityTubingServingtoReductiontheCrossSectionAreaoftheProductionTubing
Note:Avelocitytubingstringisinsertedintothewelltodecreasetheannualarea,therebyincreasingthegas
velocity,allowingforliquidsremovalfromthewell.
Theinstallationofavelocitytubingstringisarelativelysimpleprocess,beginningwithcalculatingthe
propertubingdiameterneededtoachievetherequiredgasvelocitytolifttheliquidsoutofthewell.The
actualinstallationofthevelocitytubingstringrequiresawellworkoverrigtoinstallthesmaller
diametertubingstringinthewell.Velocitytubingworksbestinlowvolumegaswells.Candidatewells
includemarginalgaswellsproducinglessthan60Mfcd.
28
5.4.3.3. GasPoweredLiftSystems
Gasliftsystemsareatypeofartificialliftprocessthatcloselyresemblesthenaturalflowprocessofagas
well.Thesesystemsworkbysendinghighpressuregasintothecasingofthewellinordertolowerthe
hydrostaticpressureintheproductiontubing.Withthehydrostaticpressurelowered,anincreased
pressuredifferentialisestablishedbetweenthereservoirandthewellhead,allowingthegastoflow
morefreelyandcarrymoreliquidtothesurface.Themainrequirementforgasliftsystemsisan
economicallyavailablesupplyofhighpressurenaturalgas.Thishighpressuregascancomefromeither
nearbywellsoracompressionsource.Ifahighpressuregassourceisavailable,gasliftistypicallythe
preferredformofartificiallift.
29
28
U.S.EPA.OptionsforRemovingAccumulatedFluidandImprovingFlowinGasWells.
http://epa.gov/gasstar/documents/ll_options.pdf
29
Weatherford.GasLiftSystems.http://www.weatherford.com/Products/Production/GasLift/
Industries
CaseStudies
5.4.3.4. PositiveDisplacementSystems
Positivedisplacementsystemsaregenerallyusedwhenawelldepletestotheextentthatdownhole
pressuresareinsufficienttosupportanyothertypeofartificialliftsystem.Positivedisplacement
systemsincludeprogressingcavitypumps,electricsubmersiblepumps,andreciprocatingrodlifts,
amongothers.Allofthesetechnologiesworkbyutilizingsomesortofoutsideenergysource,suchasa
gaspoweredengineorelectricmotor,toliftthefluidtothesurface.Thesesystemsaregenerallymuch
moreexpensivetoinstallandoperatethantheotherliftsystems,buttheyaretheonlyonesthatcan
depleteliquidproducinggaswellstotheirlowestpossiblepressure.
30
5.4.4. LiquidsIssuesinHorizontalWells
Themajorityofoilandnaturalgaswellshavebeenverticalwells.However,thepastdecadehasseena
rapidgrowthofhorizontalwells,particularlyforshalegasproduction.Thesenewer,horizontalwells
havemanybenefitsovertraditional,verticalwells.
Multiplewellscanbedrilledfromasinglewellpad.
Formerlyinaccessibleregionscanbereachedandproduced.
Increasedproductivityofwellsbyincreasingcontactwithreservoirrock.
Mostnewproductionareas,includingtheMarcellusandBakkenformations,arebeingdevelopedtoday
thanksinparttothishorizontaldrillingtechnology.Whilemostofthesewellsarestillrelativelynew,
eventuallymanyofthemareexpectedtofaceliquidsloadingproblemsasthewellages.Thispresentsa
uniquechallengetotheindustry,asmosttechnologiesdesignedtoremedyliquidsloadingissuesarefor
verticalwells.Thismeansthatnewtechnologiesandtechniqueswillneedtobedevelopedtoovercome
theuniqueissuespresentedbythesenewhorizontalwells.
Mosthorizontalwellshaveverylongnonverticalsections.Thesenonverticalsectionsarethemain
issueforthesewellsregardingliquidsloading.Currenttechnology,suchasplungerliftsandfoaming
agents,aredesignedtoworkinverticalwellsonly.Bothrelyongravitytoplaceobjects,eitherthe
plungerorthefoamingagent,intothewell.Thenonverticalsectionofawellpresentsachallenge
becausegravitycannotassistinplacingtheobjectatthebottomofthewell.
Further,manyhorizontalwellsarenotentirelyhorizontal.Figure55showssomeofthedifferent
configurationsthathorizontallydrilledwellscantake.Further,manywellsareoftenacombinationof
thewelltypesshowninFigure55.Forexample,amultilateralwellmaybedrilledsothatsomelegs
30
Weatherford.ESPandPositiveDisplacementLiftAnalysis.
http://www.clientdemos.net/weatherford_tus/lift_systems/positivedisplacement_systems
Industries
CaseStudies
arepositionedtoeup,whileothersarepositionedtoedown,andthelegswillcontainundulationsas
well.
Figure55DifferentTypesofHorizontalWells
Sincewellsarebeingdirectionallydrilled,usuallytocontactasmuchofthereservoirrockaspossible,
undulationsinthehorizontallegareextremelycommon.Theseundulationspresentseriouschallenges
forovercomingpotentialliquidsloadingissues.Waterandotherliquidscanaccumulateinthelowspots,
whilegasblockscanpossibleoccurinhigherspots.
Anotherissuefacedbyhorizontalwellsistheissueofdeterminingcriticalgasflowvelocity.Companies
normallyusethisdataintheirdeterminationonhowtodealwithliquidsinagaswell.However,most
modelsandequationsthatarecurrentlyusedweredevelopedforverticalwells.Overall,thereisaneed
forimprovedunderstandingandmodelstodeterminethecriticalgasflowvelocityinhorizontalwells.
Currently,muchworkisbeingdonetofindadequateandeconomicsolutionstoliquidsloadingissuesin
horizontalgaswells.AconsortiumformedbytheArtificialLiftR&DCouncilandleadbytheUniversityof
Tulsaincludesnumerousartificialliftcompaniesinvestigatingdifferentaspectsofthisissue.Theirwork
includestheinvestigationofmultiphaseflowbehaviorinhorizontalgaswells,theinvestigationof
artificialunloadingtechniquesinhorizontalgaswells,andthedevelopmentofguidelinesand
recommendedpracticesforunloadinghorizontalgaswells.
31
31
ArtificialLiftR&DCouncil.ArtificialLiftSelectionforHorizontalWells.
http://www.alrdc.org/recommendations/horizontalartificiallift/index.htm
Industries
CaseStudies
Oneofthemajorissueswithremovingliquidsformhorizontalwellsisthatthetrajectoryofthe
horizontalportionofthewellimpactshowliquidsloadandhowtheycanberemoved.However,the
flowpatternsofgasinthesedifferenttrajectoriesarenotcurrentlywellunderstood.Thismakes
choosingtheappropriatetechnologytorecoverthegasdifficult,sinceeachtechnologyhascertain
limitations.Currently,theindustrytrendistousethesameorsimilarselectioncriteriathathavealready
beenidentifiedforverticalornearverticalwells.Inordertoensuremaximumefficiencyisachieved
fromdeliquefyinghorizontalwells,similarcriteriamustbedevelopedforthesewells.
32
Asanexample,MuskegonDevelopment,isusingatechnologycalledSequentialLiftinorderto
deliquefyhorizontalgaswells.Muskegon,whichproducesintheMichiganAntrimshale,was
experiencingliquidsissuesinthehorizontalportionoftheirwells,creatinghighbackpressuresand
severelyreducingtheproductionrates.Beforeswitchingtosequentialliftsystems,Muskegonhadbeen
usingtraditionalgasliftinanattempttoremoveliquidsfromtheirhorizontalwells.However,the
traditionalgasliftsystemswereprovingtobehighlyineffective.In2010,Muskegonbeganinstallingthe
sequentialliftsystemsintheirhorizontalwells.Thissystemplacessmallpumpsouttotheendofthe
horizontalsectionsofwell,resultinginmuchmorecompletewelldeliquificationwhenusedwithgaslift
systems.Infact,Muskegonstatedthattheimprovedliftefficiencyaloneproducedareasonable
payback,evenwithouttakingintoaccountanyimprovedproductivity.
33
Somecompanieshavebegundesigningadditionaltechnologiestoattempttodealwithliquidsissues.
Forexample,Lufkinhasdesignedahydraulicsubmersiblepumpspecificallyforhorizontalwells.This
pumpsdesigncanaccommodatedewateringatlowvolumes,andthespecifictargetedformationsare
coalbedmethaneandshalegasplays.
34
32
TulsaUniversity.TUHorizontalWellArtificialLiftProjectsJustification.Availableonline:
http://tuhwalp.ens.utulsa.edu/technical_proposal/justification.html
33
Fiberspar.EnhancingProductionandImprovingLiftEfficiencyinLowPressureWellswithLiquidLoadingConditions.
Availableonline:http://fiberspar.com/sites/default/files/cs01_mar11.pdf
34
Lufkin.HSP5000HydraulicSubmersiblePump.http://www.lufkin.com/index.php/component/content/article/16
productsaservices/oilfield/100hydraulicsubmersiblepump
Industries
6. Conclusions
Thekeyconclusionsofthestudyinclude:
EmissionGrowthMethaneemissionsfromoilandgasoperationsareprojectedtogrow4.5%from
2011to2018,includingreductionsfromrecentregulations(NSPSSubpartOOOO).Allofthe
projectednetgrowthisfromtheoilsector,largelyfromflaringandventingofassociatedgas.Nearly
90%oftheemissionsin2018comefromexistingsources(sourcesinexistencein2011).
80/20RuleforSources22oftheover100emissionsourcecategoriesaccountforover80%ofthe
2018emissions,primarilyatexistingfacilities.
AbatementEconomicsA40%percentreductioninonshoremethaneemissionsisprojectedtobe
achievablewithexistingtechnologiesandtechniquesatanettotalcostof$0.66/Mcfofmethane
reduced,orlessthan$0.01/Mcfofgasproduced.Thecostforsomemeasuresandsegmentsofthe
industryismoreorlessthanthenettotal.Theinitialcapitalcostofthemeasuresisestimatedtobe
approximately$2.2billionwiththemajorityofthecostsintheoilandgasproductionsegments.
AbatementOpportunitiesByvolume,thelargestopportunitiestargetleakdetectionandrepairof
fugitiveemissions(leaks)atfacilitiesandgascompressors,reducedventingofassociatedgas,and
replacementofhighemittingpneumaticdevices.
AbatementbySegmentThemajorityoftheprojectedemissionsarefoundintheoilandgas
producingsegmentsandthegastransmissionsegment.Thesethreesegmentsaccountforalmost
70%oftheprojectedreductions.
CoBenefitsReducingmethaneemissionswillalsoreduceconventionalpollutants.Themethane
reductionsprojectedherewouldalsoresultina44%reductioninvolatileorganiccompounds
(VOCs)andhazardousairpollutants(HAPs)associatedwiththesemethaneemissions.
rangeofuncertainty.
Industries
ICFInternational A1 March2014
AppendixA. AdditionalSensitivities
ThisAppendixpresentsadditionalanalyticalresultsandsensitivitiesforthebasecaseresults.These
include:
AlternativegaspricesFiguresA1andA2showtheMACCurveforgaspricesat$3/Mcfand
$5/Mcf.Asexpected,thelowergaspriceresultsinahigherreductioncost($1.48/Mcfofmethane
reduced)duetothereducedvalueofrecoveredgas.Ahighergaspriceresultsinalowerreduction
cost($0.15/Mcfofmethanereduced)comparedtothebaselinevalueof$0.66/Mcfofmethane
reducedat$4/Mcf.Thechangeingaspriceonlyaffectsthosemeasuresandsegmentsthatcan
monetizethereductions.
Alternativediscountrate/costofcapitalFigureA3showsthebasecasewithahigherdiscount
rateof15%.Thediscountrateincreasesthecostofcapitalintensivemeasures.Thecostof
reductionis$1.01/Mcfofmethanereducedatthehigherdiscountrate.
ResultsexpressedasdollarspertonofCO
2
equivalentFiguresA4andA5showtheresultsona
$/tonneofCO
2
ebasis.Thebaselinemeasuresresultinareductionof79MMtonnesofCO
2
eata
costof$1.38/tonneCO
2
eata100yearglobalwarmingpotential(GWP)of25.Usinga20yearGWP
of72increasestheestimatedreductionto226MMtonnesofCO
2
eatacostof$0.48/tonneCO
2
e.
ResultsexpressedasdollarspermetrictonneofmethaneFigureA6showsthebasecaseresults
ona$/tonneofmethanebasis.Thebaselinemeasuresresultinareductionof3.1MMtonnesof
methaneatacostof$35/tonneofmethane.
ResultsexpressedasapercentofmethaneemissionsfromonshoregasoperationsFigureA7
showsthebasecaseresultsasapercentofgrossmethanewithdrawals.Methaneemissionsfrom
onshoregasoperationsin2018areprojectedtobeapproximately1.3%ofgrossmethane
withdrawals.Thereductionsidentifiedinthisanalysiswouldreducetheemissionstojustlessthan
0.8%ofgrosswithdrawals.
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AdditionalSensitivities
FigureA1SectorMACCurve$3/McfGasPrice
FigureA2SectorMACCurve$5/McfGasPrice
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FigureA3SectorMACCurve15%DiscountRate
FigureA4SectorMACCurve$/tonneCO
2
e100YearGWP=25
Industries
FigureA5SectorMACCurve$/tonneCO
2
e20YearGWP=72
FigureA6SectorMACCurve$/tonneMethaneReduced
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FigureA7PercentLeakageAnalysis
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ICFInternational B1 March2014
AppendixB. Developmentofthe2011EmissionsBaseline
B.1. Overview
Theanalysisofmethaneemissionreductionpotentialtakesasitsstartingpointthemethaneportionof
theNaturalGasandPetroleumSystemssectionofEPAsInventoryofU.S.GreenhouseGasEmissionsand
Sinks:19902011.Thisinventoryrepresentsthemostrobust,comprehensivedatasetofitskind.
However,becausetheEPAInventoryisintendedasaplanningdocumentnotastandalonesourcefor
granulareconomicanalysisICFcreatedanalternative2011BaselinebasedontheEPAInventory
structureandotherdatasources.Thiswasnotacompleteupdateofthe2011EPAinventory,whichwas
beyondthescopeofthisproject,butanupdateofanysectionsforwhichneworbetterdatacouldbe
readilyidentified.
WhiletheBaselineappliedchangesandadjustmentstothestructureofthedataandmanysource
categories,causingincreasesanddecreases,theoveralleffectwasanincreaseofjust2.4%(10Bcf)in
thenetestimatedmethaneemissionsfromtheoilandgassectorscomparedtothe2011EPAInventory.
Theestimatedemissionsfromthenaturalgassectorwerereducedbyover2%(10Bcf)whilethe
emissionsfromtheoilsectorincreasedbynearly26%(20Bcf)comparedtothe2011EPAbaseline(see
tablebelow).
B.2. SummaryofChanges
Thestartingpointforthe2011BaselinewastheU.S.EPAsInventoryofU.S.GreenhouseGasEmissions
andSinks:19902011
35
publishedinApril2013,whichestimates436billioncubicfeet(Bcf)or8.4million
metrictonnes(MMTonnes)ofmethaneemissionsforthepetroleumandnaturalgassectors
36
.The
NaturalGassectorandthePetroleumsectorarefurtherdividedintheinventoryintothevarious
segmentsforthenaturalgassector(GasProduction,GatheringandBoosting,GasProcessing,Gas
Transmission,GasStorage,LNGImport/Export,andDistribution)andthepetroleumsector(Oil
Production,Transportation,andRefining).
TheInventorybreaksoutmethaneemissionsforapproximately200sources,andcalculatesuncontrolled
emissionsusingactivityfactors(e.g.,equipmentcounts)multipliedbyemissionfactors(average
emissionsfromeachsource)toestimatethetotalemissions.Thetotaluncontrolledemissionsareoffset
byemissionreductionsreportedprimarilyfromtheEPAsvoluntaryNaturalGasSTARProgram,plus
additionalreductionsfromothersources,suchasstateregulations.
35
36
Whilethe2013editionoftheInventorywasthecurrentversionatthetimethestudywasinitiated,EPAhassincereleased
thedraftofthe2014edition.HoweverthisstudydoesnotaddressthatnewerversionoftheInventory.
Industries
Developmentofthe2011EmissionsBaseline
Summaryof2011EmissionsBaseline
Segment
2011EPAInventory ICF2011Baseline
Change(%)
(Million
tonnesCH
4
)
(BcfCH
4
)
(Million
tonnesCH
4
)
(BcfCH
4
)
NaturalGas
GasProduction 2.2 113 2.0 103 9%
GatheringandBoosting 0.5 24 0.8 43 80%
GasProcessing 0.9 48 0.8 44 9%
GasTransmission 1.7 87 1.4 75 14%
GasStorage 0.3 17 0.3 15 11%
LNG 0.1 5 0.1 6 22%
GasDistribution 1.3 69 1.3 69 0%
Petroleum
OilProduction 1.4 72 1.8 92 27%
OilTransportation < 0.1 < 1 < 0.1 <1 1%
OilRefining < 0.1 1 < 0.1 1 0%

TotalNetGasEmissions 7.0 362 6.8 353 2%
TotalNetOilEmissions 1.4 73 1.8 93 26%

TotalEmissions 8.4 436 8.6 446 2.4%
Duringthedevelopmentof2011Baseline,ICFfocusedonupdatingthesefactorsfornumeroussources.
Thechangesthatweremade,whicharedocumentedbelow,camefromseveralpublicallyavailable
references.ThemostcommonsourceofnewinformationwastheU.S.EPAsmandatoryGreenhouse
GasReportingRule(GHGRP)subpartsC(combustionfromstationarysources)andW(methane
emissionsfrompetroleumandnaturalgassystems).ICFalsousedinformationanddatafromtheU.S.
EnergyInformationAdministration(EIA),EPAs1996GRIstudyofmethaneemissions
37
,theEPAManual
37
MethaneEmissionsfromtheNaturalGasIndustryhttp://epa.gov/gasstar/tools/related.html
Industries
ofEmissionFactorsAP42
38
,variousstateenergyandenvironmentaldepartments,andthe
EDF/UniversityofTexasmethanemeasurementstudy
39
.Muchofthisinformation,inparticularthedata
fromsubpartWwasnotavailableatthetimethattheEPAInventorywasoriginallydeveloped.
B.3. NaturalGasInventory
ThelargestchangetothestructureoftheNaturalGassegmentinthe2011Baselinewasbreakingout
theGatheringandBoostingsegment.ThisisthesegmentbetweenonshoreProductionandeitherGas
ProcessingorGasTransmission.ThissegmentisincludedintheonshoreProductionsegmentoftheEPA
Inventorybasedonthe1996GRImeasurementstudyratherthanbeingfullybrokenoutasaseparate
segment.Inthisstudy,somesourcesweremovedfromProductiontotheGatheringandBoosting
segmentinordertoallowthemtobeanalyzedseparatelyforthissegmentandnewemissions
estimates,forsomesourcesunderrepresentedinthe2011EPAinventory,wereadded.Themajor
sourceadditionswerenewestimatesofcompressorandpneumaticdeviceemissions.Inaddition,
emissionsfromcondensatetanksweremovedfromtheProductionsegmenttotheGatheringand
Boostingsegment.
B.3.1. GasProduction
B.3.1.1. NaturalGasWellCounts
UpuntiltheU.S.InventorypublishedinApril2013,naturalgaswellcountswereobtainedfromthe
WorldOilmagazine.TheWorldOilmagazineprovidesthetotalwellcountintheU.S.,andthen
hydraulicallyfracturedandnonhydraulicallyfracturedwellsweresplitoutintheInventoryusingdata
gatheredfromstateenergyagencies.IntheEPAInventorypublishedinApril2013,thewellcountswere
obtainedfromDIDesktop,basedontheHPDIdatabase.WhiletheHPDIdatabasegivesamuch
moreaccurateratioofhydraulicallyfracturedwellstononhydraulicallyfracturedwells,itdoesnot
containalloftheoperatingwellsintheU.S.(TheWorldOilmagazinelistsabout5%morewellsthanare
inHPDI).Therefore,thewellcountswereupdatedbyincreasingtheoverallwellcountby5%.Thiswell
countalsoaffectedthecountofassociatedwellequipment,asdetailedinsectionB.3.1.3.
B.3.1.2. WellHeadFugitives
Fugitivesfromwellheadswereseparatedbyregion(EasternU.S.versusWesternU.S.)intheEPA
Inventory.Inthe2011Baseline,thisemissionssourceusesanewsinglenationalemissionfactor.The
emissionfactorwasdevelopedfromtheworkdonebytheUniversityofTexasforEDFonfugitive
emissionsfromwellsites.Fromthisstudy,anyidentifiablewellheademissions(i.e.,emissionsfromthe
wellitself,nottheassociatedequipment)weregroupedtogetherandthendividedbythewellcountat
38
http://www.epa.gov/ttn/chief/ap42/index.html
39
Allen,David,et.al.,MeasurementsofMethaneEmissionsatNaturalGasProductionSitesintheUnitedStates.
10.1073/pnas.1304880110
Industries
thosesitestodetermineanoverallperwellemissionfactor.Theupdatedfactorwas97.6standardcubic
feetperday(scf/day)ofwholegasemissions,comparedtotheEasternandWesternfactorsof9.0and
46.2scf/dayofwholegas,respectively.
40
Thisnewfactorwasthenappliedtotheupdatedwellcount
(seesectionB.3.1.1).Thesechangesresultedina420%increaseinemissions,to14Bcf.
B.3.1.3. Heaters,Separators,Dehydrators,andMeters/Piping(WellFugitives)
The1996GRIstudyprovidesseparateemissionfactorsfortheeasternandwesternU.S.forthese
sources,withtheeasternfactorssubstantiallylowerthanthewesternfactors.Theseemissionfactors
werekeptthesameforthe2011baselineyear,butchangedforthe2018projection,asdetailedin
sectionC.4.1.Thebigchangetothesesourceswastoupdatetheactivityfactorsinordertocorrespond
withnewthewellcounts(intheEPAInventory,thewellcountsdrivetheequipmentcountsforthese
sources).Thischangeresultedinacollective4%increaseinemissionsforthesesourcesto15Bcf.
B.3.1.4. GasWellCompletions
Gaswellcompletionsarebrokenoutforhydraulicallyfracturedwellsandnonhydraulicallyfractured
wells.TheemissionsfromthesetwocategoriesintheEPAInventorywerecomparedtotheemissions
fromsubpartWandfoundtodifferquitedramatically.TheEPAInventoryuseswholegasemission
factorsof9,000,000scf/completionforuncontrolledhydraulicallyfracturedwellsand733
scf/completionfornonhydraulicallyfracturedwells.TheemissionsdatafromsubpartW,fromboththe
2011and2012reportingcycles,wasusedtodevelopnewemissionfactors.Thesefactorswerederived
byaggregatingthetotalemissionsfromthedifferentcompletiontypesandthendividingbythecountof
completions.Thesefactorsincludeemissionsreductionsduringthecompletionprocessandsoarenot
directlycomparabletotheEPAfactorforuncontrolledcompletions.Thisanalysisderivedmethane
emissionfactorsof1,500,000scfCH
4
/completionforhydraulicallyfracturedwellsand70,000scf
CH
4
/completionfornonhydraulicallyfracturedwells.
BoththeEPAInventoryandthe2011BaselineapplyGasSTAR,regulatory,andotherreductions(inthe
formofreducedemissioncompletions(RECs)andgreencompletions)totheuncontrolledemissions
fromhydraulicallyfracturewellcompletions.Becauseofthis,theEPAemissionfactorforhydraulically
fracturedwellcompletions(9,000,000scfwholegas/completion)waskept,buttheapplicationofthe
variousreductionsbroughttheoverallemissionsdowntothelevelsuggestedbythesubpartWderived
emissionfactor,foranetlevelofemissionsof13Bcffromhydraulicallyfracturedwellcompletions.For
nonhydraulicallyfracturedwellcompletions,thesubpartWderivedemissionfactorwasadopted.
Theactivityfactorsforbothofthesesourceswereupdatedusingcompletionsdatafromthemost
recentAPIQuarterlyCompletionsReport.Thesevaluesare8,480hydraulicallyfracturedwell
40
ThesevaluesarelistedintermsofmethaneinemissionsintheEPAInventory.Theyare7.1and36.4scf/dayofmethane,
respectively.TheywereconvertedtowholegasusingtheEPAvolumetricmethanecontentof78.8%.
Industries
completionsand4,592nonhydraulicallyfracturedwellcompletionsfor2011,comparedtotheEPA
valuesof8,077hydraulicallyfracturedwellcompletionsand799nonhydraulicallyfracturedwell
completions.Usingtheseupdatedfactors,theemissionsfromhydraulicallyfracturedwellcompletions
werereducedbyabout55%to13Bcf,andemissionsfromnonhydraulicallyfracturedwellcompletions
increasedto0.3Bcf.
B.3.1.5. WellDrilling
Thenumberofwellsdrilledwasupdatedtoreflectthenumberofcompletionsin2011,asdescribedin
sectionB.3.1.4.Eachwellcompletionwascountedasonewelldrilled,andthisdecreasedthecountof
wellsdrilledfrom14,807intheEPAInventoryto13,072wellsdrilledinthe2011Baseline.Thisresulted
inanetdecreaseinemissionsfromwelldrillingby12%to0.03Bcf.
B.3.1.6. WellTesting
ThissourcewasnotincludedinthepublishedEPAInventory,butitisincludedinsubpartWofthe
GHGRP.Therefore,emissionandactivityfactorsweredevelopedfromthe2011and2012subpartW
dataandwereincludedinthe2011Baseline.ThesubpartWderivedemissionfactoris95,000scf/well
tested,andthereportednumberofwellstestedinsubpartWis11,111peryear.Itwasassumedthat
subpartWcovers85%ofthereporters
41
,sotheactivityfactorwasincreasedto13,072wellstestedper
year.TheWellTestingmethaneemissionstotaledover1Bcf.
B.3.1.7. PneumaticDevices
PneumaticdevicesinthepublishedInventorywerelistedasasinglecategoryandusedasingleemission
factorof345scf/day(126Mcf/year).However,pneumaticdevicesarereportedinsubpartWinthree
categories:lowbleed,intermittentbleed,andhighbleeddevices.Inordertobreakoutthedevicesinto
therespectivecategories,theemissionsdatareportedtosubpartWfor2011and2012wereanalyzed.
Fromeachdevicetypesemissions,thecountofeachdevicetypewasbackcalculatedusingthe
prescribedemissionfactorinsubpartW.Thisanalysisgavearatioof10%highbleed,50%intermittent
bleed,and40%lowbleeddevices.
Theintermittentbleedcategorycoversavarietyofdifferenttypesofdeviceswithdifferentemission
characteristicsandisnotwellcharacterizedeitherinthesubpartWdataorothersourcesofemission
data.Someofthese,ascharacterizedinthesubpartWemissionfactors,havearelativelyhighemission
factor,whileothersaremuchlower.Forthisreason,theintermittentdeviceswerefurthersegregated
intotwocategories:dumpvalvesandnondumpvalveintermittentdevices.Thedumpvalvesrepresent
devicesthatdonothaveacontinuousbleedandgenerateemissionsonlywhenactuating,resultingin
farfeweremissions.Thesetypesofdevicesaregenerallyfoundaslevelcontrollersinseparators.In
ordertoobtainthenumberofdumpvalvesinoperation,thenumberofintermittentbleeddeviceswas
41
ThisassumptionwasderivedduringthedevelopmentofsubpartWandisappliedthoughoutthisanalysis.
Industries
comparedtothecountofseparators.Assumingthatapproximately80%ofseparatorshavealower
emittingintermittentbleeddumpvalveyieldedanestimatethatapproximately75%ofthetotal
intermittentbleeddevicesweredumpvalves.
Additionally,theoverallcountofpneumaticdeviceswasupdated,toreflecttheupdatedwellcounts,as
describedinsectionB.3.1.1,andtobettercharacterizetheGatheringandBoostingsector.Thecountof
pneumaticdevicesisdrivenoffofthewellcountsinthe2011EPAInventory,andtheoverallactivity
factordriveris0.94pneumaticdevicesperwell.Thisfactorwascomparedtotheresultofastudy
performedbyAPI/ANGA
42
,whichcharacterizedthepneumaticdevicesintheProductionandGathering
andBoostingsectors.Theactivityfactordriverdevelopedinthestudywas0.99pneumaticdevicesper
well,whichmatchedcloselywiththedriverfromtheEPAInventory.Therefore,nochangewasmade
there.However,thestudyalsofoundthattherewereanadditional8.6pneumaticdevicesper
Gathering/CompressorStation.SincethesedeviceswerenotaccountedforintheEPAInventory,this
factorwasusedtoaddinthedevicesassociatedwithGatheringStations,whicharefurtherdescribedin
sectionB.3.2.3.Thischangeresultedinanadditional23,000pneumaticdevices,whichweresubjectto
thesamesplitasdescribedaboveandareincludedintheGatheringandBoostingSegment.
Updatedemissionfactorswereobtainedforthedifferentpneumaticdevicetypesfromananalysisof
subpartWdata.Totalemissionsfromeachdevicetypeweredividedbythedevicecount(obtainedas
describedabove)toobtainnationalemissionfactorsforeachtypeofpneumaticdevice.Theemissions
factorsweredeterminedtobe320Mcf/yr/device,120Mcf/yr/device,and11Mcf/yr/deviceforhigh
bleed,intermittentbleed,andlowbleeddevices,respectively.Forintermittentbleeddevices,itwas
assumedthatdumpvalveshaveapproximately80%feweremissionsthannondumpvalveintermittent
bleeddevicesbasedondiscussionswithindustrystakeholders,andthereforewereassignedanemission
factorof20Mcf/yr/device.Thecountofdeviceswasupdatedaswellinordertocorrespondwiththe
updatedwellcountdescribedinsectionB.3.1.1.Overall,thesechangesresultedina41%increasein
emissionsfrompneumaticdevicestoover26Bcf.
B.3.1.8. ChemicalInjection(Pneumatic)Pumps
Thecountofchemicalinjectionpumpswasupdatedtoreflecttheupdatedwellcounts,asdescribedin
sectionB.3.1.1.Further,intheEPAInventory,thereisaGasSTARreductionassociatedwithpneumatic
pumps.However,intheEPAInventory,thisisonlyappliedtoKimraypumpsandnotchemicalinjection
pumps.Inthe2011Baseline,thesereductionsarealsoallocated,inproportion,tochemicalinjection
pumps.Thesereductionstotaledjustlessthan2Bcfofmethane.Thesechangesresultedinanet
increaseofemissionsbyabout2%toover3Bcf.
42
APIandANGA.CharacterizingPivotalSourcesofMethaneEmissionsfromNaturalGasProduction.Foundonlineat:
http://www.api.org/~/media/Files/News/2012/12October/APIANGASurveyReport.pdf
Industries
B.3.1.9. DehydratorsandKimrayPumps
EmissionsfromdehydratorventsandKimrayPumpswerecomparedtotheemissionsreportedin
subpartW,andthesubpartWemissionswereshowntobemuchlowerthantheestimatedemissionsin
theEPAInventory.However,itwasdeterminedthatsubpartWisunderreportingemissionsbecause
manydehydratorswouldfallintotheGatheringandBoostingsegmentoftheindustry,whichisnot
coveredbysubpartW.Therefore,thedehydratoremissionsreportedtosubpartWwereallocatedto
theGasProductionsegment,andtheremainingemissionsfromtheEPAInventoryweremovedtothe
newGatheringandBoostingsegment.Overall,nochangetotheemissionfactororactivityfactor
occurred.However,asdescribedinsectionB.3.1.8,GasSTARreductionsforpneumaticpumpswere
originallyonlyallocatedtoKimraypumpsintheEPAInventory,butwerebrokenouttoincludechemical
injectionpumpsinthe2011Baseline.Therefore,thetotalGasSTARreductionsallocatedtoKimray
pumpsdecreasedtojustunder7Bcf,whilethenetemissionsfromdehydratorsandKimraypumps
increased22%tonearly17Bcf.
B.3.1.10. CondensateTanks
DatareportedtosubpartWwasusedtoupdatetheemissionfactorsforcondensatetankventing.The
datapulledfromsubpartWwasonastatebasisandincludedaverageAPIgravity,separatorpressure,
andseparatortemperature.ThisdatawasthenusedtorunsimulationsthroughAPIsE&PTank
softwareinordertodevelopnewemissionfactors.Theemissionfactorsforeachstatewerethen
averagedintoemissionfactorsforeachNEMSregion,withtheonlymissingregionbeingthewestcoast,
whichusedacountrywideaverageinstead.Thenewemissionfactors,showninthetablebelow,were
thenusedtocalculateupdatedemissions.
CondensateTankEmissionFactorChanges
Region
EmissionFactor(scf/bbl)
EPAInventory 2011Baseline
Northeast 21.9 23.0
GulfCoast 21.9 16.9
Midcontinent 302.8 15.0
Southwest 302.8 10.8
RockyMountain 21.9 39.0
WestCoast 21.9 21.0
Alaska N/A 21.0
TostayconsistentwiththeEPAInventorymethodology,itwasassumedthat50%ofthetankshad
controlmeasuresinplaceandthatthemeasureswere80%effective.Thisresultedinadecreasein
condensatetankemissionsby80%to2Bcf.TheseemissionsweremovedtotheGatheringandBoosting
segment.
Industries
B.3.1.11. DumpValveVenting
GHGRP.Therefore,emissionandactivityfactorsweredevelopedfromthe2011subpartWdataand
wereincludedinthe2011Baseline.ThesubpartWderivedemissionfactoris15,000scf/year/leaking
valve,andthereportednumberofleakingdumpvalvestosubpartWis7,916.Itwasassumedthat
subpartWcovers85%ofthereporters,sotheactivityfactorwasincreasedto9,313.Thedumpvalve
ventingmethaneemissionstotaledover0.1Bcf.
B.3.1.12. GasWellWorkovers
Emissionsfromgaswellworkoversforbothhydraulicallyfracturedandnonhydraulicallyfracturedwells
werecomparedbetweenthepublishedEPAInventoryandthedatareportedtosubpartW.Thedata
reportedtosubpartWsuggestedthatemissionsfromhydraulicallyfracturedwellworkoversislower
thanintheEPAinventory,whileemissionsfromnonhydraulicallyfracturedwellworkoversarehigher.
Therefore,thedatafromsubpartWwasusedtoupdateboththeemissionandactivityfactors.Thenew
emissionswerecalculatedas790,000scf/workoverforhydraulicallyfracturedwellworkoversand
135,000scf/workoverfornonhydraulicallyfracturedwellworkovers.Thenumberofworkovers
reportedtosubpartWwas1,060forhydraulicallyfracturedwellsand11,663fornonhydraulically
fracturedwells.ItwasassumedthatsubpartWcovers85%ofthereporters,sotheactivityfactorswere
increasedto1,247and13,721,respectively.Forwellswithhydraulicfracturing,emissionsdropped
about90%to1Bcf.Fornonhydraulicallyfracturedwells,emissionsincreasedtonearly2Bcf.
WhiledeterminingthefactorsfromhydraulicallyfracturedgaswellsinsubpartWwasstraightforward,
thenonhydraulicallyfracturedgaswellanalysiswaslessclear.Fornonhydraulicallyfracturedgaswells,
emissionsfromcompletionsandworkoverswerelumpedtogether,andtheonlywaytoseparatethem
outwastousethereportednumberofCompletionVentingDaysinsubpartW.Therefore,onlythose
productionsitesthatreportednocompletionventingdaysbutstillreportedemissionswereusedto
determinethefactorsforgaswellworkoverswithouthydraulicfracturing.
B.3.1.13. LiquidsUnloading(GasWellCleanUps)
DatareportedtosubpartWfor2011and2012wasusedtodevelopnewactivityandemissionfactors
forwellswithliquidsunloading.FromthesubpartWdataanalysis,thenumberofwellsventingwith
plungerliftswasreportedtobe37,643andthenumberofwellsventingwithoutplungerliftswas
reportedtobe26,451.ItwasassumedthatsubpartWcovers85%ofreporters,sothenumberof
ventingwellswasincreasedto44,286and31,113,respectively.
TheemissionfactorswerealsoupdatedusingthedatareportedtosubpartWfor2011and2012.The
totalemissionsforeachventingwelltype(plungerliftversusnonplungerlift)weredividedbythetotal
numberofreportingwellsinordertoobtainthenewemissionfactors.Fromthisanalysis,thecalculated
emissionfactorswere277,000scf/ventingwellforwellswithplungerliftsand163,000scf/ventingwell
forwellswithoutplungerlifts.
Industries
Usingtheseupdatedactivityfactorsandemissionfactorsresultsinanetincreaseofmethaneemissions
by30%to17Bcf.
B.3.2. GatheringandBoosting
ThissectorwaspreviouslyincludedaspartoftheProductionsector,buthasbeenbrokenoutinthis
analysissothatitcouldbeseparatelyanalyzedandbecauseitappearedtobeunderrepresentedinthe
publishedInventory.Thissectorintheinthe2011Baselinecontainsemissionsfromcompressors(both
reciprocatingandcentrifugal),compressorstations,pneumaticdevices,andpipelines.Someother
supportingequipmenttypeswereleftintheirrespectivesectors,asfoundintheEPAInventory.
B.3.2.1. Compressors
ThepublishedEPAInventorycurrentlycalculatesthecountofcompressorsineachNEMSregionbased
onthenumberofgaswellsinthatregion.Thevastmajority(>99%)ofthesecompressorsareestimated
tobesmallcompressorsandemissionsarecalculatedusinganemissionfactorof267scf/day.Avery
smallnumberofcompressorsareestimatedtobelargecompressorsanduseanemissionfactor
developedfortransmissioncompressorsof15,205scf/day.Bothoftheseemissionfactorscomefrom
the1996EPA/GRIstudy.Usingthebackgrounddatafromthisstudy,itwasdeterminedthattheaverage
sizeofatransmissioncompressorintheGRIstudywas1,600horsepower.
Inordertoupdatetheemissionfactorsforthissource,stateenergyagencieswerecontactedinan
attempttoobtainalistofpermittedenginesintheproductionsectorofthepetroleumandnaturalgas
industry.Fromtheoutreach,fivestatesprovideddetailedenginecounts.ThesestateswereTexas,
Colorado,Wyoming,Oklahoma,andPennsylvania.Theenginesweresortedsothatonlyproductionand
gatheringcompressorsremained.Thecompressorswerethensplitintosmallandlargecompressor
groupsusinga1,600hpthreshold,asdeterminedfromanalysisoftherawdatafromthe1996EPA/GRI
study.ThestatedatashowedamuchhighershareoflargecompressorenginesthanassumedintheEPA
Inventorymethodology.Aweightedaverageemissionfactor,usingtheemissionfactorsfromtheEPA
Inventory,wasthendevelopedfromthisdata.Thenewemissionfactorforallgatheringcompressors
wascalculatedat1,980scf/day/compressor.
Anadditionalupdatetothereciprocatingcompressorsemissionfactorwasappliedinordertobreakout
emissionsfromcompressorsealsversustheothercompressorfugitives.TheU.S.Inventoryusesasingle
emissionfactortocoverallfugitiveemissionsfromreciprocatingcompressors.However,thesource
documentfortheemissionfactor(the1996GRIReport)breaksouttheemissionsfromtheseparate
sourcesonacompressor,includingblowdownlines,PRVs,openendedlines,compressorseals,and
miscellaneous.Thefactorforcompressorsealswasseparatedoutfromtheotherfactorsinorderto
breakemissionsintotwocategories:ReciprocatingCompressorsNonSeals(75%)andReciprocating
CompressorsSeals(25%).
Thestatedatawasalsousedtodevelopnewactivityfactorsforreciprocatingcompressors.The
compressorcountwasthenscaledupfromthesefivestatesusingtheEPAInventoryratioof
Industries
compressorsinthesefivestatestothenationalcountofcompressorstoobtainanewnational
reciprocatingcompressorcountof15,687.Accountingforallofthesechanges,thenetchangein
emissionsfromreciprocatingcompressorswasanincreaseof166%to11Bcf.
SubpartWalsoreportedtheuseofwetsealcentrifugalcompressorsintheupstreamsector.Thisdata
wasusedtocreateanewemissioncategoryforwetsealcentrifugalcompressors.Thenumberof
reportedcompressorswas162,andassumingthatsubpartWcovers85%ofreporters,theactivityfactor
wassetat191.ThesubpartWemissionfactor,12,000,000scf/year/compressor,wasalsousedinthe
2011Baseline.Theemissionsfromthissourcewereover2Bcf.
B.3.2.2. CompressorExhaust(GasEnginesandGasTurbines)
Theexhaustfromcompressorenginesandturbinescontainssomeunburnedmethane.Theactivity
factorforthesetwoemissionssourcesinthepublishedInventoryisbasedonthetotalhorsepower
hoursoftheequipment.However,theU.S.EIApublishestheamountofnaturalgasusedasLease
Fuel,whichisfuelburnedatnaturalgasproductionsites.Thisfuelvolumewasusedasthenewactivity
factor.Theanalysisassumed80%oftheleasefuelwasconsumedinenginesandturbinesandthe
breakdownbetweenenginesandturbineswasdeterminedtobe99%to1%,respectively,usingthe
breakdownofcompressorsreportedtosubpartWforproduction.
TheemissionsfactorswereupdatedusingemissionsfactorsfromtheEPAsmanualofemissionfactors
(AP42).SinceAP42lists3separateemissionfactorsforengines(twostrokeleanburn,fourstroke
leanburn,andfourstrokerichburn),acombinedemissionfactorwasdevelopedbasedonthedata
obtainedfromthestateenergyagencies,asdescribedinsectionB.3.2.1.Fourofthestateseitherlisted
theenginetypeorprovidedenoughdatatodeterminetheenginetypeforthecompressorslisted.This
dataset,whichcontainednearly10,500compressors/enginesacrossallsectorsoftheindustry,was
usedtodeterminethebreakoutofenginetypes:10%twostrokeleanburn,34%fourstrokeleanburn,
and56%fourstrokerichburn.Theseratioswereusedtogiveanoverallemissionfactorforenginesof
332kgCH
4
perMMscfgasburned(17,280scfCH
4
/MMscfgasburned).Theemissionfactorforturbines,
4.0kgCH
4
perMMscfgasburned(208scfCH
4
/MMscfgasburned),waslisteddirectlyinAP42andused
asis.Thesemodificationsresultedina7%decreaseinemissionstojustover10Bcf.
B.3.2.3. GatheringandBoostingStations
FormallycalledLargeCompressorStationsintheEPAInventory,thiscountofstationswasdetermined
fromthenumberoflargecompressorsintheInventory,whichasstatedinsectionB.3.2.1wasvery
small.Theupdatedgatheringstationcountwasdeterminedusinganassumptionthateachprocessing
planthas3gatheringstationsthatfeedintoit.Thisresultedinanincreaseofstationstoover2,700.The
emissionsalsoincreasedsubstantially,risingtoover8Bcf.
B.3.2.4. DehydratorsandKimrayPumps
SeesectionB.3.1.9forexplanation.
Industries
B.3.2.5. PipelineLeaks,PipelineBlowdowns,CompressorStarts,andCompressorBlowdowns
TheseemissionsweremovedfromProductiontoGatheringandBoostingtobetterrepresentthe
breakoutofemissionsintheindustry.Also,thenumberofcompressorswasupdatedforcompressor
startsandblowdownsinordertomatchthenumberofcompressorsfromthestatedataanalysis,as
describedinsectionB.3.2.1.Theemissionfactorsforthesesourcesdidnotchange,buttheoverall
methaneemissionsdecreasedby2%to9Bcf.
B.3.3. GasProcessing
B.3.3.1. GasPlantFugitives
Thegasplantcountof585gasprocessingplantsinthepublishedInventorycomesfromtheOilandGas
Journal.Thissourcelistsonlyplantsthatcontainfractionationequipment.However,therearelargegas
treatmentplantsthatdonotcontainfractionationequipmentandarecoveredbysubpartW.TheEIA
alsomaintainsalistofgasprocessingfacilities.Therefore,thecountofplantswascomparedbetween
thesethreesourcestofindtheuniquevalues,anditwasdeterminedthatthereare909gasprocessing
andtreatmentfacilitiesintheU.S.Thisresultedina55%increaseinemissionsestimatedforthissource
categorytonearly3Bcf.
B.3.3.2. ReciprocatingCompressors
Anupdatetothereciprocatingcompressoremissionfactorwasmadeinordertobreakoutemissions
fromcompressorsealsversustheothercompressorfugitives.ThischangeisdescribedinsectionB.3.2.1.
B.3.3.3. GasEngineandTurbineExhaust
TheactivityfactorforthesetwoemissionssourcesinthepublishedInventoryisbasedonthetotal
horsepowerhoursoftheequipment.However,theU.S.EIApublishestheamountofnaturalgasusedas
PlantFuel,whichisfuelburnedinnaturalgasprocessingplants.Thisfuelvolumewasusedasthenew
activityfactorwithanassumed80%ofthefuelbeingconsumedinenginesandturbinesinatypical
processingplant.Further,thebreakdownbetweenenginesandturbineswasdeterminedtobe46%to
54%,respectively,usingthecurrenthorsepowerhourratiosinthepublishedInventory.
Theemissionsfactorswerealsoupdated,asdescribedinsectionB.3.2.2.Inthiscasetheemissionswere
reducedby74%forgasenginesand87%forturbinescomparedtothepublishedinventory.
Forprocessingplants,pneumaticdevicesarenotbrokenoutbybleedrate,asneithertheEPAInventory
norsubpartWhasthisinformation.Instead,theactivityfactorforpneumaticdevicesinprocessingis
thenumberofprocessing/gastreatmentplants.Thiswasupdatedtothe909plants,asdescribedin
sectionB.3.3.1.Thisresultedinanincreaseinemissionsof55%tonearly0.2Bcf.(Mostprocessing
plantsarebelievedtouseinstrumentairinsteadofgasdrivenpneumatics.)
Industries
B.3.3.5. Blowdowns/Venting
Theactivityfactorforblowdowns/ventinginprocessingisthenumberofprocessingplants.Thiswas
updated,asdescribedinsectionB.3.3.1.However,theEPAInventoryalsodetailsGasSTARreductions
fromthissource.Overall,theupdatednetmethaneemissionsincreased190%to2Bcf.
B.3.4. GasTransmission
B.3.4.1. PipelineLeaks
ThetotalnumberandbreakoutoftransmissionpipelinemilesintheU.S.wasupdatedusingdatafrom
theU.S.DepartmentofTransportationPipelineandHazardousMaterialsSafetyAdministration
(PHMSA).ThePHMSAdatashowedalowervaluefortransmissionpipelinemilesfrom304,606inthe
EPAInventoryto298,750inthe2011Baseline.Thebreakoutwasalsousedtoassignthepipelinemiles
totherespectiveregions.Thisreductioninpipelinemilescausedareductioninemissionsof2%,to0.2
Bcf.Thepipelinemilesareusedtodrivethenumberofcompressorsandcompressorstationsinthe
transmissionsegment.Thesevalueswereupdatedaccordingly.
B.3.4.2. TransmissionCompressorStations
ThenumberofcompressorstationsisdrivenoffofthepipelinemilesintheU.S.Inventory,sothe
changeinpipelinesmiles,asdetailedinsectionB.3.4.1,causedthenumberofreciprocating
compressorstochangefrom1,808to1,768,resultinginanemissionsdecreaseofjustover2%.
ReciprocatingcompressorcountisdrivenoffofthepipelinemilesintheU.S.Inventory,sothechangein
pipelinesmilescausedthenumberofreciprocatingcompressorstochangefrom7,270to7,111,
resultinginanemissionsdecreaseofover2%.Further,anupdatetothereciprocatingcompressor
emissionfactorwasmadeinordertobreakoutemissionsfromcompressorsealsversustheother
compressorfugitives.ThischangeisdescribedinsectionB.3.2.1.
B.3.4.4. CentrifugalCompressors
CentrifugalcompressorcountisdrivenoffofthepipelinemilesintheU.S.Inventory,sothechangein
pipelinesmilescausedthenumberofreciprocatingcompressorstochangefrom654to648,resultingin
anemissionsdecreaseofover2%.
B.3.4.5. EngineandTurbineExhaust
TheactivityfactorforthesetwoemissionssourcesinthepublishedInventoryisbasedonthetotal
horsepowerhoursoftheequipment.However,theU.S.EIApublishestheamountofnaturalgasusedas
PipelineFuel,whichisfuelburnedinnaturalgastransmissionpipelinesandatstoragefacilities.This
fuelvolumewasusedasthenewactivityfactor.Thebreakdownbetweentransmissionandstoragewas
doneusingthecurrenthorsepowerhourslistedinthepublishedInventory,whichgave90%to
transmissionand10%tostorage.Thesehorsepowerhoursratioswerealsousedtodeterminethe
amountoffuelsenttoenginesversusturbines.Fortransmission,thefuelbreakdownbetweenengines
Industries
andturbineswasdeterminedtobe81%to19%,respectively.Forstorage,thefuelbreakdownbetween
enginesandturbineswasdeterminedtobe74%to26%,respectively.Theemissionsfactorswerealso
updated,asdescribedinsectionB.3.2.2.Inthiscasetheemissionsdecreasedby26%forgasengines
anddecreased63%forturbines.
PneumaticdeviceswerebrokenoutthesameasdescribedinsectionB.3.1.7.Thisanalysisledtoa
breakdownof15%highbleed,75%intermittentbleed,and10%lowbleedinthetransmissionsegment.
UpdatedemissionfactorswerealsoobtainedfromsubpartWdataanalysisandweredeterminedtobe
155Mcf/yr/device,20Mcf/yr/device,and12Mcf/yr/device,respectively.Thisbreakoutresultedina
74%decreaseinemissionstojustunder3Bcf.
B.3.4.7. DumpValveLeakage
dumpvalve,andthereportednumberofleakingdumpvalvestosubpartWis318.Itwasassumedthat
subpartWcovers85%ofthereporters,sotheactivityfactorwasincreasedto374.Thedumpvalve
leakagemethaneemissionstotaledover0.3Bcf.
B.3.4.8. PipelineVenting
Theactivityfactorforpipelineventingwasupdated,asdescribedinsectionB.3.4.1.Thisresultedina
decreaseinemissionsof3%.
B.3.4.9. TransmissionStationVenting
Theactivityfactorfortransmissionstationventingwasupdated,asdescribedinsectionB.3.4.1.This
resultedinadecreaseinemissionsof2%.
B.3.5. GasStorage
Anupdatetothereciprocatingcompressoremissionfactorwasmadeinordertobreakoutemissions
fromcompressorsealsversustheothercompressorfugitives.ThischangeisdescribedinsectionB.3.2.1.
PneumaticdeviceswerebrokenoutthesameasdescribedinsectionB.3.1.7.Thisanalysisledtoa
breakdownof40%highbleed,50%intermittentbleed,and10%lowbleedinthetransmissionsector.
UpdatedemissionfactorswerealsoobtainedfromsubpartWdataanalysisandweredeterminedtobe
155Mcf/yr/device,20Mcf/yr/device,and12Mcf/yr/device,respectively.Thisbreakoutresultedina
55%decreaseinemissionstojustover1Bcfofmethane.
Industries
B.3.5.3. EngineandTurbineExhaust
Theactivityfactorforthesetwoemissionssourceswasupdated,asdescribedinsectionB.3.4.5.The
emissionsfactorswerealsoupdated,asdescribedinsectionB.3.2.2.Inthiscasetheemissions
decreasedby20%forgasenginesanddecreased73%forturbines.
B.3.6. LiquefiedNaturalGas(LNG)
B.3.6.1. Import/ExportTerminals
LNGimport/exportterminalswereincreasedfrom8intheEPAInventoryto12inthe2011Baseline
fromananalysisofoperatingterminalslistedintheFederalEnergyRegulatoryCommissions(FERC)
website.PartofthisincreasehastodowiththefactthattheEPAInventorydiscountsthetotalnumber
ofterminalsby30%,resultinginareducedactivityfactor.Thisreductionwastakenoutofthe2011
Baseline.Thisincreaseinterminalsincreasedstationfugitivesandstationventingby56%tonearly0.2
Bcf.
B.3.6.2. StorageStations
Nochangesweremadetothecountofstoragestations.
B.3.6.3. ReciprocatingCompressors(Import/ExportandStorage)
ForImport/ExportTerminals,thecountofreciprocatingcompressorswasupdatedtoreflectthenew
stationcountusingactivityfactordriversfromtheEPAInventory.ForStorageStations,theEPA
InventorydifferentiatesbetweenCompleteStorageFacultiesandSatelliteStorageFacultiesinorder
tocalculatethenumberofcompressors.However,therewasinsufficientdatatomaintainthis
distinctioninthe2011Baseline,whichcausedthecountofcompressorstoincreasefrom270to368.An
updatetothereciprocatingcompressoremissionfactorwasmadeinordertobreakoutemissionsfrom
compressorsealsversustheothercompressorfugitives.ThischangeisdescribedinsectionB.3.2.1.
ThesechangescausedanincreaseincompressoremissionsforImport/ExportTerminalsby9%andfor
StorageStationsby36%.
B.3.6.4. CentrifugalCompressors(Import/ExportandStorage)
Compressorcountswerechanged,asdescribedinsectionB.3.6.3.Theupdatedcountswere7
centrifugalcompressorsatImport/ExportTerminals(upfrom6.6)and88centrifugalcompressorsat
StorageStations(upfrom64).Thechangeinemissionswasanincreaseof9%and36%,respectively.
B.3.6.5. CompressorandEngineExhaust(Import/Export)
TheactivityfactorswerechangedtoreflectthereportedLNGthroughputattheImport/Export
Terminals,asdeterminedbyICFsinternalanalysisofEIAdata.Thethroughputof349Bcf(asreported
toEIA),comparedtothethroughputof431BcfintheEPAInventory,ledtoa19%decreaseinthe
emissions.
Industries
B.3.7. GasDistribution
NochangesweremadetothissegmentoftheU.S.Inventory.
B.4. PetroleumInventory
ThenetchangetothePetroleumsegmentoftheU.S.Inventorywasanincreaseof26%comparedtothe
EPAInventoryvalue.Thebiggestcategoriescontributingtothisincreaseweretheinclusionofstranded
gasventingfromoilwellsandupdatedestimatesofassociatedgasflaringestimates.Thespecific
changesaredescribedinthefollowingsections.
B.4.1. OilProduction
B.4.1.1. OilTankVenting
Thissectionwasnotchanged.
B.4.1.2. OilTankDumpValveVenting
dumpvalveandthereportednumberofleakingdumpvalvestosubpartWis3,044.Itwasassumedthat
subpartWcovers85%ofthereporters,sotheactivityfactorwasincreasedto3,581.Thedumpvalve
ventingmethaneemissionstotalednearly0.1Bcf.
PneumaticdevicesintheEPAInventorywerebrokenoutintotwocategories,lowbleedandhighbleed,
withtwoemissionfactors,52scf/day(19Mcf/yr)and330scf/day(210Mcf/yr),respectively.Forthe
2011Baseline,pneumaticdeviceswerebrokenoutthesameasdescribedinsectionB.3.1.7.Theoverall
countofdeviceswaskeptthesameasintheEPAInventory.Theneteffectofthesechangesisan
increaseinemissionsof8%toover24Bcf.
B.4.1.4. ChemicalInjection(Pneumatic)Pumps
ThecountofdevicesinthepublishedInventorywascomparedtothecountobtainedfromsubpartW,
andwasshowntobeunderestimated(30,600devicesinsubpartWvs.28,000intheInventory).
Therefore,theupdatedcountfromsubpartWwasusedandresultsinanincreaseofemissionsbyabout
10%.However,GasSTARreductionsforgaspoweredpumpswerenotallocatedtothechemical
injectionpumpsintheU.S.Inventory.ThiswascorrectedbysubtractingaportionoftheGasSTAR
reductions(determinedbyaweightedratio).Thisresultedinanetdecreaseinemissionsby30%tojust
lessthan2Bcf.
B.4.1.5. OilWellCompletions
Oilwellcompletionswerenotbrokenoutforhydraulicallyfracturedwellsandnonhydraulically
fracturedwellsinthepublishedInventory,andusedasingleemissionfactorof733scf/completion.
Industries
However,thesetwocategorieswerebrokenoutinsubpartW,sothischangewasmadetothe2011
Baseline.ThedatareportedtosubpartWwasusedtodevelopnewemissionfactors,whichwere
230,000scf/completionforhydraulicallyfracturedoilwellsand220scf/completionfornonhydraulically
fracturedoilwells.
TheactivityfactorswereupdatedusingcompletionsdatafromthemostrecentAPIQuarterly
CompletionsReport.Thesevaluesare15,382hydraulicallyfracturedwellcompletionsand10,684non
hydraulicallyfracturedwellcompletionsfor2011.ThiscomparestothesingleEPAvalueof19,468well
completions.Usingtheupdatedcompletioncountsandemissionfactors,theemissionsfrom
hydraulicallyfracturedwellcompletionswere5Bcf,andemissionsfromnonhydraulicallyfracturedwell
completionswerelessthan0.01Bcf.
B.4.1.6. OilWellWorkovers
Oilwellworkoverswerenotbrokenoutforhydraulicallyfracturedwellsandnonhydraulicallyfractured
wellsinthepublishedInventory,andusedasingleemissionfactorof96scf/workover.However,these
twocategorieswerebrokenoutinsubpartW,sothischangewasmadetothe2011Baseline.Thedata
reportedtosubpartWwasusedtodevelopnewemissionandactivityfactors.Thenewemissionfactors
werefoundtobe440,000scf/workoverforhydraulicallyfracturedoilwellsand310scf/workoverfor
nonhydraulicallyfracturedoilwells.Theactivityfactorswere143hydraulicallyfracturedoilwell
workoversand40,200nonhydraulicallyfracturedoilwellworkovers.
WhiledeterminingthefactorsfromhydraulicallyfracturedoilwellsinsubpartWwasstraightforward,
thenonhydraulicallyfracturedoilwellanalysiswaslessclear.Fornonhydraulicallyfracturedoilwells,
emissionsfromcompletionsandworkoverswerelumpedtogether,andtheonlywaytoseparatethem
outwastousethereportednumberofCompletionVentingDaysinsubpartW.Therefore,onlythose
productionsitesthatreportednocompletionventingdaysbutstillreportedemissionswereusedto
determinethefactorsforoilwellworkoverswithouthydraulicfracturing.
Thenetchangetoemissionswasanincreaseto0.04Bcf.
B.4.1.7. StrandedGasVentingfromOilWells
GHGRP.Therefore,emissionandactivityfactorsweredevelopedfromthe2011and2012subpartW
dataandwereincludedinthe2011Baseline.ThesubpartWderivedemissionfactoris570,000
scf/yr/ventingwell,andthereportednumberofventingwellswas9,722.TheSubpartWdevelopment
estimatedthatitwouldcover85%ofthesector,sotheactivityfactorwasincreasedto11,438.This
categoryaccountsfornearly7Bcfofemissions.
B.4.1.8. OilWellheads
TheemissionfactorsinthepublishedInventorywereupdatedtotheemissionfactorspublishedin
subpartW.ThewellcountwasalsoupdatedtoreflectthecountintheWorldOilmagazine,aswasdone
Industries
withthegaswellcount.Welltypeswerebrokenoutusinganinternaldatasetwhichbrokeoutwelltype
bybasin.Thisresultedinanetincreaseinemissionsbetweenlightcrudeandheavycrudewellheadsof
66%.
B.4.1.9. Separators
subpartW.Thisresultedinanetdecreaseinemissionsbetweenlightcrudeandheavycrudeseparators
of44%.
B.4.1.10. Heater/Treaters
TheemissionfactorinthepublishedInventorywasupdatedtotheemissionfactorpublishedinsubpart
W.Thisresultedinadecreaseinemissionsof43%
B.4.1.11. Headers
subpartW.Thisresultedinanetdecreaseinemissionsbetweenlightcrudeandheavycrudeheadersof
46%.
B.4.1.12. WellDrilling
Thenumberofoilwellsdrilledwasupdatedtoreflectthenumberofcompletionsin2011,asdescribed
insectionB.4.1.5.Eachoilwellcompletionwascountedasonewelldrilled,andthisincreasedthecount
ofwellsdrilledfrom21,899intheEPAInventoryto26,066wellsdrilledinthe2011Baseline.This
resultedinanetincreaseinemissionsfromwelldrillingby19%to0.06Bcf.
B.4.1.13. Flaring
TheEPAbasesitsflaringestimateoncompanydatareportedtostatesandthentotheEIA.Inthe2011
Baseline,flaringwasbasedonthevaluesreportedbytheWorldBanksGlobalGasFlaringReduction
(GGFR)
43
program.Itwasassumedthatalloftheestimatedflaringwasfromassociatedgas.TheGGFR
estimatedthat7.1billioncubicmetersofgaswasflaredintheU.S.in2011.Itwasthenassumedthat
theflareswere98%efficient,resultinginmethaneemissionsof5Bcf.Thisisalargeincreaseoverthe
valueinthepublishedInventory(0.01Bcf).
B.4.2. OilTransportation
B.4.3. OilRefining
43
Availableonlineathttp://go.worldbank.org/G2OAW2DKZ0
Industries
ICFInternational C1 March2014
AppendixC. EmissionProjectionto2018
C.1. Summary
The2018forecastofU.S.naturalgasandpetroleumsystemsmethaneemissionsstartswiththe2011
BaselinedescribedinAppendixB.ICFbasedtheemissionsforecastonseveralsourcestodrive
emissionsthroughthetimehorizon.TheprimarysourcewastheU.S.EIAs2014AnnualEnergyOutlook
(AEO)EarlyRelease.ICFalsorelieduponEIAs2013AEO,theAPIQuarterlyWellCompletionReport,and
anINGAAFoundationstudy
44
whichforecastrequirementsforselectedinfrastructureandequipment
forthenaturalgasandpetroleumindustry.Inaddition,expectedemissionreductionsasaresultof
NSPSsubpartOOOOwereincorporatedintotheforecast.Theresultisanestimated9.5millionmetric
tonnes(491Bcf)ofmethaneemittedfromallsectorsoftheoilandgasindustryin2018before
applicationofNSPSreductions,anincreaseof12%.InclusionofNSPSreductionsreducestheemissions
to9.0millionmetrictonnes(466Bcf),anincreaseof4.5%from2011,withallofthenetincreasecoming
fromtheoilsector.
C.2. NaturalGasInventoryActivityFactors
C.2.1. EIA2014AnnualEnergyOutlookEarlyRelease
ICFusedEIAs2014AEOEarlyReleaseLower48NaturalGasProductionandSupplyPricesbySupply
Regionforecastoutto2018,brokenoutintotheeightAEOregionsasshowninFigure1,todrivethe
growthforseveralofthesourcesinthenaturalgassector.TheLower48NaturalGasProductionand
SupplyPricesbySupplyRegionforecastsnaturalgasproduction,whichwasultimatelyusedasthe
driverforeachregionforfutureemissionsin2018,perEquation1.
AF
cgon-2011

uusP
rcgicn - 2018
uusP
rcgicn- 2011
= AF
cgon- 2018
Equation1
Where:
AF
region2011
=regionalactivityfactorforthe2011inventory
GasP
region2018
=regionalgasproductionprojectedinEIAs2014AEOfor2018
GasP
region2011
=regionalgasproductioninEIAs2014AEOfor2011
AF
region2018
=regionalactivityfactorfor2018inventoryprojection
Theactivityfactorsforthefollowingsourcesweredrivenusingthismethod:
44
International,2011.
Industries
EmissionProjectionto2018
GasProductionandGatheringandBoosting
Dehydrators
Kimraypumps
Condensatetanks
Compressorexhaust
GasProcessing
AGRs
Dehydrators
Kimraypumps
GasStorage
Pneumatics
MapofEIARegions
Source:EIAAEO2013
C.2.2. EIA2013AnnualEnergyOutlook
ICFusedtheEIAs2013AnnualEnergyOutlookinadditiontothe2014EarlyReleaseforNaturalGas
ConsumptionbyEndUseSectorandCensusDivisionsincethisdatawasnotpartofthe2014Early
Industries
Release.TheResidentialandCommercialgasconsumptionforecastwasusedfromthisdatasetasthe
driverformanyactivityfactors,perEquation2.
AF
cgon-2011

uusC
rcgicn - 2018
uusC
rcgicn- 2011
= AF
cgon- 2018
Equation2
Where:
AF
region2011
GasC
region2018
=regionalgasconsumptionprojectedinEIAs2013AEOfor2018
GasC
region2011
=regionalgasconsumptioninEIAs2013AEOfor2011
AF
region2018
TheactivityfactorsdrivenbythisforecastincludealloftheactivityfactorsinGasDistributionandGas
Storage,exceptforthoselistedinsectionC.2.1.IntheGasStoragesegment,itwasassumedthatevenif
thegasconsumptiondroppedinaregionthatthenumberofstoragestationsandassociatedequipment
didnotdrop.Further,CastIronMainsandUnprotectedSteelMainsandServicesintheGasDistribution
segmentwerenotdrivenbythisforecast,asnofurthercastironorunprotectedsteelequipmentis
beinginstalledintheU.S.Instead,itwasassumedthat3%oftheremainingcastironandunprotected
steelequipmentisreplacedwithprotectedsteelandplasticequipment,respectively,eachyearbased
onhistoricalreplacementreportedtoPHMSA.
C.2.3. APIsQuarterlyWellCompletionsReport
ICFusedAPIsQuarterlyWellCompletionsReportasthesourcetodriveamajorityoftheemission
sourcesintheGasProductionsegment.Theanalysisassumedthatwellcompletionswillcontinue
through2018atthe2012rateandusedthissummationofnewwellcompletionstodrivewellrelated
activityfactors.Inadditiontonewwellcompletion,shutinandabandonedwellswerealsoaccounted
forinthewellcountforecast.Toestimatethenumberofwellsshutinperyear,ICFcomparedthe
growthrateofgaswellstothegrowthofgasproductionineachregion.Ashutinpercentage,between
0.1%and5%,wasthenassignedtoeachregioninordertoalignthewellcountgrowthwiththegas
productiongrowthinthatregion.Theregionalpercentagesarelistedbelow.
GasWellRetirementRate
Region
GasWell
RetirementRate
Northeast 0.1%
GulfCoast 1.0%
Midcontinent 2.0%
Southwest 2.0%
RockyMountain 1.0%
Industries
Region
GasWell
RetirementRate
WestCoast 3.0%
Alaska 5.0%
Oncetheupdatedwellcountsweresetforeachregion,aratioofwellsin2018towellsin2011was
usedtodrivetheactivityformosttheemissionssourcesintheGasProductionsegment.Inadditionto
usingtheratioofwells,severalemissionsourcesintheGasProductionsegmenthadtheirownactivity
factordriversfromtheEPAInventory.Theseactivityfactordriversweremultipliedbythe2018well
countstoobtainnewactivitylevelsfor2018.Thesesourcesandtheiractivityfactordriversarelisted
belowforeachoftheregionsintheInventory.
ActivityFactoryDriversforSelectSourcesbyRegion
Source NE GC MC SW RM WC AK Units
Heaters 0.41 0.22 0.41 0.27 0.46 1.0 1.0 Perwell
Separators 0.71 0.66 0.44 0.56 0.50 0.73 0.73 Perwell
Dehydrators 0.14 0.14 0.14 0.14 0.14 0.14 0.14 Perwell
Meters/Piping
Gaswells
1.15 1.15 1.15 1.15 1.15 1.15 1.15 Perwell
Meters/Piping
AssociatedWells
0.05 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.05
Per
assoc.
well
HighBleed
PneumaticDevices
0.05 0.07 0.16 0.13 0.15 0.10 0.10 Perwell
IntermittentBleed
PneumaticDevices
0.06 0.09 0.19 0.17 0.18 0.13 0.13 Perwell
IntermittentBleed
PneumaticDevices
DumpValves
0.18 0.26 0.58 0.50 0.55 0.38 0.38 Perwell
LowBleedPneumatic
Devices
0.19 0.28 0.62 0.53 0.59 0.40 0.40 Perwell
ChemicalInjection
Pumps
0.14 0.03 0.14 0.06 0.18 0.68 0.68 Perwell
Mishaps 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25
Per
mileof
pipeline
ActivityfactordriversalsoaccountforpneumaticsfromGatheringandBoostingStations.
TheonlyexceptionstothetwomethodologiesdescribedabovefortheGasProductionsegmentinclude
thegaswellcompletionvaluesfor2018,whichusedthe2012gaswellcompletionvaluesdirectlyfrom
theAPIQuarterlyWellCompletionsReport,andthehighbleedpneumatics.Highbleedpneumaticsare
Industries
phasedoutinmostsegmentsduetoNSPSsubpartOOOOregulationsbuttheforecastassumesthatno
newhighbleedpneumaticsareinstalledinanysegment.
C.2.4. INGAAFoundationMidstreamStudy
45
ICFusedtheINGAAFoundationstudyfortheGatheringandBoostingandGasProcessingsegments.The
INGAAstudyprovidedyearlyforecastofincrementalgatheringpipelinemiles,gasprocessingplants,and
processingcompressorcount,whichwascombinedwiththeexistingactivitydatafrom2011,per
Equation3.
AF
cgon-2011
+ IF
cgon-2018
= AF
cgon- 2018
Equation3
Where:
AF
region2011
=regionalactivityfactorforthe2011Inventory
IF
region2018
=regional,cumulativeINGAAforecastofequipmentcountsoutto2018
AF
region2018
FortheGatheringandBoostingsegment,theactivityfactorsalloftheemissionsourceswerethen
drivenoffofaratioofpipelinemilesin2018topipelinemilesin2011toobtainthe2018activitylevels,
exceptforthosesourceslistedinsectionC.2.1.
FortheGasProcessingsegment,pneumaticdevicesandblowdowns/ventingweredrivendirectlyoffof
thegasprocessingplantcount.Theothersourceswerealldrivenoffofaratiobetweenthecompressor
countin2018andthecompressorcountin2011,exceptforthosesourceslistedinsectionC.2.1.
C.2.5. GasTransmission
GrowthfortheGasTransmissionsegmentwasnotdrivenoffofaforecast,butratheroffofananalysis
ofpastpipelineinfrastructurechanges.TheEPAInventorycontainsdataonthelengthoftransmission
pipelinemilesbackto1990.Thedatafrom1990to2011wasanalyzedtodevelopapipelineexpansion
trend.Thisincrementalvaluewasthenusedtodrivethepipelinemilesforwardto2018.Alloftheother
sources,exceptthoselistedinsectionC.2.1,werethendrivenoffofaratioofpipelinemilesin2018to
thepipelinemilesin2011.
C.2.6. LNG
LNGImport/ExportterminalswereforecastedoffofFERCdataandaninternalanalysisofpotential
import/exportterminals.Fromthisanalysis,itisassumedthatonenewexportterminalwillcomeonline
ontheGulfCoastby2018.(Severalotherfacilitieswillbeconvertedfromimporttoexportterminals.)
45
International,2011.
Industries
Alloftheotheremissionsourcesareeitherdrivenoffofratiosbetweenthe2018and2011terminal
countsorEPAactivitydrivers,asdescribedinsectionsB.3.6.2,B.3.6.3,B.3.6.4,andB.3.6.5.
C.3. PetroleumInventoryActivityFactors
C.3.1. EIA2014AnnualEnergyOutlookEarlyRelease
ICFusedEIAs2014AEOEarlyReleasePetroleumandOtherLiquidsSupplyandDispositionandLower
48CrudeOilProductionandWellheadPricesbySupplyRegionforecastsoutto2018,brokenoutinto
thesameeightAEOregionsasshownabovefornaturalgas,todrivetheactivityformanyofthesources
inthepetroleumsector.Theseanalysesbothforecastpetroleumproduction,whichwasultimatelyused
astheactivitydriverforeachregionforemissionsin2018,perEquation4.
AF
cgon-2011

0IP
rcgicn - 2018
0IP
rcgicn- 2011
= AF
cgon- 2018
Equation4
Where:
AF
region2011
OilP
region2018
=regionaloilproductionprojectedinEIAs2014AEOfor2018
OilP
region2011
=regionaloilproductioninEIAs2014AEOfor2011
AF
region2018
AlloftheemissionsourcesintheOilTransportationandtheOilRefiningsegmentsweredrivenusingthe
AEO2014EarlyReleasePetroleumandOtherLiquidsSupplyandDispositionforecast.Mostofthe
sourcesintheOilProductionsegmentweredrivenbytheAPIQuarterlyWellCompletionsReport,as
detailedinsectionC.3.2,butseveralsourceweredrivenbythePetroleumandOtherLiquidsSupply
andDispositionforecast.Thesesourcesincludeoiltanks,oiltankdumpvalveventing,floatingroof
tanks,salesareas,andflares.Also,theoffshoreactivityfactorsweredrivenbytheAEO2014Early
Release.
C.3.2. APIsQuarterlyWellCompletionsReport
Theapproachusedtoestimateoilwellcountswasthesameasthatusedforgaswellcounts,basedon
continuedwellcompletionsatthecurrentratethrough2018.ICFusedAPIsQuarterlyWellCompletions
ReportasthesourcetodriveamajorityoftheemissionsourcesintheOilProductionsegment.The
completionsdatawasusedtodeterminehowmanyactivewellswouldbeinoperationin2018,which
wasthenusedtodrivetheemissionsourcesinOilProduction.
The2012countofcompletionswasassumedtobeconstanteachyearthrough2018.However,some
wellsareshutinandabandonedeachyear,sothiswasaccountedforwellcountforecast.Todetermine
thenumberofwellsshutinperyear,ICFcomparedthegrowthrateofwellstothegrowthofoil
productionineachregion.Ashutinpercentage,between0.1%and5%,wasthenassignedtoeach
regioninordertoalignthewellcountgrowthwiththeoilproductiongrowth.Thepercentagesusedin
eachregionarelistedbelow.
Industries
AnnualOilWellRetirementRatebyRegion
Region
OilWell
RetirementRate
Northeast 4.0%
GulfCoast 0.1%
Midcontinent 0.5%
Southwest 5.0%
RockyMountain 2.0%
WestCoast 2.5%
Alaska 5.0%
Oncetheupdatedwellcountsweresetforeachregion,aratioofwellsin2018towellsin2011was
usedtodrivetheactivityforalltheemissionssourcesintheOilProductionsegment,exceptthoselisted
insectionC.3.1.Theonlyexceptionstothisweretheoilwellcompletionvalueswhichusedthe2012oil
wellcompletionvaluesdirectlyfromtheAPIQuarterlyWellCompletionsReport.Also,itisassumedthat
nonewhighbleedpneumaticsareinstalled.
C.4. NaturalGasandPetroleumInventoryEmissionFactors
Fornearlyeverysourcecategory,ICFusedthesameemissionfactorsforeachemissionssourceasthose
usedindevelopmentofthe2011inventory.Theexceptionsarelistedoutindividuallybelow.
C.4.1. SourceswithDifferentEmissionFactors
Thefollowingemissionsources(withtheirrespectiveindustrysegments)haddifferentemissionfactors
between2011and2018.
Heaters(GasProduction)
Separators(GasProduction)
Dehydrators(GasProduction)
Meters/Piping(GasProduction)
Pneumatics(GasProcessing)
ThefouremissionsourcesintheGasProductionsegmentuseddifferentemissionfactorsbetween2011
and2018inonlytwooftheregions,theNortheastandMidcontinent.Thisisbecausethe2011baseline
yearusesthesameemissionfactorsthattheEPAInventoryuses,whichcomefromthe1996GRIstudy
Industries
andaredividedintoEasternandWesternregions.In2011,theNortheastandMidcontinentregionsuse
theEasternemissionfactors,whicharesubstantiallylowerthantheWesternemissionfactors.The
Easternemissionfactorsdescribeequipmentassociatedwitholder,lowerproducinggaswellsthat
existinginmostoftheNortheastandMidcontinentwhentheGRIstudywasundertakenin1992.
However,mostofthenewwellsintheseregionsaremuchhigherproducingwells,bettercharacterized
bytheWesternemissionfactorsfromthe1996GRIstudy.Therefore,theincrementalincreasesin
equipmentcountsassociatedwiththesewells(thefoursourceslistedabove)havetheWestern
emissionfactorsappliedtothem,whiletheolderequipmentalreadyinplacein2011havethelower
Easternemissionfactorsappliedtothem.
ForpneumaticsinGasProcessing,allnewpneumaticdevicesmustbezerobleeddevices,perNSPS
subpartOOOO.Therefore,theincrementalincreaseinpneumaticdevicesin2018useanemissionfactor
ofzeroemissions,assumingthatallthedevicesarezerobleed.
C.5. EmissionReductionsNSPSsubpartOOOO
Thenew2018forecastofemissionswasthenmodifiedtoreflecttheexpectedemissionreductionsasa
resultofNSPSsubpartOOOO.PertheNSPS,thefollowingsourceswouldseeemissionsreductionsasa
resultofregulation:
GasWellCompletionswithHydraulicFracturing
GasWellWorkoverswithHydraulicFracturing
PneumaticDevices
ReciprocatingCompressors(excludingProductionandTransmissionsectors)
CentrifugalCompressors(excludingProductionandTransmissionsectors)
StorageTanks
Dehydrators
Thetotalemissionsfromthesesources,includingreductionsresultingfromregulationcontrols,were
calculatedperEquation6.
(AF
cgon-2018
EF
2011
) - [AF
cgon-2018
+ AF
cgon-2011
(I0 - 1) EF
2011
PC R = E
2018
Equation6
Where:
AF
region2018
EF
2011
=emissionfactorusedinthe2011inventory
AF
region2011
TO=turnoverrate(assumedtobe1%forpneumaticsinallsectorsand1%forreciprocating
andcentrifugalcompressorsingathering/boostingandprocessing)
Industries
PC=populationcoverage,estimatedfromNSPSBackgroundTechnicalSupportDocument
46
R=reductionpercent,estimatedfromNSPSBackgroundTechnicalSupportDocument
Error!
Bookmarknotdefined.
E
2018
=estimateofemissionsfromtherespectivesourcecategoryin2018
46
NewSourcePerformanceStandardsBackgroundTechnicalSupportDocuments,availableat:
http://www.epa.gov/airquality/oilandgas/pdfs/20120418tsd.pdfand
http://www.epa.gov/airquality/oilandgas/pdfs/20110728tsd.pdf
ICFInternational D1 March2014
AppendixD. MethaneMitigationTechnologies
Thissectionprovidesadditionalinformationonsomeoftheavailablemethanemitigationtechnologies.
MostoftheperformancedataareasreportedtotheEPAGasSTARprogramandmayhavebeen
modifiedfortheanalysisinthisstudy.
D.1. InstallingPlungerLiftSystemsinGasWells
Plungerliftsystemsarecosteffectivemethodsforremovingthebuildupofliquidsinsideagaswell.
Plungerliftsystemsincreaseproductionbymaintaininggasflowwhilesignificantlyreducingmethane
emissionsthatwouldhaveotherwiseoccurredwithwellblowdownoperations.Aplungerliftremoves
accumulatedfluidsbyusingthedownholegaspressuretoliftacolumnofaccumulatedfluidoutofthe
well.Theplungerliftsystemhelpstomaintaingasproductionandmayreducetheneedforother
remedialoptions.
D.1.1. TechnologyBackground
Liquidloadingofthewellborecanimpedeandsometimeshaltgasproduction.Gasflowthroughthewell
isoftenmaintainedbyremovingaccumulatedfluidsthroughventingthewelltoatmosphericpressure,
alsoknownasblowingdownthewell.Installingaplungerliftsystemremovestheaccumulatedliquids
withtheaddedbenefitsofincreasingproductionandrecoveringgasthatwouldotherwisebeemitted
throughawellblowdown.
EnvironmentalEffectivenessandKeyFactors:InstallingPlungerLiftSystems
Environmental
Effectiveness
CO
2
CH
4
N
2
O
Typicalabatement
efficiencyforkeyGHGs
(primaryabatement
metrics),%
100%(assumingthegas
liftingtheplungeris
recoveredtoasalesline)
100%(assumingthegas
liftingtheplungeris
recoveredtoasalesline)
0%
Factorsaffectingefficiency Depthandpressureofthe
well
Depthandpressureofthe
well
Limitsoftechnical
feasibility
Eachplungerliftsystemissubjecttoaminimumrequirementforeachwell
application.Theminimumgasflowis400standardcubicfeet(scf)perbarrel(bbl)of
fluidper1,000feetofwelldepth.Additionally,wellsmusthaveashutinwellhead
pressurethatis1.5timesthesaleslinepressure.
Thepotentialamountofmethaneavailableforrecoverywillincreaseasthepressure
andtheventingfrequencyincrease.
Plungerliftsystemsrelyonthenaturalbuildupofgaspressure,asthegaswellbecomesshutinfrom
liquidaccumulationtoliftaplungerremovetheaccumulatedliquids.Torecoverthegas,thesalesline
pressuremustbeconnectedtothewellheadandthepressuremustbelessthanthedownholepressure
Industries
MethaneMitigationTechnologies
ofthewell.Thisenablesgastoflowintothesalesline,preventingemissionsandcontinuingwell
production.
CostBenefitAnalysis:InstallingPlungerLiftSystems
47
CapExperwellandperunit
production(2013USD):
$2,400to$9,600 perplungerliftsystem
OpExperwellandperunit
$860to$1,600 peryear Plungerliftmaintenancerequiresroutine
inspectionofthelubricatorandplunger.Typically,theseitemsneedtobe
replacedevery6to12months.
Revenueperwellandperunit
production:
$18,800to$73,000peryear(at$4.00 perMcfofgas)
PaybackPeriod: 1to7months(at$4.00/Mcfofgas)
D.1.2. TechnologyPenetration
Plungerliftsareafullydevelopedandwidespreadtechnologyforgaswellswithverticalorientation,and
aremoreoftenviewedasproductionenhancersthanasamethanemitigationtechnology.Oneservice
providerwasquotedbytheEPAthatin2008therewereabout150,000
48
plungerliftsinservice,
approximately30percentofgaswellsatthetime.In2012,API/ANGAreleasedastudyshowingthat36
percentoftheirsurveywellpopulationhadoperationalplungerlifts.
49
Plungerlifts,however,arestillbeingadaptedforuseingaswellswithadeviatedorientationsuchas
horizontalwells.Fewstudieshavebeendoneontheuseofplungerliftsonhorizontalwells.Therefore,
moreresearchmustbedonetodeterminethepenetrationofplungerliftsonhorizontalwellsand
effectivenessofplungerliftsinstalledonhorizontalwells.
D.2. ReplacingWetSealswithDrySealsinCentrifugalCompressors
Centrifugalcompressorsareusedintheproductionsectortopressurizegasinpipelinestotransportgas
downstream.Wetsealcentrifugalcompressorsarealargesourceofemissions,asaresultoftheirwet
sealdegassingoperations.Sealoil(wetseals)ontherotatingshaftsofcentrifugalcompressorsprevent
thehighpressurenaturalgasfromescapingthecompressorcasing.Thesewetsealsactasabarrierto
thehighpressurenaturalgas.Naturalgashowever,becomesentrainedinthesealoil,whichleadsto
emissionsasthesealoildegassestotheatmosphere.Byconvertingtodryseals,whichusehighpressure
47
PlungerLiftSystemEconomicsextractedfromU.S.EPALessonsLearned:InstallingPlungerLiftSystemsinGasWells
http://epa.gov/gasstar/documents/ll_plungerlift.pdf
48
Robinson,D.(2012)LiquidsUnloadingoptionsforNaturalGasWells.2012NaturalGasSTARAnnualImplementation
Workshop.April12,2012:Denver,Colorado.http://www.epa.gov/gasstar/documents/workshops/2012annual
conf/robinson.pdf
49
API(2012)API/ANGAInformationonGasWellLiquidsUnloading.EPAStakeholderWorkshopSeptember1314,2012:
WashingtonD.C.http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/Downloads/ghgemissions/2012Workshop/Smith_BP.pdf
Industries
gassealsinsteadofoil,loweremissionsareachievedwhilereducingpowerrequirementsandimproving
compressorperformanceandreliability.
Centrifugalcompressorsrequiresealsaroundtherotatingshafttopreventgasesfromescapingwhere
theshaftexitsthecompressorcasing.Typically,compressorshavetwoseals,oneoneachendofthe
compressor.Wetsealsuseoil,whichiscirculatedunderhighpressurethreeringsaroundthe
compressorshaft,whichcreatesabarrieragainstthecompressedgasescaping.Thisoilbarrierprevents
gasfromescaping,howeverasignificantamountofgasisabsorbedbytheoilunderthehigher
pressuresofthecompressor.Sincethisaffectstheintegrityofthesealoil,itmustbedegassedthrough
theuseofprocessequipmentandrecirculated.Therecoveredmethaneiscommonlyventedtothe
atmosphere.
Drysealsoncentrifugalcompressor
EnvironmentalEffectivenessandKeyFactors:ReplacingWetSealswithDrySealsonCentrifugalCompressors
Environmental
Effectiveness
CO
2
CH
4
N
2
O
Typicalabatement
(primaryabatement
metrics),%
97% 97% 0%
Factorsaffectingefficiency Seebelow Seebelow
Limitsoftechnical
feasibility
Thecompressorpressuremustbebelow3,000psiandthetemperaturemustbe
below300
o
F.Furthermore;compressorsshouldnotbetowardstheendoftheirlife.
Topreventtheabsorptionofgasintotheseals,drysealscanbeinstalledwhichoperatemechanically
undertheopposingforcecreatedbyhydrodynamicgroovesandstaticpressure.Drysealscreatea
Industries
barrier,forcingthegastoleakdowntheshaftwhereithasasmallchanceofleavingthecompressor
betweentherotatingandstationaryrings.Drysealssubstantiallyreducemethaneemissions,operating
costs,andenhancecompressorefficiency.
CostBenefitAnalysis:ReplacingWetSealswithDrySealsonCentrifugalCompressors
50
$400,000(Seals+EngineeringInstallation)
$17,500
production:
$180,500peryear (at$4.00/Mcfofgas)
PaybackPeriod: 29 months(at$4.00/Mcfofgas)
Overthepastdecade,drysealshavebecomefavoredoverwetsealcompressorsbecausetheydonot
requireaseparatesealoilcirculationandregenerationsystem.Foroffshoreplatformsthisisidealdue
tospacelimitationsandforgatheringandboostingoperationsitresultsinlessoperationaland
maintenancecosts.Onevendorwasquotedthatalmost90percentofnewcentrifugalcompressorssold
areequippedwithdryseals.Drysealretrofitsarenotascommonduetothehighupfrontcostsand
downtimelossesincurred.WetSealDegassingRecoverySystemforCentrifugalCompressors
D.3. WetSealDegassingRecoverySystemforCentrifugal
Compressors
Centrifugalcompressorsarewidelyusedintheproductionofnaturalgas.Sealsontherotatingshaftsof
centrifugalcompressorspreventthehighpressurenaturalgasfromescapingthecompressorcasing.
Wetsealsusehighpressureoil(wetseals)asabarrieragainstescapinggas.Topreventemissionsfrom
thesecentrifugalcompressors,onecancapturethesealoildegassingstreamfromasmall
disengagementvesselandrecycleitbackintothecompressorsuction,orashighpressureturbinefuel
gas,orlowpressurefuelgastoheaters.
Centrifugalcompressorwetsealdegassingrecoverysystemshavebeendemonstratedinstalledasa
costeffectivealternativetodrysealsfornewcompressors.Theyusecommerciallyavailableequipment
andprojectedtobemuchlessexpensivethanreplacingwetsealsystemswithdrysealsbuthavenot
beencommerciallydemonstratedforretrofitapplications.
50
EconomicsextractedfromU.S.EPALessonsLearned:ReplacingWetSealswithDrySealsinCentrifugalCompressors
http://epa.gov/gasstar/documents/ll_wetseals.pdf
Industries
Therearemultipleoptionsforthedegassingstreamrecoveredthroughthissystemincluding:thegas
canbesentaslowpressurefueltoaboiler,highpressurefueltoaturbine,recycledbacktothe
compressorsuction,orsenttoaflare.Allfouroptionssignificantlyreducemethaneemissionsfromseal
oildegassingoperations.
WetsealdegassingrecoverysystemforcentrifugalcompressorsSource:U.S.EPA
EnvironmentalEffectivenessandKeyFactors:WetSealRecoverySystemforCentrifugalCompressors
Environmental
Effectiveness
CO
2
CH
4
N
2
O
Typicalabatement
(primaryabatement
metrics),%
Upto100%(Assuming
recoveredgasisnot
flared)
Upto99% N/A
Factorsaffectingefficiency Dependingontheuseof
therecovereddegassing
emissions.
Dependingontheuseof
therecovereddegassing
emissions.
Limitsoftechnical
feasibility
Knockoutvesselstorecoveranysealoilmistfromtherecoveredgas,ifthe
gasistobeusedasfuel.Pipingcapacitymustexisttouserecovered
degassingemissions.
Industries
CostBenefitAnalysis:WetSealRecoverySystemforCentrifugalCompressors
CapExperOneCentrifugal
Compressor(2013USD):
$33,700(Costforsealoilgasseparator,sealoilgasdemisterfor
lowqualitygas,andsealoilgasdemisterforhighqualitygas)
OpExperOneCentrifugal
Compressor(2013USD):
Minimal
RevenueperOneCentrifugal
Compressor:
$120,000(at$4.00/Mcfofgas)
PaybackPeriod: 3months(at$4.00/Mcfofgas)
Wetsealdegassingrecoverysystemsarefeasiblebutarenotcurrentlynotavailableasanofftheshelf
technology.ThistechnologyhasonlybeendocumentedaspartofanOriginalEquipmentManufacturer
design,meaningthewetsealdegassingrecoverysystemwasinstalledwiththecentrifugalcompressor
station.
51
Thereisnodocumentationtodatereportingtheimplementationofthistechnologyasa
retrofittoanexistingcentrifugalcompressor.Operatorswilllikelyneedtoworkwiththeoriginal
compressormanufacturertohavethistechnologyinstalled.
D.4. InstallingVaporRecoveryUnitsonStorageTanks
Crudeoilstoragetanksareusedtoholdoilforbriefperiodsoftimeinordertostabilizeflowbetween
productionwellsandpipelineortruckingtransportationsites.Thecrudeoilexperiencesadropin
pressureasitistransferredtothecrudeoilstoragetank.Duetothisdropinpressure,light
hydrocarbonsvaporizeorflashoutandcollectinthespacebetweentheliquidandthefixedroofof
thetank.Thevaporsareventedtotheatmospheretoavoidpressurebuildup.VaporRecoveryUnits
(VRUs)areinstalledoncrudeoilstoragetankstopreventtheseventedemissions.
Undergroundcrudeoilcontainsmanydissolvedlighthydrocarbons.Thesehydrocarbonstypicallyflash
outduringproductionaswellasthroughaseriesofseparators.Onceithasgonethroughseparators,the
crudeoilispumpedintoastoragetanktoawaitsaleandtransportationoffsite;theremaininglight
hydrocarbonsflashoutofthecrude,intothevaporspaceofthetank.Thesameprinciplesapplyfor
condensate.Theseresultingvaporsaretypicallyventedorflared.Thecompositionofthesevapors
varies,buttypicallyincludemethane,propane,butane,andethaneaswellasVOCsandHAPs.
51
Smith,R.(2012)CentrifugalCompressorWetSealsSealOilDegassing&Control.NaturalGasSTARAnnualWorkshop;Denver,
CO.http://www.epa.gov/gasstar/documents/workshops/2012annualconf/smith.pdf
Industries
VRUsareinstalledtorecoverthesevaporstopreventemissionsandreduceflaring.VRUsusea
compressorandasuctionline,topullthevaporsintoascrubbertank,wheretherecovered
hydrocarbonscanthenbetransportedtomultipleplaces,includingthesalesline.
VRUprocessschematicSource:Evans&Nelson(1968)
EnvironmentalEffectivenessandKeyFactors:InstallingVRUsonStorageTanks
Environmental
Effectiveness
CO
2
CH
4
N
2
O
Typicalabatement
(primaryabatement
metrics),%
95% 95% 0%
Factorsaffectingefficiency Thereliabilityofthe
suctionscrubberand
compressor
Thereliabilityofthe
suctionscrubberand
compressor
Assumingthestoragetank
ventedemissionswere
notpreviouslyflared.
Limitsoftechnical
feasibility
VRUscaptureapproximately95%offlashinglosses,fromstoragetanks.VRUssuccess
dependsonthelinesconnectingthetankstothecompressor,aswellasthe
compressorwhichcreatesthesuction.

Industries
CostBenefitAnalysis:InstallingVRUsonStorageTanks
52
$44,500to$129,000
$9,100to$20,800
production:
$20,000to$380,000peryear(at$4.00/Mcfofgas)
VRUsareawidelyadoptedmethanemitigationtechnology.Thereareseveralserviceprovidersthat
implementVRUsacrosstheUnitedStatesincludingHYBON,Exterran,andCOMMEngineering.
D.5. ConvertingHighBleedPneumaticDevicestoLowBleed
Pneumaticdevicespoweredbypressurizednaturalgasareusedwidelyinthenaturalgasindustryas
liquidlevelcontrollers,pressureregulators,andvalvecontrollers.Pneumaticdevicesventnaturalgasas
apartofnormaloperationsandareoneofthebiggestsourcesofemissionsintheproductionsector.
Olderpneumaticdevicescanhavearelativelyhighbleedrateandemissionscanbesignificantlyreduced
byconvertingthedevicestolowbleedmodels.
Thevolumeofnaturalgasventedfrompneumaticdevicesvariesbymodelandage.Highbleed
pneumaticdevicesventoversixstandardcubicfeetofCH
4
perhourperdevice.Theaveragehighbleed
pneumaticdevicevents330standardcubicfeetCH
4
perdayperdevice.Lowbleedpneumaticdevices
ventsixorlessstandardcubicfeetofCH4perhourperdevice.Lowbleedpneumaticdevicesventon
averageto52cubicfeetCH
4
perdayperdevice.Byretrofittingorswitchinghighbleedpneumatic
devicestolowbleedpneumaticdevices,emissionsarereduced.Notallpneumaticdeviceapplications
areappropriateforlowbleeddevices,butfieldexperiencehasshownthatupto80percentofallhigh
bleeddevicescanbereplacedwithlowbleedequipmentorretrofitted.

52
EconomicsextractedfromU.S.EPALessonsLearned:InstallingVaporRecoveryUnitsonStorageTanks
http://epa.gov/gasstar/documents/ll_final_vap.pdf
Industries
PneumaticdeviceschematicSource:U.S.EPALessonsLearned
EnvironmentalEffectivenessandKeyFactors:ConvertingHighBleedPneumaticstoLowBleed
Environmental
Effectiveness
CO
2
CH
4
N
2
O
Typicalabatement
(primaryabatement
metrics),%
N/A 84% N/A
Factorsaffectingefficiency Seebelow.
Limitsoftechnical
feasibility
Methaneabatementefficiencyisdependentupontheinitialbleedrateofthehigh
bleedratedevice.Bleedrateswillvarywithpneumaticgassupplypressure,actuation
frequency,andageorconditionoftheequipment.

Industries
CostBenefitAnalysis:ConvertingHighBleedPneumaticstoLowBleed
53
$260to$420(Changetolowbleedatend oflife)
$2,300(Earlyreplacementofhighbleedunit)
$840(Retrofit)
N/A
production:
$200to800(Changetolowbleeddeviceatendoflife)
$1,040(Earlyreplacementofhighbleedunit)
$920(Retrofit)
(Allat$4.00/Mcfofgas)
PaybackPeriod: 4to25months(Changetolowbleedatendoflifeat$4.00/Mcfofgas)
27months(Earlyreplacementofhighbleedunitat$4.00/Mcfofgas)
11months(Retrofitat$4.00/Mcfofgas)
Lowbleedpneumaticdevicesareamaturetechnologythathasbeencommerciallyavailablesincethe
1990s.Lowbleeddevicesareroutinelyusedfornewsystemsandreplacements.Directedreplacement
foremissionreductionsarelesscommon.
D.6. ReciprocatingCompressorRodPackingReplacement
Rodpackingisthesealthatpreventsgasfromleakingaroundthedisplacementrodinareciprocating
compressorsimilarinconcepttothepistonringsinacarengine.Emissionsfrompackingare
dependentuponthecompressorcylinderpressure,thefittingandalignmentofthepackingparts,and
theamountofwearontheringsandrodshaftrod.Bydevelopingatimelyscheduleforthereplacement
ofrodpackingsystemsinreciprocatingcompressors,onecansignificantlyreducemethaneemissions
andincreasesavings.
Rodpackingreplacemententailsreplacingasetofflexibleringsthatfitaroundtheshaft,whichcreates
asealagainsthighpressuregasleakage.Thepackingringsarelubricatedwithcirculatingoiltoreduce
wear,howeverovertimethesepackingringsleadtomoregasleaking.
Byorganizingcompanyspecificfinancialgoals,companiescandetermineanemissionthresholdat
whichitiscosteffectivetoreplaceringsandrods.Underthebestconditions,newpackingsystems
properlyinstalledonasmooth,wellalignedshaftcanbeexpectedtoleakaminimumof11.5standard
cubicfeet/hour.Higherleakratesareaconsequenceoffit,alignmentofthepackingparts,andwear.
Leakinggasesareventedtotheatmosphere.
53
EconomicsextractedfromU.S.EPALessonsLearned:OptionsforReducingMethaneEmissionsFromPneumaticDevicesin
theNaturalGasIndustry.http://epa.gov/gasstar/documents/ll_pneumatics.pdf
Industries
ReciprocatingcompressorandrodpackingcomponentsSource:U.S.EPALessonsLearned
EnvironmentalEffectivenessandKeyFactors:ReciprocatingCompressorRodPackingReplacement
Environmental
Effectiveness
CO
2
CH
4
N
2
O
Typicalabatement
(primaryabatement
metrics),%
N/A Upto98% N/A
Factorsaffectingefficiency SeeBelow.
Limitsoftechnical
feasibility
Thetimingofreplacementwillaffectabatementefficiency.
CostBenefitAnalysis:ReciprocatingCompressorRodPackingReplacement
54
$2,000everythreeyears,or$670peryear
N/A
production:
$3,500(at$4.00/Mcfofgas)
PaybackPeriod: 7months(at$4.00/Mcfofgas)
54
EconomicsextractedfromU.S.EPALessonsLearned:ReducingMethaneEmissionsFromCompressorRodPackingSystems.
http://epa.gov/gasstar/documents/ll_rodpack.pdf
Industries
Reciprocatingrodpackingisageneralmaintenancepracticethatiscommonlyperformedon
reciprocatingcompressorsastheyage.Rodpackingreplacementasamitigationtechnologyhoweveris
aworkpracticethatinvolvesproactivelymonitoringtherodpackingleakrateandreplacingtherod
packingwhenitiseconomictodoso.
D.7. ConvertNaturalGasDrivenChemicalPumps(KimrayPumps)
Chemicalpumpsareusedforavarietyofpurposesatawellsite.Ifthereisnosourceofelectricity
nearby,operatorsdrivetheirpumpsusingthemechanicalenergyofthenaturalgasfromtheirwell(s).
Naturalgasdrivenpumpshoweverventthenaturalgasusedtodrivethem.Ventingofmethaneaswell
asVOCsandHAPsfrompneumaticpumpsiseliminatedbyconvertingthepumpsfrombeingnaturalgas
driventoeitherinstrumentairdrivenorelectric.
Themostcommonapplicationofnaturalgasdrivenpumpsatwellsitesisforchemicalinjectionandto
circulatetheglycolinadehydrator.Instrumentairpumpsrequirethattheoperatorinstallanair
compressor,whichalsorequireselectricity,topressurizeairtodrivethepumps.Electricpumpsmay
eitherrequireinstallingageneratororsolarpanelsorevaluatingifaconnectiontothegridisfeasible.
Solarchargedglycolpump(Source:BP)

Industries
EnvironmentalEffectivenessandKeyFactors:ConvertNaturalGasDrivenChemicalPumps
Environmental
Effectiveness
CO
2
CH
4
N
2
O
Typicalabatement
(primaryabatement
metrics),%
100% 100% N/A
Factorsaffectingefficiency SeeBelow. SeeBelow.
Limitsoftechnical
feasibility
Dependentoniftheaircompressororelectricdrivengeneratoris
poweredbyhydrocarbons,Electricalrequirementsforaircompressor,as
wellascapacitytoinstallpipingbetweenaircompressorandtheglycol
circulationpump.Weathercanalsoaffectthereliabilityofsolarpowered
electricdrivenpumps.
CostBenefitAnalysis:ConvertNaturalGasDrivenChemicalPumps
55
$1,200to$12,000
$120to$1,200(Electricitycosts)
production:
Electricpumpsandenergyexchangepumps(forglycoldehydrators)arecommontechnologies.Many
companieshavereportedreplacedpneumaticpumpswithelectricpumpsthroughtheNaturalGasSTAR
Program.
D.8. ConductingLeakDetectionandRepairPrograms
LeakDetectionandRepair(LDAR)programsareimplementedtoidentifyandrepairleakingcomponents
whereitiscosteffective.Throughspecializedinfrared(IR)camerasandatrainedteam,hydrocarbon
emissionscanbedetectedataproductionfacility.
Unintentionalequipmentleaksmayariseduetonormalwearandtear,improperorincomplete
assemblyofcomponents,inadequatematerialspecification,manufacturingdefects,damageduring
installationoruse,corrosion,foulingand/orannualtemperaturechangecycles.LDARprograms
concentrateoncomponentsthatarepronetoleakenoughmethanetomakerepaircosteffective.A
55
EconomicsextractedfromU.S.EPAPROFactSheetNo.202:ConvertNaturalGasDrivenChemicalPumps
http://epa.gov/gasstar/documents/convertgasdrivenchemicalpumpstoinstrumentair.pdf
Industries
speciallytrainedteamusinganinfrared(IR)cameracansearchforhydrocarbonemissionsthroughouta
facility.Afteridentifyingtheleakingequipment,repairsaremadeincaseswheretheleakposesasafety
threatorwhentherepairsareeconomicallyfeasible(i.e.benefitsoutweighthecosts).
IRcamerainuseforDI&MSource:LeakSurveys,Inc.
EnvironmentalEffectivenessandKeyFactors:ConductionDirectedInspectionandMaintenance
Environmental
Effectiveness
CO
2
CH
4
N
2
O
Typicalabatement
(primaryabatement
metrics),%
Upto100%(Assuming
leakisrepaired)
Upto100%(Assuming
leakisrepaired)
N/A
Factorsaffectingefficiency Seebelow. SeeBelow.
Limitsoftechnical
feasibility
Theeffectivenessoftheprogramwillvarybysiteandcompany.The
effectivenesswillvarydependingonthenumberofleaksfoundandrepaired.
Reliabilitydependsonthethoroughnessandcompletenessofprogram,as
wellasthequalityofleakrepairs.

Industries
CostBenefitAnalysis:ConductingLDAR
56
$124,000(IRCamera)
$10 $6,900(Dependingonrepaircost)
production:
PaybackPeriod: Dependentonrepaircost
Thetechnologytoperformthismethanemitigationpracticeiscommonandwidelyavailable.Facilities
employtechnologiessuchasinfraredcamerasorhandheldleakdetectionequipment.
56
EconomicsextractedfromU.S.EPALessonsLearned:ConductDI&MatRemoteSites
(http://epa.gov/gasstar/documents/conductdimatremotefacilities.pdf)

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