Measuring methane emissions from abandoned and active oil and gas wells in West Virginia

Riddick, Stuart N.; Mauzerall, Denise L.; Celia, Michael A.; Kang, Mary; Bressler, K.; Chu, Christopher; Gum, C.

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.10.082

Cited by 63 publications

(73 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…An older well, in addition to being constructed under less strict regulatory requirements, would have more time to lose integrity and could be more prone to leakage; a well sitting inactive may not be maintained and could also lose integrity; and wells of different depths will pass through and reach into different formations with variable compositions. Similar to previous analyses (Kang et al, 2016a; Riddick et al, 2019), well age was not a correlated to emissions (ρ = −0.0250). Surprisingly, the length of inactivity was not a good predictor of emissions (ρ = −0.0681).…”

Section: Data and Resultssupporting

confidence: 88%

“…Even after production has ceased, O&G wells can still affect the environment as potential sources of fugitive CH 4 (Kang et al, 2014(Kang et al, , 2019Pekney et al, 2018;Riddick et al, 2019;Townsend-Small et al, 2016). Given that there may be 1-3 million abandoned wells in the United States (Brandt et al, 2014), abandoned wells could contribute a significant amount of fugitive CH 4 to the atmosphere.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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An Analysis of Abandoned Oil Well Characteristics Affecting Methane Emissions Estimates in the Cherokee Platform in Eastern Oklahoma

Saint-Vincent

Reeder

Sams

et al. 2020

Geophysical Research Letters

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Anthropogenic activities increase methane emissions, contributing to greenhouse gas levels and adversely affecting the environment. Abandoned oil and gas wells potentially leak methane, but data are limited. We analyze methane emissions from abandoned wells (n = 179) in the Cherokee Platform in Oklahoma, a previously unaccounted basin, and compare emissions factors (EFs) to those in the Greenhouse Gas Inventory. We compare the contribution of various characteristics to the propensity for leakage. Higher emissions were observed with shallower wells and with unplugged wells. Plugged wells (n = 20) had an average EF of 96 ± 429 g/day and 65 ± 294 g/day for unplugged wells (n = 159). The majority of wells had no detectable leak. We calculated ethane EFs based on geochemical analysis of gas samples, finding higher EFs for unplugged (1.2 ± 5.5 g/day) versus plugged (0.9 ± 4.6 g/day) wells. The data indicate that in addition to the location of abandoned wells, physical characteristics are necessary to consider in estimating methane emissions. Plain Language Summary The Greenhouse Gas Inventory (GHGI) is a compendium of all known intentional and unintentional sources of greenhouse gas emissions from the United States. Although the GHGI catalogues emissions from many individual leakage points, such as pipelines or abandoned wells, the latter have only been recently added to the GHGI. The amount of data collected and used for analysis is very small and geographically limited compared to the vast number of abandoned wells in the United States. This study examines abandoned wells in Oklahoma, a previously unstudied region, and compares the leakage rates with data in the GHGI. Geographic locations, well plugging statuses, and well depths are important factors that influence leakage rates. This new analysis will aid in remediation efforts as wells in more leakage-prone regions can be prioritized for well plugging and environmental mitigation, thereby decreasing greenhouse gas emissions.

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Section: Data and Resultssupporting

confidence: 88%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Analysis of Abandoned Oil Well Characteristics Affecting Methane Emissions Estimates in the Cherokee Platform in Eastern Oklahoma

Saint-Vincent

Reeder

Sams

et al. 2020

Geophysical Research Letters

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“…The continuous leakage of CH4 from offshore production platforms observed here is consistent with observations of similar onshore operations (Omara et al, 2016;Riddick et al, 2019). Ambient leakage is not unexpected as these off-shore production platforms are located in the inhospitable conditions of the North Sea, where wind speeds regularly exceed hurricane force and waves can reach the working deck of the production platform.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

“…Land-based measurements in West Virginia and Colorado, USA, estimate on-shore oil and gas extraction activities lose between 0.1 and 10 % of CH4 produced (Petron et al, 2012, Omara et al, 2016Schwietzke et al, 2017;Englander et al, 2018;Riddick et al, 2019). There are no direct measurements of CH4 emissions from offshore oil and gas production.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Measuring methane emissions from oil and gas platforms in the North Sea

Riddick

Mauzerall

Celia

et al. 2019

Preprint

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Abstract. Recent studies suggest oil and natural gas production facilities in North America may be underestimating methane (CH4) emissions during extraction. This, coupled with unusually high CH4 mole fractions observed at coastal sites during onshore winds in the UK, suggests CH4 emissions from oil and gas extraction activities in the North Sea could be higher than previously reported. To investigate if these coastal CH4 enhancements could have come from oil and gas production platforms, we use near-source measurement techniques to estimate CH4 emissions from eight oil and gas production platforms in the North Sea. We estimate the mean CH4 emission from the eight platforms to be 10.1&#8201;g&#8201;CH4&#8201;s&#8722;1, with a range of 1.1 to 25.0&#8201;g&#8201;CH4&#8201;s&#8722;1. When matched to production records, individual platforms lose between 0.01&#8201;% and 1.58&#8201;% of gas production with an average loss of 0.61&#8201;% of gas production. However, when the measured platforms are considered collectively, i.e. when the total measured emission is compared to total production of the platforms measured, the CH4 loss is estimated at 0.27&#8201;% of gas production. These calculated ranges are at least double the most recently reported loss rates for these platforms, which are currently estimated at 0.13&#8201;% of gas production. In fact, the vast majority of reported emissions are due to gas flaring and offshore oil loading, neither of which was taking place at the time of these measurements. If emissions measured here resulted from leakage during normal operation, they represent significant additional emissions (at least 0.27&#8201;% of production) above previous estimates of CH4 leakage from off-shore oil and gas production platforms. These emissions are not explicitly included in UK emission inventories. Further research to determine CH4 leakage from all operations occurring at off-shore oil and gas platforms, and how to include them in national emission inventories, is needed.

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“…Multiple studies have shown that leaked methane from the deep subsurface migrates upward by the buoyancy resulting from density contrasts between gas and brine (Rice et al 2018a). Natural and anthropogenic permeable pathways such as leaky oil and gas abandoned wells, fault zones, and extensive fracture systems could facilitate the vertical movement of methane to shallow depths (Kissinger et al 2013;Vengosh et al 2014;Steelman et al 2017;Yudhowijoyo et al 2018;Tatomir et al 2018;Riddick et al 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Modeling of methane migration from gas wellbores into shallow groundwater at basin scale

2020

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Methane contamination of drinking water resources is one of the major concerns associated with unconventional gas development. This study assesses the potential contamination of shallow groundwater via methane migration from a leaky natural gas well through overburden rocks, following hydraulic fracturing. A two-dimensional, two-phase, two-component numerical model is employed to simulate methane and brine upward migration toward shallow groundwater in a generic sedimentary basin. A sensitivity analysis is conducted to examine the influence of methane solubility, capillary pressure–saturation relationship parameters and residual water saturation of overburden rocks, gas leakage rate from the well, tilted formations, and low-permeability sediments (i.e., claystones) on the transport of fluids. Results show that the presence of lithological barriers is the most important factor controlling the temporal–spatial distribution of methane in the subsurface and the arrival time to shallow groundwater. A pulse of high leakage rate is required for early manifestation of methane in groundwater wells. Simulations reveal that the presence of tilted features could further explain fast-growing methane contamination and extensive lateral spreading reported in field studies.

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Measuring methane emissions from abandoned and active oil and gas wells in West Virginia

Cited by 63 publications

References 11 publications

An Analysis of Abandoned Oil Well Characteristics Affecting Methane Emissions Estimates in the Cherokee Platform in Eastern Oklahoma

An Analysis of Abandoned Oil Well Characteristics Affecting Methane Emissions Estimates in the Cherokee Platform in Eastern Oklahoma

Measuring methane emissions from oil and gas platforms in the North Sea

Modeling of methane migration from gas wellbores into shallow groundwater at basin scale

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