On the Potential of the RST-FLARE Algorithm for Gas Flaring Characterization from Space

Abstract

An effective characterization of gas flaring is hampered by the lack of systematic, complete and reliable data on its magnitude and spatial distribution. In the last years, a few satellite methods have been developed to provide independent information on gas flaring activity at global, national and local scale. Among these, a MODIS-based method, aimed at the computation of gas flared volumes by an Italian plant, was proposed. In this work, a more general version of this approach, named RST-FLARE, has been developed to provide reliable information on flaring sites localization and gas emitted volumes over a long time period for the Niger Delta region, one of the top five gas flaring areas in the world. Achieved results showed a good level of accuracy, in terms of flaring sites localization (95% of spatial match) and volume estimates (mean bias between in 16% and 20%, at annual scale and 2–9% in the long period) when compared to independent data, provided both by other satellite techniques and national/international organizations. Outcomes of this work seem to indicate that RST-FLARE can be used to provide, at different geographic scales, quite accurate data on gas flaring, suitable for monitoring purposes for governments and local authorities.

The VIIRS-Based RST-FLARE Configuration: The Val d’Agri Oil Center Gas Flaring Investigation in Between 2015–2019

“…The strategy developed to identify thermal anomalies associated with gas flaring at COVA follows the general prescriptions of the RST-FLARE algorithm, previously implemented on multi temporal series of MODIS nighttime thermal data [32,33]. In this work, taking in mind the considerations shown in the previous paragraphs, the algorithm has been exported on VIIRS nighttime bands and the procedure was slightly modified ( Figure 5).…”

“…Once the hotspot is detected within the box on a specific day, its thermal characterization is performed. Following Reference [33], the emissive power of the heat source is expressed in terms of radiance excess (RE), which corresponds to the deviation of the M10 or/and M12 radiances, depending on the way (i.e., level of confidence, HC or MC) the hotspot was identified with respect to a pre-defined background value. For each day, a daily RE is calculated as the sum of all REs computed for the hotspots detected within the 4x3 box.…”

The contribution of the scientific research for a less vulnerable and more resilient community: the Val d’Agri (Southern Italy) case

“…Gas flaring is a process widely used for the disposal of natural gas produced at oil and gas facilities, recognized as a waste of a valuable non-renewable source of clean energy, contributing to global warming, causing climate change and greatly impacting human, the environment and the economy (Giwa et al 2017). For its impacts acquiring transparent and updated information on gas flaring is of global and local concern (Faruolo et al 2018). In the last decade, satellite-based methodologies have been developed in order to bridge the gap between such a need and the lack of reliable data about gas flaring, in terms of flaring sites localization and amount of flared gas emitted into the atmosphere.…”

“…waste flaring) when the flares system acts as a safety device. For such a reason, the COVA is a source characterized by low/moderate emission rates (less than one million of cubic meters per year), when compared with the ones located in countries like Nigeria or Russia (burning off several billion of cubic meters per year) (Faruolo et al 2018). Recently, the Robust Satellite Techniques (RST)-FLARE algorithm was developed to infer quantitative information on COVA gas flaring (Faruolo et al 2014).…”

“…The RST-FLARE algorithm was recently developed to analyze the gas-flaring phenomenon, both in terms of flaring sites detection and in terms of volumes of gas annually flared (Faruolo et al 2014(Faruolo et al , 2018. In Figure 3a, simplified scheme of the RST-FLARE methodological steps is reported.…”