Satellite Derived CH4 and NOx Emissions from the Oil and Gas Industry in the Permian Basin in the U.S.A.

<p>The Permian basin is the largest oil and gas production region in the U.S.A. Because of the non-conventional exploration of the basin, the region is covered with hundreds of small production facilities. Observations from the surface and from aircrafts have shown that there are continuous emissions of amongst others CH₄ and NO_x. Although they come from the same facilities, the sources of CH₄ and NO_x differ: NO_x is predominantly produced by engines and generators used for drilling and to run the facilities, whereas CH₄ is produced from planned and accidental releases from the production, storage and transportation of oil and gas. The TROPOMI satellite instrument allows continuous monitoring of CH₄ and NO₂ and has confirmed the large contribution of the oil and gas industry to the CH₄ and NO₂ concentrations in the Permian basin.</p><p>Using the divergence method, we have derived emissions for both CH₄ and NO₂ from the TROPOMI data, with a high spatial resolution of better than 5x5 km² for NO₂ and better than 10x10 km² for CH₄. The results show that the Permian CH₄ emissions in the basin are not dominated by a few large emission events, but are also impacted by many smaller releases across the basin. The basin can therefore be seen as a large area source that varies in space and time. Mitigation of these releases is challenging, rather than solving a few large leaks in a few facilities, the equipment and management of many small sites have to be improved to reduce emissions.</p><p>In this contribution we present results of the emission retrievals. Using CAMS model data, we show the potential of the divergence method and its sensitivity. Analyses will be presented of the TROPOMI derived emissions, showing the spatial variability of CH₄ and NO_x emissions over the region and their relation to the underlying oil and gas production and drilling activities.</p>