Top-Down Quantification of Methane Emissions from California's Natural Gas System
Identifying the main source of methane emissions is the first step to develop sound mitigation options.
The Regents of the University of California on behalf of the Davis Campus
Recipient
Davis, CA
Recipient Location
3rd
Senate District
4th
Assembly District
$873,511
Amount Spent
Completed
Project Status
Project Result
The research team measured methane emissions associated with production sites in the south part of the San Joaquin Valley; underground storage facilities in the Sacramento- San Joaquin Delta; the distribution system in Bakersfield, Sacramento, and Oakland; a handful of abandoned wells; and approximately 10 homes. The results suggest that most of the emissions are coming from production wells and the distribution system. Emissions from homes are relatively small but significant. The discovery of end-use emission from this study lead to multiple future studies to understand the significance of emissions from building and residential sectors.
The Issue
The natural gas system is composed of different parts: production wells, processing units, transmission, distribution, and final consumption. It is unclear the relative contribution of these parts of the natural gas system to total methane emissions. It is important to identify the main source of emissions (e.g., natural gas wells) to develop mitigation options to reduce overall emissions.
Project Innovation
The purpose of this project is to quantitatively survey methane emissions from key subsectors of the natural gas system including production, processing, transmission and distribution, and end-uses in homes. Four field campaigns were planned for this project. The first took place in November 2013. The field campaigns included a research aircraft, a mobile platform, and other measurement techniques.
Project Benefits
Researchers have reported that actual methane emissions from the natural gas system may be much higher than expected. However, emission estimates from the natural gas system are highly uncertain. This research will help provide a more accurate and comprehensive accounting of methane emissions from the natural gas sector.
Environmental Sustainability
Identifying the main sources of methane emissions from the natural gas system will allow the development of cost effective mitigation measures.
Key Project Members
Marc Fischer
Subrecipients
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
San Jose State University
University of California, Irvine
Picarro, Inc.
