Onshore Oil and Gas: Quantification of whole-site methane emissions and associated uncertainties

Tender description

This desk-based project is on methods for quantifying whole site methane emissions from onshore oil and gas facilities. The project will systematically investigate the uncertainties in methane quantification techniques and develop a structured approach for identifying the optimum quantification approach in different scenarios. The project will provide an understanding of the available techniques for whole site methane quantification, what the sources of uncertainty are and how we can derive the total uncertainty on the methane emission rate. The project will focus on established whole site methane quantification techniques and not approaches that are in earlier stages of development. The focus will be on techniques that measure the combined plume following dispersion from the whole site, and not on approaches that attempt to measure and add up individual source within a site. The project will investigate how transferable the quantification techniques are from onshore oil and gas facilities to other facility types, and to pollutants and greenhouse gases other than methane. The project will identify existing techniques for whole site methane quantification and any existing standards for methane quantification or those in the process of development for the onshore oil and gas and other industrial sectors. Examples shall be identified of where the techniques have been used, how they have been applied, at what site types, and the approach to uncertainty. Methane quantification techniques shall be categorised and around five categories selected for detailed consideration. For each technique, the sources of uncertainty that contribute to the total uncertainty on the whole-site methane emission rate will be identified. The uncertainties would include those associated with measurements and those associated with deriving longer-term statistics from shorter campaign periods. Approaches will be developed to determine the total uncertainty associated with a whole site methane emission rate over various time periods. A structured approach for selecting the optimum methane quantification technique will be developed taking into account the level of uncertainty that can be achieved and the level of accuracy required for different monitoring purposes. Examples will be developed to demonstrate the selection of measurement techniques in a range of scenarios and the potential options for reducing the uncertainties will be considered. The transferability of the methane quantification and uncertainty approach to other sectors that emit methane (e.g. AD plant and landfill) and to other greenhouse gas (e.g. nitrous oxide) or pollution species (e.g. ammonia) will be investigated. The supplier will produce an Environment Agency research report providing a structured approach to selecting a whole site methane quantification approach; case studies to illustrate the approaches; an assessment of the transferability and recommendations for further work.