How Tech is Helping Reduce Methane Emissions

New innovations make it possible to produce more energy with fewer emissions

Combatting emissions of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, is a top concern globally, with countries and companies naming it as a priority.

What is methane? Dan Zimmerle, the director of Colorado State University’s Methane Emissions Program, explained, “Methane isn’t the leading contributor to climate change, but it’s a potent short-term greenhouse gas. In terms of global warming potential, methane in the atmosphere is 80 times more powerful in its first two decades than CO2. That’s why methane is a good target to improve the environment in the next decade or two.”

The Many Sources of Methane

There are many sources of methane emissions, some naturally occurring, others caused by humans. Soggy soil in wetlands, for example, accounts for approximately 30% of global methane emissions[1]. The agriculture and waste management sectors emit more than half of all methane emissions in the United States.

“There are many other people-driven sources of methane, including cattle, landfills, rice farming — the list goes on. If you go after methane from the natural gas industry, you’re only going after part of it, though it is the part that has the easiest knob to turn,” Zimmerle said.

New Innovations

New technology — ranging from drones to smart sensors — is making it more efficient to turn those knobs. And, because natural gas is a critical part of our energy mix, accounting for 24% of global energy consumption^[2], ensuring cleaner production and distribution can further help mitigate the effects of climate change.

At production sites across the United States, natural gas and oil companies use cutting-edge technology to detect unwanted emissions that occasionally occur in the production and transportation of natural gas. The detection data allows companies to further refine their practices to reduce emissions even more. It also enables companies to direct investment in programs they know will cut emissions. It’s also making it possible for energy producers to perform proactive maintenance to prevent emissions from ever happening.

Energy companies take a surround-sound approach to monitoring — examining their production and transportation sites from the ground, sky and everywhere in between.

• Smart sensors. ConocoPhillips, for example, uses a system of smart sensors to record methane emissions continuously. Three to four sensors placed on poles around the production facility measure the amount of methane in the air every few seconds. Any spikes in methane emissions are quickly addressed.

• Intelligent pipeline coating. As part of the Intelligent Pipeline Integrity Program, Hess has partnered with the University of North Dakota, and the North Dakota Industrial Commission to test a pipeline coating that detects leaks. The pipeline coating contains a polymer that swells when it encounters natural gas. A sensor detects the swelling and alerts a command center for review.

• Satellite systems. ExxonMobil recently teamed up with Scepter, Inc. to deploy new satellites that enable real-time methane emission monitoring across the globe.

“This collaboration will enable multiple industries to identify the sources of methane emissions around the world in real-time, so that leak repairs or mitigation solutions can be deployed rapidly,” said Bart Cahir, senior vice president of unconventional at ExxonMobil. 

• Drones. Many energy companies use drones equipped with cameras to identify potential problems. The tech helps to prevent leaks — and reduces risk to employees by giving the operations team better insight about the condition of facilities in advance.

Companies feed the data collected from their wide variety of smart sensors into supercomputers for analysis. The insights generated from this analysis are helping companies make proactive repairs or replace equipment before it weakens. This work can help prevent emissions from ever occurring.

Devon Energy, for example, uses real-time, higher-quality data and imagery to constantly monitor its Powder River Basin operations in Wyoming. They use the information to make proactive repairs. Since starting remote surveillance, flaring, spills and downtime have all decreased at the Powder River Basin.

“If we can be more proactive and predictive in terms of when things might go wrong, we have fewer likely incidents, more controlled deployment of spare parts, less travel for people to come to the site, less hot-shotting of spare parts. All of those things have a CO₂ impact,” Dan Jeavons, who works in Shell’s data science department, told Forbes.

Methane Emissions Decline

Analysis and new tech are showing real results. The average methane emissions intensity, a measure of emissions relative to production, has fallen by nearly 60 percent across all seven major producing regions from 2011 to 2020. This decline came even as natural gas production surged in the United States. Thanks to new technology and innovative processes, natural gas production increased 73% between 2005 and 2020. This means American companies are creating more energy with fewer emissions.

One emissions-prevention program, The Environmental Partnership was so successful it now reports only a 0.05% leak occurrence rate on the 100,000 sites it surveyed. The Environmental Partnership is a group of 100 of the nation’s top energy companies taking action from coast to coast to reduce methane emissions through leak monitoring and repair, installing new low-emissions technology and deploying new processes.

The Environmental Partnership’s flaring program has been effective as well. Flaring is a practice when natural gas is burned instead of used to generate energy because of a lack of capacity, maintenance needs or to safely alleviate pressure. Companies participating in The Environmental Partnership’s program reduced the volume of gas flared by 26% compared to the previous year. Government approval of new pipelines will help further reduce flaring by making it possible to transport more gas.

U.S. Leading in Cleaner Production

 The U.S. has some of the highest environmental standards in the world for energy production. The use of new technologies — combined with a commitment to constant improvement — will make it possible for America to continue to reduce methane emissions, while increasing production.

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[1] Understanding and Predicting Wetland Methane Emissions

[2] bp Statistical Review of World Energy

Do You Know the Energy Basics?

What is the single biggest reason for the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions in the United States?

Use of renewable energy sources for electricity Fewer cars on the road Use of natural gas to generate electricity Smaller population

Select a Response

Correct

Correct! The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported that from 2005-2019, 65% of the decline in CO₂ emissions in the electric power sector was attributable to switching from coal-fired to natural gas-fired electricity generation. Learn more about the power of natural gas.

Discover More Here

Incorrect

Good try! The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported that from 2005-2019, 65% of the decline in CO₂ emissions in the electric power sector was attributable to the switching from coal-fired to natural gas-fired electricity generation. Learn more.

Discover More Here