title: Measuring emissions from oil and natural gas well pads using the mobile flux plane technique.
abstract: We present a study of methane emissions from oil and gas producing well pad facilities in the Barnett Shale region of Texas, measured using an innovative ground-based mobile flux plane (MFP) measurement system, as part of the Barnett Coordinated Campaign.1 Using only public roads, we measured the emissions from nearly 200 well pads over 2 weeks in October 2013. The population of measured well pads is split into well pads with detectable emissions (N = 115) and those with emissions below the detection limit of the MFP instrument (N = 67). For those well pads with nonzero emissions, the distribution was highly skewed, with a geometric mean of 0.63 kg/h, a geometric standard deviation of 4.2, and an arithmetic mean of 1.72 kg/h. Including the population of nonemitting well pads, we find that the arithmetic mean of the well pads sampled in this study is 1.1 kg/h. This distribution implies that 50% of the emissions is due to the 6.6% highest emitting well pads, and 80% of the emissions is from the 22% highest emitting well pads.
authors: Picarro, Inc., 3105 Patrick Henry Drive, Santa Clara, California 95054, United States.
authors: Chris W
authors: CW
authors: Rella
authors: Picarro, Inc., 3105 Patrick Henry Drive, Santa Clara, California 95054, United States.
authors: Tracy R
authors: TR
authors: Tsai
authors: Picarro, Inc., 3105 Patrick Henry Drive, Santa Clara, California 95054, United States.
authors: Connor G
authors: CG
authors: Botkin
authors: Picarro, Inc., 3105 Patrick Henry Drive, Santa Clara, California 95054, United States.
authors: Eric R
authors: ER
authors: Crosson
authors: Picarro, Inc., 3105 Patrick Henry Drive, Santa Clara, California 95054, United States.
authors: David
authors: D
authors: Steele
mesh_terms: D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D008697:Methane / Q000032:analysis*; D059206:Natural Gas; D061329:Oil and Gas Fields; D000066388:Oil and Gas Industry / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D013781:Texas
chemical_list: D000393:Air Pollutants; D059206:Natural Gas; D008697:Methane