Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics (Sep 2023)
High potential for CH<sub>4</sub> emission mitigation from oil infrastructure in one of EU's major production regions
- F. Stavropoulou,
- K. Vinković,
- B. Kers,
- M. de Vries,
- S. van Heuven,
- P. Korbeń,
- M. Schmidt,
- J. Wietzel,
- P. Jagoda,
- J. M. Necki,
- J. Bartyzel,
- H. Maazallahi,
- M. Menoud,
- C. van der Veen,
- S. Walter,
- B. Tuzson,
- J. Ravelid,
- R. P. Morales,
- L. Emmenegger,
- D. Brunner,
- M. Steiner,
- A. Hensen,
- I. Velzeboer,
- P. van den Bulk,
- H. Denier van der Gon,
- A. Delre,
- M. E. Edjabou,
- C. Scheutz,
- M. Corbu,
- M. Corbu,
- S. Iancu,
- D. Moaca,
- A. Scarlat,
- A. Scarlat,
- A. Tudor,
- A. Tudor,
- I. Vizireanu,
- A. Calcan,
- M. Ardelean,
- S. Ghemulet,
- A. Pana,
- A. Constantinescu,
- L. Cusa,
- A. Nica,
- C. Baciu,
- C. Pop,
- A. Radovici,
- A. Mereuta,
- H. Stefanie,
- A. Dandocsi,
- B. Hermans,
- S. Schwietzke,
- D. Zavala-Araiza,
- D. Zavala-Araiza,
- H. Chen,
- H. Chen,
- T. Röckmann
Affiliations
- F. Stavropoulou
- Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research Utrecht (IMAU), Utrecht University, 3584 CC Utrecht, the Netherlands
- K. Vinković
- Centre for Isotope Research (CIO), Energy and Sustainability Research Institute Groningen, University of Groningen, 9747 AG Groningen, the Netherlands
- B. Kers
- Centre for Isotope Research (CIO), Energy and Sustainability Research Institute Groningen, University of Groningen, 9747 AG Groningen, the Netherlands
- M. de Vries
- Centre for Isotope Research (CIO), Energy and Sustainability Research Institute Groningen, University of Groningen, 9747 AG Groningen, the Netherlands
- S. van Heuven
- Centre for Isotope Research (CIO), Energy and Sustainability Research Institute Groningen, University of Groningen, 9747 AG Groningen, the Netherlands
- P. Korbeń
- Institute of Environmental Physics, University of Heidelberg, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
- M. Schmidt
- Institute of Environmental Physics, University of Heidelberg, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
- J. Wietzel
- Institute of Environmental Physics, University of Heidelberg, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
- P. Jagoda
- Faculty of Physics and Applied Computer Science, AGH University of Science and Technology, 30-059 Krakow, Poland
- J. M. Necki
- Faculty of Physics and Applied Computer Science, AGH University of Science and Technology, 30-059 Krakow, Poland
- J. Bartyzel
- Faculty of Physics and Applied Computer Science, AGH University of Science and Technology, 30-059 Krakow, Poland
- H. Maazallahi
- Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research Utrecht (IMAU), Utrecht University, 3584 CC Utrecht, the Netherlands
- M. Menoud
- Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research Utrecht (IMAU), Utrecht University, 3584 CC Utrecht, the Netherlands
- C. van der Veen
- Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research Utrecht (IMAU), Utrecht University, 3584 CC Utrecht, the Netherlands
- S. Walter
- Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research Utrecht (IMAU), Utrecht University, 3584 CC Utrecht, the Netherlands
- B. Tuzson
- Laboratory for Air Pollution/Environmental Technology, Empa – Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, 8600 Dübendorf, Zurich, Switzerland
- J. Ravelid
- Laboratory for Air Pollution/Environmental Technology, Empa – Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, 8600 Dübendorf, Zurich, Switzerland
- R. P. Morales
- Laboratory for Air Pollution/Environmental Technology, Empa – Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, 8600 Dübendorf, Zurich, Switzerland
- L. Emmenegger
- Laboratory for Air Pollution/Environmental Technology, Empa – Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, 8600 Dübendorf, Zurich, Switzerland
- D. Brunner
- Laboratory for Air Pollution/Environmental Technology, Empa – Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, 8600 Dübendorf, Zurich, Switzerland
- M. Steiner
- Laboratory for Air Pollution/Environmental Technology, Empa – Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, 8600 Dübendorf, Zurich, Switzerland
- A. Hensen
- Department of Environmental Modelling, Sensing and Analysis, TNO, 1755 ZG Petten, the Netherlands
- I. Velzeboer
- Department of Environmental Modelling, Sensing and Analysis, TNO, 1755 ZG Petten, the Netherlands
- P. van den Bulk
- Department of Environmental Modelling, Sensing and Analysis, TNO, 1755 ZG Petten, the Netherlands
- H. Denier van der Gon
- Department of Environmental Modelling, Sensing and Analysis, TNO, 1755 ZG Petten, the Netherlands
- A. Delre
- Department of Environmental Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, 2800 Kongens Lyngby, Denmark
- M. E. Edjabou
- Department of Environmental Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, 2800 Kongens Lyngby, Denmark
- C. Scheutz
- Department of Environmental Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, 2800 Kongens Lyngby, Denmark
- M. Corbu
- Faculty of Physics, University of Bucharest, P.O. Box MG-11, 077125 Măgurele, Bucharest, Romania
- M. Corbu
- National Institute for Aerospace Research “Elie Carafoli” – INCAS, 061126 Bucharest, Romania
- S. Iancu
- National Institute for Aerospace Research “Elie Carafoli” – INCAS, 061126 Bucharest, Romania
- D. Moaca
- National Institute for Aerospace Research “Elie Carafoli” – INCAS, 061126 Bucharest, Romania
- A. Scarlat
- Faculty of Physics, University of Bucharest, P.O. Box MG-11, 077125 Măgurele, Bucharest, Romania
- A. Scarlat
- National Institute for Aerospace Research “Elie Carafoli” – INCAS, 061126 Bucharest, Romania
- A. Tudor
- Faculty of Physics, University of Bucharest, P.O. Box MG-11, 077125 Măgurele, Bucharest, Romania
- A. Tudor
- National Institute for Aerospace Research “Elie Carafoli” – INCAS, 061126 Bucharest, Romania
- I. Vizireanu
- National Institute for Aerospace Research “Elie Carafoli” – INCAS, 061126 Bucharest, Romania
- A. Calcan
- National Institute for Aerospace Research “Elie Carafoli” – INCAS, 061126 Bucharest, Romania
- M. Ardelean
- National Institute for Aerospace Research “Elie Carafoli” – INCAS, 061126 Bucharest, Romania
- S. Ghemulet
- National Institute for Aerospace Research “Elie Carafoli” – INCAS, 061126 Bucharest, Romania
- A. Pana
- National Institute for Aerospace Research “Elie Carafoli” – INCAS, 061126 Bucharest, Romania
- A. Constantinescu
- National Institute for Aerospace Research “Elie Carafoli” – INCAS, 061126 Bucharest, Romania
- L. Cusa
- National Institute for Aerospace Research “Elie Carafoli” – INCAS, 061126 Bucharest, Romania
- A. Nica
- National Institute for Aerospace Research “Elie Carafoli” – INCAS, 061126 Bucharest, Romania
- C. Baciu
- Faculty of Environmental Science and Engineering, Babes-Bolyai University, 400535 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
- C. Pop
- Faculty of Environmental Science and Engineering, Babes-Bolyai University, 400535 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
- A. Radovici
- Faculty of Environmental Science and Engineering, Babes-Bolyai University, 400535 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
- A. Mereuta
- Faculty of Environmental Science and Engineering, Babes-Bolyai University, 400535 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
- H. Stefanie
- Faculty of Environmental Science and Engineering, Babes-Bolyai University, 400535 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
- A. Dandocsi
- National Institute of Research and Development for Optoelectronics, 077125 Măgurele, Bucharest, Romania
- B. Hermans
- Intero - The Sniffers, 2490 Balen, Belgium
- S. Schwietzke
- Environmental Defense Fund, Berlin, Germany, and 1083 HN Amsterdam, the Netherlands
- D. Zavala-Araiza
- Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research Utrecht (IMAU), Utrecht University, 3584 CC Utrecht, the Netherlands
- D. Zavala-Araiza
- Environmental Defense Fund, Berlin, Germany, and 1083 HN Amsterdam, the Netherlands
- H. Chen
- Centre for Isotope Research (CIO), Energy and Sustainability Research Institute Groningen, University of Groningen, 9747 AG Groningen, the Netherlands
- H. Chen
- Joint International Research Laboratory of Atmospheric and Earth System Sciences, School of Atmospheric Sciences, Nanjing University, 210023 Nanjing, China
- T. Röckmann
- Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research Utrecht (IMAU), Utrecht University, 3584 CC Utrecht, the Netherlands
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-10399-2023
- Journal volume & issue
-
Vol. 23
pp. 10399 – 10412
Abstract
Ambitious methane (CH4) emission mitigation represents one of the most effective opportunities to slow the rate of global warming over the next decades. The oil and gas (O&G) sector is a significant source of methane emissions, with technically feasible and cost-effective emission mitigation options. Romania, a key O&G producer within the EU, with the second highest reported annual CH4 emissions from the energy sector in the year 2020 (Greenhouse Gas Inventory Data - Comparison by Category, 2022), can play an important role towards the EU's emission reduction targets. In this study, we quantify CH4 emissions from onshore oil production sites in Romania at source and facility level using a combination of ground- and drone-based measurement techniques. Measured emissions were characterized by heavily skewed distributions, with 10 % of the sites accounting for more than 70 % of total emissions. Integrating the results from all site-level quantifications with different approaches, we derive a central estimate of 5.4 kg h−1 per site of CH4 (3.6 %–8.4 %, 95 % confidence interval) for oil production sites. This estimate represents the third highest when compared to measurement-based estimates of similar facilities from other production regions. Based on our results, we estimate a total of 120 kt CH4 yr−1 (range: 79–180 kt yr−1) from oil production sites in our studied areas in Romania. This is approximately 2.5 times higher than the reported emissions from the entire Romanian oil production sector for 2020. Based on the source-level characterization, up to three-quarters of the detected emissions from oil production sites are related to operational venting. Our results suggest that O&G production infrastructure in Romania holds a massive mitigation potential, specifically by implementing measures to capture the gas and minimize operational venting and leaks.
