Peak Covariance Method for Use on Oil and Natural Gas Production Facilities

Co-PIs: Drs. Jeffrey Nivitanont and Shane Murphy

Project Name: Intensive Field-Based Evaluation of the Downwind Transect Quantification - Peak Covariance Method for Use on Oil and Natural Gas Production Facilities

Natural gas burns cleaner than coal, but leaks can reduce its environmental benefits, and measuring those leaks is often difficult and expensive. This project seeks to create a simple and low-cost way to estimate gas leaks using sensors mounted on a car.

How this research affects the public

Problem

Natural gas is a cleaner burning fuel than coal and has less global warming impact as long as too much of it does not leak into the atmosphere during production. It is easy to find natural gas leaks from production equipment, but it is difficult, expensive, and/or time-consuming to know how much is leaking

Solution/Product

We are creating a new way to quickly and cheaply estimate how much gas an oil and natural gas producing facility is leaking with only a gas sniffer and wind instrument installed on a car.

Wyoming Impact

Wyoming is a top-10 US state for natural gas production. The global demand for cleanly produced natural gas is rising due to the environmental impacts of coal and being able to quickly and cheaply prove how clean Wyoming natural gas is will help it be more competitive on the market.