Demonstration Of A Comprehensive Approach To Monitoring Emissions From Oil and Gas Installations (AEOG)

过去一个世纪，由于人为活动，大气中甲烷(CH4)和二氧化碳(CO2)的浓度显著增加，英国近海石油和天然气部门估计产生约1320万吨二氧化碳和120万吨二氧化碳当量甲烷。近海大气排放报告在一定程度上是行业主导的，从最初的许可证到使用环境和排放监测系统(EEM)的自律报告。BEIS(商业、能源和工业策略部)将环境、能源和工业战略视为其环境监管职能的关键要素，其中的数据用于政府报告要求和政策制定和应用。排放是自我监管的，没有对环境监测系统报告的排放量与实际排放量之间的关系进行独立检查。这一建议提供了一种新的方法，可以利用从研究飞机上进行的观测来验证环境监测和初步许可。目前近海的“大气”许可和报告包括二氧化碳、氮氧化物、一氧化二氮、二氧化硫、一氧化碳、甲烷和非甲烷挥发性有机化合物的排放。使用基于总燃料燃烧和/或烟囱采样数据的排放系数，根据测量的燃料使用来计算发电量排放量。燃烧排放量是根据使用排放系数测量的总燃料燃烧来计算的。排放基于测量或估计的总释放量。逃逸排放是基于与任何记录的意外泄漏相关的估计，并根据设施内组件和连接的数量(被认为是泄漏的主要来源)及其使用年限计算损失。然而，该方法使用了与年龄相关的比例系数，如果安装是在1988年之前建造的，则该系数适用。所有这些方法都必须假定有一套通用的标准系数，或者设施可以使用来自堆叠监测的自己的系数，这些系数普遍适用于所有近海石油和天然气运营公司及其设施。由于重大的后勤、健康、安全和成本问题，对近海排放的直接测量或监测受到限制。因此，它仅限于燃气轮机等主要燃烧来源。对于大多数污染源，排放量是根据活动数据计算的，例如使用燃料消耗数据或与标准或安装特定排放系数相关联的测量火炬体积，使用测量或估计的通风量，或使用对逃逸损失的行业标准估计。这些方法有很大的风险，可能会遗漏重大排放，任何额外的监测工具都对行业、监管机构和负责编制英国大气排放数据的机构非常感兴趣。NCAS开发的用于监测埃尔金气体释放过程中的气体羽流的技术已经证明，空中监测加上创新的大气模型，可以在几小时内全面调查大片区域和许多单独的设施(在一个高度上，在4小时内覆盖800海里)。这种排放评估方法估计了根据顺风羽流中各种气体的海拔高度计算出的总排放负荷。这种方法有可能为监管机构BEIS提供新的工具来验证排放水平，并有可能提供一种对行业来说比常规烟囱监测调查成本更低、与影响评估更相关的监测方法。该项目将与BEIS和Ricardo合作，展示空中方法如何帮助现有的监管方法，提供支持改进排放估计的数据，并让BEIS相信运营商在他们的许可证和EEM报告中报告了合理和可实现的估计。

Atmospheric concentrations of methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2) have increased significantly over the past century due to anthropogenic activity, with the UK offshore oil and gas sector is estimated to produce around 13.2 million tonnes of CO2 and 1.2 million tonnes CO2 equivalent of CH4. Offshore atmospheric emissions reporting are partly industry-led, from the initial permit through to the self-regulatory reporting using EEMS (Environment and Emissions Monitoring System). BEIS (Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy), regards EEMS as a key element in its environmental regulatory function and data within is used for government reporting requirements and policy development and application. Emissions are self-regulated and there is no independent check on how the emissions reported in EEMS relate to the actual emissions. This proposal offers a new methodology whereby the EEMS and initial permitting can be validated using observations from research aircraft.Currently offshore "atmospherics" permitting and reporting includes the emissions of carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides, nitrous oxide, sulphur dioxide, carbon monoxide, methane and non-methane volatile organic compounds. Energy generation emissions are calculated from measured fuel use using emission factors based on total fuel combustion and / or stack sampling data. Flaring emissions are calculated based on total measured fuel combustion using emission factors. Venting emissions are based on total measured or estimated release volumes. Fugitive emissions are based on estimates relating to any recorded accidental release, and calculated losses based on the number of components and connections (thought to be the primary source of leaks) within an installation and its age. However, the methodology uses an age-related scale factor which becomes applicable when if the installation was built pre-1988. All of these approaches necessarily assume that there is a common set of standard factors, or installations can use their own factor from stack monitoring, that are universally applicable to all offshore oil and gas operating companies and their installations. Direct measurement or monitoring of emissions offshore is limited because of significant logistical, health and safety and cost issues. It is therefore restricted to major combustion sources such as gas turbines. For most sources, emissions are calculated, based on activity data, for example using fuel consumption data or measured flare volumes allied with standard or installation specific emission factors, using measured or estimated venting volumes, or using industry standard estimates for fugitive losses. These methodologies carry a substantial risk that significant emissions may be missed, and any additional monitoring tool is of considerable interest to the industry, the regulator and the body responsible for compiling UK atmospheric emissions data.Techniques developed by NCAS for monitoring gas plumes during the Elgin gas release, have demonstrated that airborne monitoring, coupled with innovative atmospheric modelling, can comprehensively survey large areas and many individual installations within hours (800 nautical miles covered in 4 hours at one altitude). This approach to emissions assessment estimates the total emission loads calculated from the elevation of various gases in the downwind plume. This approach has the potential to provide the regulator, BEIS, with new tools to validate emission levels, and has the potential to provide a monitoring method that is lower cost to the industry then regular stack monitoring surveys and more relevant to impact assessment. The project will work together with BEIS and RICARDO to demonstrate how an airborne methodology can aid existing regulatory approaches, provide data that supports improved emissions estimates and give BEIS the confidence that that operators are reporting sensible and achievable estimates in their permits and EEMS reporting.