Flare emissions from unconventional oil and gas extraction and processing: An NSERC Strategic Network for cleaner fossil fuels

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Emissions from flaring are a significant global concern. Satellite data suggest worldwide flared volumes exceed 140 billion m3 annually, where much of it is associated with development of unconventional oil and gas resources. In addition to being an important source of climate forcing CO2 emissions, flaring is implicated as a critical source of black carbon and other air toxic species. Flaring in Canada has risen sharply in recent years, directly related to a rapid expansion in hydrofractured tight oil and tight gas developments. Issues of flare emissions are most acute at these sites, where flaring during flowback operations has potential to burn entrained aerosol species originating as injected fracturing fluids and/or returning formation liquids. Data and models to accurately predict flare emissions are critically lacking such that current emission factors relied upon to calculate pollutant inventories and guide regulation are questionably relevant. The overarching objective of this NSERC Strategic Network is to provide a quantitative understanding of flare generated pollutant emissions critical to enabling science-based regulations, accurate pollutant inventories, understanding of climate forcing and health implications, and engineered mitigation strategies to make fossil fuels cleaner. The Network integrates a diverse group of researchers capable of meeting these research challenges through ambitious, collaborative, large-scale experiments that will significantly advance the field, while training vital new HQP in this important area. The Network aligns perfectly with NSERC's priority target areas in Natural Resources and Energy, which are focused on Unconventional Oil and Gas Extraction and strategies to optimize the clean exploitation of shale and tight gas resources. The energy sector is a dominant force in the Canadian economy, and as Canadian (and global) production shifts to exploiting shale and tight gas resources, the proposed research is critical for enabling responsible development and mitigating pollution. Society as a whole will be the ultimate beneficiary of this work through access to cleaner fossil fuels, where the low-carbon potential of unconventional gas resources is finally achieved.