Re-imagining how methane emissions from the oil and gas industry are tracked and analyzed to drive large-scale emission reductions
Project Astra
Project Astra is a collaborative effort led by the University of Texas at Austin, which is at the forefront of methane detection and reducing methane emissions. The team is developing an innovative sensor network that will harness advances in methane-sensing technologies, data sharing, and data analytics to provide near-continuous emissions monitoring across oil and gas facilities in the Permian Basin and feed information into decision tools.
This first-of-its-kind high-frequency smart monitoring system will transform the way methane emissions are detected. It will identify sites with leaks, feed data to a central system that can quickly notify field response crews and speed repair, increase the frequency of inspections, and provide an affordable, efficient solution to help reduce total methane emissions that contribute to climate warming.
Project Astra (Phase 1)
The Project Astra partnership, formed in 2020, is led by the University of Texas Center for Energy and Environmental Resources, and includes Chevron, the Environmental Defense Fund, ExxonMobil, GTI Energy, Microsoft, Pioneer Natural Resources, and SLB. Since 2020, the goal of the Project has been to test the effectiveness of a shared network of fixed methane emission monitors in detecting methane emissions from oil and gas operations.
The field deployment of Project Astra, located near Midland, Texas, encompasses production sites representative of the Permian Basin. The Permian Basin was selected for this demonstration based on its status as the largest oil and gas production region in the United States, measured by production volume. This region's uncomplicated topography, coupled with its robust and consistent wind patterns, makes it an ideal choice. Furthermore, the close proximity of oil and gas production sites within the Permian Basin amplifies the benefits of a shared sensor network.
Multiple commercially available sensing systems were field tested; two types of high precision infrared sensing systems and one moderate precision metal oxide semiconductor sensing system were chosen for network deployment.
The network was designed to simultaneously test (i) a dense network of moderate resolution sensors and (ii) a sparse network of high resolution sensors, with both networks designed to cover the entire test region. Some individual sites were equipped with multiple sensors to enable comparison of single and multiple site deployments. Network design software based on dispersion modeling was developed and tested.
Software systems were developed and tested for background correction and emission event detection. On-going work is developing tools for source attribution, quantifying emission event durations, and reducing uncertainty in emission rate quantification.
Project Astra (Phase 2)
In October 2023, the U.S. Department of Energy funded the next phase of Project Astra through the National Energy Technology Laboratory DE-FE0032291. Phase 2 of Project Astra will be a four-year effort to expand and improve the capabilities of the surface-based methane monitoring network. The types of facilities sampled will be expanded from primarily oil and gas production pads to include gas gathering and boosting sites, and gas processing sites.
This phase will continue work on emission detection, focusing on characterizing the frequency and duration of emission events and assessing the network's ability to quantify emissions. This expansion of detection and quantification capabilities will enable the development of emission factors, region-specific emission inventories, and the characterization of the magnitudes, frequencies, and durations of emission events.
Current data analysis methods are often labor-intensive and time-consuming. The forthcoming automation of these data analytics processes will streamline operations and provide valuable insights to guide the development of future monitoring system designs.
The operation of methane emission monitoring systems necessitates specialized training. Accordingly, comprehensive training programs will be devised to enhance workforce development.
Why is this work so important?
Methane is a considerable driver of near-term climate change, with a global warming potential 84-86 times that of carbon dioxide on a 20-year basis. It’s an important priority for reduction because, in addition to its potency, it degrades in the atmosphere after 10-20 years, meaning that action today can be felt in near future. According to the U.S. EPA, natural gas and petroleum systems contributed 30% to U.S. methane emissions.
The United States has become the world’s largest producer of natural gas and a major exporter. With more than 1 million existing oil and gas wells in the U.S., comprehensive and continuous monitoring of well sites and associated infrastructure is critical to one day ultimately prevent methane emissions.
Methane leaks can occur anywhere and anytime. If unknown or undetected, these leaks can persist for extended periods and result in significant emissions.
Project Astra is about testing a technology concept that can scale continuous monitoring to the entire industry – for companies big and small – at or below the cost of today’s monitoring technologies.
The team is developing an innovative high-frequency network of sensors that communicate measurements remotely, offering automated regional monitoring. Once operational, this kind of smart digital network would allow producers and regulators to pinpoint methane releases for mitigation and offer the ability to easily increase the frequency of measuring.
We’ve assembled the right innovators to work on this multi-year project, and we are committed to rigorously testing the best solutions that can deliver the fastest, least costly reductions and demonstrate the technologies with the potential to help an entire industry improve its methane performance.
Learn more at the Project Astra University of Texas-Austin technical website
News
Methane Sensor Inter-comparison Completed
Seven promising new methane sensor technologies were deployed and field-tested in The West Texas Methane Showdown, a pilot program that was launched in October 2020 and was completed in June 2021.
Chevron, Microsoft, and Schlumberger Sign Memorandum of Understanding
Three new companies join original partners EDF, ExxonMobil, GTI Energy, Pioneer Natural Resources, and the University of Texas.
Collaboratory to Advance Methane Science to Fund Development of Pilot Region Digital Twins
Simulation of atmospheric concentrations in the Project Astra pilot region will guide network design and data analytics. Members of CAMS who are supporting the effort include Cheniere, Chevron, Equinor, ExxonMobil, Pioneer Natural Resources, Sempra LNG and SIEP, Inc. (Shell).
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