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Examining Daily Temporal Characteristics of Oil and Gas Methane Emissions in the Delaware Basin Using Continuous Tower Observations
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  • Zachary Robert Barkley,
  • Kenneth J. Davis,
  • Natasha L. Miles,
  • Scott J. Richardson
Zachary Robert Barkley
The Pennsylvania State University

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Kenneth J. Davis
Pennsylvania State University
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Natasha L. Miles
Pennsylvania State University
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Scott J. Richardson
Pennsylvania State University
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Abstract

Top-down studies have found consistent underestimations in the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) methane emissions inventory from the oil and gas (O&G) sector. Many of these studies use observations that bias towards hours when worktime activity occurs. In this study we analyze over two years of methane measurements from a tower network in the Delaware basin to analyze hourly temporal emission patterns. Inversion results suggest a range in emissions from 134 Mg/hr at night to 196 Mg/hr during the day, present during both weekdays and weekends. If these results are applicable to other basins, daytime-influenced methodologies may overestimate daily emission rates by up to 27%. This bias does not reconcile the more than 200% difference between the EPA inventory and top-down estimates in the Delaware basin. This study demonstrates how continuous measurement networks can be combined with detailed activity data to improve bottom-up inventories.
09 Jul 2024Submitted to ESS Open Archive
15 Jul 2024Published in ESS Open Archive