Estimating Methane Emissions from the Upstream Oil and Gas Industry Using a Multi-Stage Framework

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Wigle, Augustine, Beliveau, Audrey
Format: Preprint
Published: 2024
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author Wigle, Augustine
Beliveau, Audrey
author_facet Wigle, Augustine
Beliveau, Audrey
contents Measurement-based methane inventories, which involve surveying oil and gas facilities and compiling data to estimate methane emissions, are becoming the gold standard for quantifying emissions. However, there is a current lack of statistical guidance for the design and analysis of such surveys. The only existing method is a Monte Carlo procedure which is difficult to interpret, computationally intensive, and lacks available open-source code for its implementation. We provide an alternative method by framing methane surveys in the context of multi-stage sampling designs. We contribute estimators of the total emissions along with variance estimators which do not require simulation, as well as stratum-level total estimators. We show that the variance contribution from each stage of sampling can be estimated to inform the design of future surveys. We also introduce a more efficient modification of the estimator. Finally, we propose combining the multi-stage approach with a simple Monte Carlo procedure to model measurement error. The resulting methods are interpretable and require minimal computational resources. We apply the methods to aerial survey data of oil and gas facilities in British Columbia, Canada, to estimate the methane emissions in the province. An R package is provided to facilitate the use of the methods.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2407_08827
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Estimating Methane Emissions from the Upstream Oil and Gas Industry Using a Multi-Stage Framework
Wigle, Augustine
Beliveau, Audrey
Methodology
Applications
Measurement-based methane inventories, which involve surveying oil and gas facilities and compiling data to estimate methane emissions, are becoming the gold standard for quantifying emissions. However, there is a current lack of statistical guidance for the design and analysis of such surveys. The only existing method is a Monte Carlo procedure which is difficult to interpret, computationally intensive, and lacks available open-source code for its implementation. We provide an alternative method by framing methane surveys in the context of multi-stage sampling designs. We contribute estimators of the total emissions along with variance estimators which do not require simulation, as well as stratum-level total estimators. We show that the variance contribution from each stage of sampling can be estimated to inform the design of future surveys. We also introduce a more efficient modification of the estimator. Finally, we propose combining the multi-stage approach with a simple Monte Carlo procedure to model measurement error. The resulting methods are interpretable and require minimal computational resources. We apply the methods to aerial survey data of oil and gas facilities in British Columbia, Canada, to estimate the methane emissions in the province. An R package is provided to facilitate the use of the methods.
title Estimating Methane Emissions from the Upstream Oil and Gas Industry Using a Multi-Stage Framework
topic Methodology
Applications
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2407.08827