Efficient Detection and Quantification of Methane Emissions of Abandoned Oil and Gas Wells

Abstract

There are an unknown number of abandoned oil and gas wells (AOGs) in the United States. Methane emitted from unplugged AOGs make up an uncertain range of total methane emissions. Past methods employed in locating AOGs have proven ineffective, time-consuming, and expensive. Locating, quantifying and plugging especially active AOGs will help decrease passive methane emissions. The task of locating and quantifying AOGs can be improved by using data collected during an initial aerial magnetometry survey over the study area. Our team conducted a ground-based magnetometry survey to compare the pace with a past terrestrial survey. During location and quantification of methane emissions from GPS-located magnetic anomalies, we were able to quantify 30 wells over 3 days. Methane detected from AOGs ranged from zero to low-explosive levels of methane. Exploring the behavior of AOGs through quantification is important to the future of plugging initiatives and further nationwide mitigation.