Project Plan:

The ADED project is focused on developing, testing, and improving both the controlled testing and field trials protocols. The implementation of the test protocols does not only show the state-of-art of new generation LDAQ solutions, but it is also a major step towards producing a rigorous, consensus, and technology-independent framework for assessing LDAQ solutions. The development of the test protocols required multistakeholder collaborations which includes oil and gas operators, LDAQ solution developers, regulators, and environmental NGOs. The implementation of the protocols involved the deployment and testing of interested LDAQ solutions at METEC (both continuous monitors and survey systems), and at partner operators’ facilities during field trials. The project sponsors, and both the state and federal regulators have been, and will be, kept updated on project status, milestones achieved, and key lessons learned through regular project-status presentations and meetings. The lessons learned from the assessment of the protocols are shared with the public through a peer-reviewed publication of the blinded performance of participating LDAQ solutions. These lessons inform the revision and subsequent ongoing improvement of these protocols in preparation for the next round of LDAQ solutions testing.

Schedule:

• The first round of the evaluation of controlled testing protocol for continuous LDAQ solutions was in March – October 2021 and February – May 2022. The second round was between February and April 2023.
• The assessment of a similar protocol but for survey LDAQ solutions has been ongoing periodically from 2021 till date.
• The first iteration of field trials of the test protocols ended in February 2023. Plans for the second round of is currently in motion with deployment expected in the next few months.

Accomplishments/Results: 

The ADED program began by creating methane-controlled release (CR) testing protocols for continuous monitoring (CM) and survey technologies that detect and monitor methane emissions at O&G facilities. The protocols were then implemented throughout testing of CM and survey devices at CSU’s Methane Emissions Technology Evaluation Center (METEC) facility from 2021 through 2024. As a part of the protocol, solutions that tested under the ADED program installed their solutions at METEC, documented their system under test, and provided detection reports to the METEC team for analysis. The METEC team would provide the solutions with analyzed reports of their emissions and ground truth data of the releases conducted during their testing session. Under the ADED program, CMs were also tested at O&G facilities for a six-week test run of challenge release (ChR) releases. The findings from the ADED program underscore the critical role of collaborative research and innovation in tackling methane emissions, offering a pathway for the oil and gas sector to achieve significant environmental and economic benefits.

Results from METEC testing saw improvement of performance and accuracy across all solutions over the extent of the ADED experiments. The results also showed a variance in CM solution performance between CRs and ChRs. That variance pushed the team to further analyze the differences between CR testing environments and field conditions. With the drive from regulations and that variance in field conditions, the ADED team began designing a new CR testing protocol and additions to the METEC testing facility.

The METEC team is furthering the progress made through the ADED program with awarded funding from DE-FE0032276. This funding pushes the development of METEC’s addition with new equipment, allowing for an updated facility layout. METEC still facilitates for traditional facilities, with a legacy pad, while expanding a new design based on how O&G infrastructure has been changed over the last decade. Throughout the ADED program the team has also been working with international partners to ensure staying in the trend globally. International partners have been essential in moving the new protocol forward to implement into CR testing at the METEC facility in Spring 2025.