Research
The METEC Research Group centers around a staff of research scientists, management, and students who research emissions from oil & gas (O&G) infrastructure.
Research includes experimental investigations, field campaigns, emission simulation, and controlled testing.


Methane Emissions:
Natural gas is an important source of power in the United States. An estimated 300,000 miles of pipeline transport natural gas across the country, while thousands of gathering, processing, and storage facilities prepare and store the gas for end users.
At each point in the process of production, methane can be released into the atmosphere as a result of leakage. On a twenty-year time horizon, methane is 80 times more potent as a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide.
The Energy Institute at Colorado State University partners with universities, research institutions, and the natural gas industry to discover new and effective methods for finding and reducing methane leaks at every stage of natural gas production.
Improving Performance of Leak Detection
Multi – University Research Programs
Field Campaigns
- Colorado Coordinated Campaign (C3), Prototypical Site Modeling
- Top Down/Bottom Up Emission Reconciliation (CAMS TOPBOT)
- Colorado Orphaned and Abandoned Wells Study
- Midstream Quantification, Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (QMRV)
- Site-Aerial-Basin Emissions Reconciliation (SABER)
- Storage Tank Emissions Assessment and Quantification (STEAQ)
Pipeline Emissions
- Practical Protocols for Pipeline Leak Detection (P3LD)
- Partnership for Practical Pipeline Protocols (P4)
- Flow and Transport of Methane from Leaking Underground Pipelines
- Accelerating Pipeline Leak Detection Quantification Solutions Through Transparent and Rigorous Scientific Validation (APpLIED)
- Innovative Sensor Network for Subsurface Emissions (InSENSE)
- Response Protocol for Large Underground Methane Emissions (RPLUME)
- Upstream Pipeline Safety, Integrity and Detection (UPSIDE)
Past Projects
- ARPA-E Monitor: METEC Site Development
- Fayetteville Study: Basin Reconciliation
- Fenceline Monitors Parameters
- Gathering Emission Factors Study (GEF)
- Inline Midstream Instruments (PRCI MEAS-9-01)
- Marginal Wells
- Methane Emissions from Natural Gas Compression Operations in Gaslift and Gathering and Boosting Service
- Methane Emissions from U.S. Natural Gas Gathering and Processing
- M&M Gas Migration
- OGI Efficacy Study
- Emissions from Landfill Renewable Natural Gas (RNG) Plants in the Central USA
- Transmission and Storage Measurement
News & Publications
Visit the METEC News and Publications webpage for additional links to up-to-date research published by the Group.
