The Appalachian Methane Initiative (AMI) is a collaborative effort among major U.S. natural gas operators to address the challenge of methane emissions in the Appalachian Basin, one of the largest oil and gas fields in the United States. This initiative aims to enhance methane monitoring, facilitate emissions reductions, and support the sustainable position of Appalachian natural gas in the global energy system. The AMI's goals are threefold:

Measurement-Informed Inventory Estimates: to develop accurate facility-level, measurement-informed emissions information for oil and gas facilities using multi-scale measurements,
AMI vs. non-AMI Emissions Estimates: to develop accurate and consistent comparisons of methane emissions from AMI and non-AMI member companies,
Emissions Attribution Source Types: to develop accurate estimates of the contribution of different sources of methane emissions in the region, including coal mines, landfills, and CAFO operations.

The goals of the AMI project were translated into the following four scientific objectives:

Develop facility-level, measurement-informed emissions inventory estimates that account for intermittency, below detection threshold emissions, and one-time emissions events such as those arising from maintenance activities.
Reconcile emissions estimates from multiple technologies through statistical modeling, operator root-cause analysis, and measurement data.
Reconcile measurement-informed emissions inventory with operator reported emissions inventory estimates (e.g., EPA greenhouse gas reporting program).
Identify minimum operational data required to reasonably estimate measurement-informed emissions inventories.

For questions, please contact Arvind Ravikumar at arvind.ravikumar@austin.utexas.edu or or Matt Harrison at mrharrison@slrconsulting.com

For inquiries on collaborative projects with EEMDL, please contact eemdl@utexas.edu

The 2023 AMI pilot measurement campaign was divided into two pilot regions - the southwest pilot region and the northeast pilot region as shown below. The southwest pilot region consisted of 425 oil and gas facilities (AMI and non-AMI), 14 coal mine operations, and 1 landfill. The northeast pilot region consisted of 168 oil and gas facilities (AMI and non-AMI), 4 CAFOs, and 2 landfills.

The pilot measurement campaign had three survey periods one each in Q2, Q3, and Q4 of 2023. These included facility-level measurements using aerial surveys by Bridger Photonics during each of the three quarters, regional mass balance measurements and raster scan for hotspot detection using flyovers by Champion X in Q3, and continuous monitoring systems deployed on select AMI member facilities. Bridger Photonics provided equipment-level detection and quantification of methane emissions, along with visual plume imagery for follow up by the facilities operated by AMI members. ChampionX provided both regional emissions estimates through mass-balance measurements and select facility-level emissions estimates identified during the raster scan of both pilot regions.

A key aspect of the AMI pilot program is that access to data collected by all technologies were provided directly to the scientific team for analysis - the operators did not play any role in the development of models or analysis of measurement data, except as requested by the scientific team. These requests were based on the scientific needs of the project, including the development of models that incorporated operational data. The Energy Emissions Modeling and Data Lab or EEMDL at the University of Texas at Austin, supported by SLR International, led all the scientific analysis on the AMI pilot project. EEMDL is a consortium of leading methane emissions measurement and analysis experts from three universities - the University of Texas at Austin, Colorado State University, and Colorado School of Mines.

The Appalachian Methane Initiative (AMI) employs a suite of advanced measurement technologies to complement and enhance the emissions information gathered from one of the largest oil and gas fields in the United States. These technologies are designed to detect, attribute, and quantify methane emissions with high precision and at various scales, from individual facilities to larger regional assessments.

Bridger Photonics: Bridger Photonics gas mapping LIDAR uses a downward looking laser system that sweeps perpendicularly across the direction of flight of an aircraft and calculates a path-integrated methane concentration (ppm-m) from the aircraft to the ground. Bridger's technology is based on frequency modulated continuous-wave LIDAR. This system detects concentrated (point source) emissions that produce sufficient imaging contrast to separate the emissions plume from background methane concentrations.
ChampionX: ChampionX uses a cavity ringdown spectrometer on an aerial platform to conduct mass balance measurements. A Picarro G2301 gas analyzer (Picarro Inc., Santa Clara, CA) measured ambient CH4 concentrations. They conducted aerial mass balance measurements that consists of perimeter box flights around the region of interest through the methane plume column. The measurement begins at as low an altitude as allowed by FAA regulations (e.g., 200 ft - 400 ft above ground level) and climbing until on-board measurements detect no plumes. This is indicated by the absence of any strong methane concentration enhancement upwind or downwind of the region.
Continuous Monitoring Systems (CMS): The AMI also incorporates a range of Continuous Monitoring Systems from various technology vendors. Most of these systems use a network of point-in-space sensors to measure methane concentrations in near real-time. These sensors are strategically placed to monitor emissions continuously, providing a dynamic picture of methane release. With the help of inversion algorithms, these systems can attribute and quantify emissions at the equipment level, offering detailed insights into the sources of methane emissions.

Looking ahead to 2024 and beyond, the AMI plans to expand its measurement capabilities by potentially incorporating analysis of publicly available satellite information. Satellite data can offer a broader perspective and complement ground-based and aerial measurements, providing a more complete understanding of methane emissions over time and across larger geographic areas.

The Energy Emissions Modeling and Data Lab (EEMDL) is a multi-disciplinary research and education center that operates as a global data and analytics hub, focusing on improving greenhouse gas emissions accounting across energy supply chains. This initiative is a collaborative effort involving the University of Texas at Austin, Colorado State University, and the Colorado School of Mines. EEMDL's mission is to provide reliable, science-based, transparent, and measurement-based greenhouse gas emissions assessments of global oil and gas supply chains. The lab aims to achieve this through the development of community models and tools for greenhouse gas emissions assessments, the provision of publicly available timely, high-resolution emissions datasets, and the creation of educational and training materials to enable widespread use of EEMDL's models and data.

The lab is focused on addressing the challenge of interpreting measurements to develop supply chain emissions intensities or measurement-informed emissions inventories. To achieve this, EEMDL leverages recent advances in technologies such as aerial systems, satellites, and continuous emissions monitoring systems to gain unprecedented insight into global oil and gas methane emissions. By providing standardized ways to interpret greenhouse gas emissions measurement data, EEMDL aims to support improved greenhouse gas emissions accounting across energy supply chains.

For questions, please contact Arvind Ravikumar at arvind.ravikumar@austin.utexas.edu

For inquiries on collaborative projects with EEMDL, please contact eemdl@utexas.edu

Appalachian Methane Initiative

A coalition addressing the methane challenge by deploying comprehensive multi-scale methane monitoring systems in one of the largest oil and gas fields in the United States.

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