The Collaboratory for Advancing Methane Science (CAMS) announces that Williams has joined the industry-led research consortium that works to better characterize and understand methane emissions. CAMS members work collaboratively to provide actionable, transparent methane science to contribute to the understanding of methane emissions across the oil and gas value chain and inform mitigation strategies. Williams joins other CAMS members, including Cheniere, Chevron, ExxonMobil, Pioneer Natural Resources, Sempra LNG and Shell, who reportedly share this commitment to advancing methane science in the public domain.
The collaborative’s first project, the Methane Emission Estimate Tool (MEET), resulted in the development of a community modeling tool for constructing inventories of emissions from producing oil and gas operations, enabling operators to evaluate effectiveness of both detection and mitigation strategies. Subsequent projects sponsored by CAMS have applied this tool to simulate areas of higher methane concentrations in association with Project Astra, a pioneering multi-operator sensor network that leverages advances in methane-sensing technologies and data analytics to provide comprehensive and near-continuous monitoring.
Additional CAMS-sponsored projects have included a Permian Basin Aerial Emissions Survey identifying and statistically analyzing leaks in the Permian Basin by type of equipment, along with a first-of-its-kind study conducted by Queen Mary University of London to directly measure methane emissions of an operating liquefied natural gas (LNG) vessel. Results from the LNG Carrier Emissions Measurement study will be published in early 2022 and will provide critical, data-driven insights into the greenhouse gas profile of LNG carriers to identify opportunities for environmental performance improvement.
Looking ahead, CAMS members are planning to focus on improving our understanding of satellite emissions data as well as create refined emissions profiles and methane abatement strategies for natural gas pneumatic control devices.
“In the Permian, the midstream sector plays a critical role in minimizing methane emissions,” says Mark Berg, EVP of corporate operations for Pioneer. “Collectively working with midstream partners like Williams is important to the success of CAMS’ collaborative efforts to understand and resolve methane challenges.”
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