Canada Methane Cost Curve Report

Economic Analysis of Methane Emission
Reduction Opportunities in the Canadian Oil

and Natural Gas Industries

EconomicAnalysisof
MethaneEmission
ReductionOpportunities
intheCanadianOiland
NaturalGasIndustries

September2015
Preparedfor
EnvironmentalDefenseFund
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EconomicAnalysisofMethaneEmissionReductionOpportunitiesintheCanadianOilandNaturalGasIndustries
Contents
1. ExecutiveSummary....................................................................................................................11
2. Introduction...............................................................................................................................21
2.1. GoalsandApproachoftheStudy..............................................................................................22
2.2. OverviewofGasSectorMethaneEmissions.............................................................................22
2.3. ClimateChangeForcingEffectsofMethane.............................................................................26
2.4. CostEffectivenessofEmissionReductions...............................................................................26
2.5. CanadianRegulatoryLandscape................................................................................................28
3. ApproachandMethodology.......................................................................................................31
3.1. OverviewofMethodology.........................................................................................................31
3.2. Developmentofthe2013BaselineInventory...........................................................................33
3.3. Projectionto2020.....................................................................................................................36
3.4. IdentificationofTargetedEmissionSources.............................................................................38
3.5. SelectedMitigationTechnologies...........................................................................................311
3.6. SourceCategoriesNotIncludedinMACAnalysis....................................................................327
4. AnalyticalResults.......................................................................................................................41
4.1. DevelopmentofEmissionControlCostCurves.........................................................................41
4.2. EmissionReductionCostCurves................................................................................................42
4.3. CoBenefits..............................................................................................................................413
5. Conclusions................................................................................................................................51
AppendixA.Developmentofthe2013BaselineInventory................................................................A1
AppendixB.EmissionProjectionto2020..........................................................................................B1
AppendixC.AdditionalTablesandFigures........................................................................................C1
AppendixD.EmissionsCalculationswithGWPSensitivities..............................................................D1

Figures
Figure11MarginalAbatementCostCurveforMethaneReductionsbySource...................................13
Figure21NaturalGasIndustryProcessesandExampleMethaneEmissionSources............................23
Figure31EmissionProjectionsto2020(IncludingOffshoreandExcludingOilSands)......................37
Figure32DistributionofEmissionsin2020...........................................................................................37
Figure33Top2020ProjectedMethaneEmissionsSources................................................................310
Figure34ReciprocatingCompressorRodPacking...............................................................................315
Figure35WetSealCompressorSchematic..........................................................................................318
Figure36PlungerLiftSchematic..........................................................................................................321
Figure41ExampleMACCurve...............................................................................................................42
Figure42NationalAggregateMACCurveforBaselineTechnologyAssumptions................................43
Figure43DistributionofEmissionReductionPotential.........................................................................46
Figure44EmissionReductionbyIndustrySegment..............................................................................47
Figure45EmissionReductionsfortheGasProductionSegment.........................................................48
Figure46EmissionReductionsfortheOilProductionSegment............................................................49
ICFInternational iii September2015

Figure47EmissionReductionsfortheGatheringandBoostingSegment...........................................410
Figure48EmissionsReductionsfortheGasTransmissionSegment...................................................411
Figure49EmissionsReductionsfortheGasProcessingSegment.......................................................412
Figure51MarginalAbatementCostCurveforMethaneReductionsbySource...................................52
Tables
Table31:2013BaselineInventoryEmissionsbySegment.......................................................................36
Table32HighestEmittingOnshoreMethaneSourceCategoriesin2020.............................................38
Table33LDARHourlyCostCalculation................................................................................................312
Table34CostCalculationQuarterlyLDAR........................................................................................314
Table35AssumptionsforRodPackingReplacement..........................................................................316
Table36AssumptionsforVaporRecoveryUnits..................................................................................320
Table37SummaryofMitigationMeasuresApplied............................................................................325
Table38SummaryofMitigationMeasureCharacteristics..................................................................326
Table41AnnualizedCost,ReductionPotential,Cost/Mcf,andInitialCapitalCost..............................45
ICFInternational iv September2015
Acknowledgement

ICF received and considered data or commentary from numerous stakeholder organizations,
including oil and gas producers, industry associations, pipelines, equipment vendors, service
providers,NGOs,andgovernments.Noinformationinthisreportshouldbeattributedtoany
singleorganization,asalldataisaggregatedfrommultiplesourcesandoftenusesaveragevalues.
Furthermore,acknowledgementofparticipationdoesnotimplytheiragreementwiththestudy
assumptionsorconclusions,whichreflecttheprofessionaljudgmentofICF.

Wethankallofthestakeholderorganizationsforprovidinginputtothisstudy,andspecifically
acknowledgethefollowingentities:theGovernmentofAlberta,theAlbertaEnergyRegulator
(AER),theBritishColumbiaOilandGasCommission,andEnbridgeInc.
ICFInternational v September2015
AcronymsandAbbreviations
Acronym/Abbreviation StandsFor
AEO AnnualEnergyOutlook
AER AlbertaEnergyRegulator
AGR AcidGasRemoval
ANGA America'sNaturalGasAlliance
API AmericanPetroleumInstitute
AR AssessmentReport
BAMM BestAvailableMonitoringMethods
bbl Barrel
Bcf BillionCubicFeet
BCF BillionCubicFeet
BEA BureauofEconomicAnalysis
BTEX Benzene,Toluene,Ethylbenzene,andXylenes
CAC CriteriaAirContaminant
CAD CanadianDollars
CapEx CapitalExpenditures
CAPP CanadianAssociationofPetroleumProducers
CBM CoalBedMethane
CCR CoalCombustionResiduals
CEPA CanadianEnergyPipelineAssociation
CGA CanadianGasAssociation
CH4 Methane
CO2 CarbonDioxide
CO2e CarbonDioxideEquivalent
CPI ConsumerPriceIndex
CSAPR CrossStateAirPollutionRule
DI&M DirectedInspectionandMaintenance
DUC DrilledbutUncompletedWells
EDF EnvironmentalDefenseFund
EIA U.S.EnergyInformationAdministration
EPA U.S.EnvironmentalProtectionAgency
ESD EmergencyShutdown
ICFInternational vi September2015
EUR EstimatedUltimateRecovery
FERC FederalEnergyRegulatoryCommission
GDP GrossDomesticProduct
GGFR GlobalGasFlaringReduction
GHG GreenhouseGas
GHGRP GreenhouseGasReportingProgram
GMM GasMarketsModel
GRI GasResearchInstitute
GWP GlobalWarmingPotential
HAP HazardousAirPollutant
hp Horsepower
IEA InternationalEnergyAgency
IMF InternationalMonetaryFund
IPCC IntergovernmentalPanelonClimateChange
IR Infrared
LDAR LeakDetectionandRepair
LDCs LocalDistributionCompanies
LNG LiquefiedNaturalGas
MAC MarginalAbatementCost
MATS Mercury&AirToxicsStandardsRule
Mcf ThousandCubicFeet
MMcf MillionCubicFeet
MMTCH4 MillionTonnes Methane
MMTCO2e MillionTonnes CO2equivalent
MRR MandatoryReportingRule
NEB NationalEnergyBoard
NESHAP NationalEmissionStandardsforHazardousAirPollutants
NGL NaturalGasLiquid
NPV NetPresentValue
NSPS NewSourcePerformanceStandardspromulgatedundertheFederalCleanAirAct
OECD Organization forEconomicCooperationandDevelopment
OpEx OperatingExpenditures
OVA OrganicVaporAnalyzer
ICFInternational vii September2015

PRO PartnerReportedOpportunity
PRV PressureReliefValve
psig PoundsperSquareInch Gauge
RECs ReducedEmissionCompletions
SAGD SteamAssistedGravityDrainage
scf StandardCubicFeet
scfd StandardCubicFeetperDay
scfh StandardCubicFeetperHour
scfm StandardCubicFeetperMinute
SME SubjectMatterExpert
TEG TriethyleneGlycol
TSD TechnicalSupportDocument
UNFCCC UnitedNationsFrameworkConventiononClimateChange
USD U.S.Dollars
VOC VolatileOrganicCompound
VRU VaporRecoveryUnit
WCSB WesternCanadianSedimentaryBasin
ICFInternational viii September2015

1. ExecutiveSummary
Methaneisanimportantclimatechangeforcinggreenhousegas(GHG)withashorttermimpactmany
times greater than carbon dioxide. According to data from Canadas United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), oil and gas methane accounted for approximately 6% of
CanadastotalGHGemissions,usingthe100yearGWPofmethane1.Recentresearchalsosuggeststhat
mitigation of shortterm climate forcers such as methane is a critical component of a comprehensive
responsetoclimatechange2.
Methaneistheprimarycomponentofnaturalgas.Asaresult,methaneemissionsoccurthroughoutthe
oilandgasindustry,andarethelargestanthropogenicsourceofCanadianmethaneemissions3.There
areeffectivemethodsreadilyavailabletoreduceemissionsoffugitive(leaked)andvented(intentionally
emitted)methanefromtheoilandgasindustryand,becauseofthevalueofthegasthatisconserved,
someofthesemeasurescouldpotentiallyincreaserevenue(e.g.reducelostproduct),orhavelimitednet
cost. The Canadian Government has discussed reducing these emissions as part its commitment to
international GHG reduction efforts4 and key provinces including Alberta are also looking at these
emissionsasawaytoreduceprovincewideemissions5.ProvincesincludingAlbertaandBritishColumbia
alreadyhavepoliciesinplacethatrequirereductionsinmethaneemissionsandthisstudyhighlightsthe
additionalopportunitiesforfurtherreductions.
International nonprofit organization Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) commissioned this economic
analysisofmethaneemissionreductionopportunitiesfromtheCanadianoilandnaturalgasindustriesto
identifythemostcosteffectiveapproachestoreducethesemethaneemissions.Thisstudyissolutions
orientedandbuildsoffasimilarstudyICFundertookforEDFonoilandgasmethanereductionsinthe
UnitedStates.6ThisstudyattemptstoprojecttheestimatedgrowthofmethaneemissionsfromCanadas
oil and gas industry through 2020. It then identifies the largest emitting segments and estimates the
magnitude and cost of potential reductions achievable through currently available and applicable
technologiesandpractices.Thekeyconclusionsofthestudyinclude:
124.8 Bcf of Emissions in 2020. Methane emissions from oil and gas activities are projected to
remainstablefrom2013to2020ataround60.2milliontonnesCO2e(125Bcfofmethane7).
1
NationalInventoryReportGreenhouseGasSourcesandSinksinCanada,6%derivedusingthe100yearGWP.The
percentagevalueofCanadastotalGHGemissionswouldbehigherifthe20yrGWPwereused.
https://unfccc.int/national_reports/annex_i_ghg_inventories/national_inventories_submissions/items/8812.php
2
Shoemaker,J.et.al.,WhatRoleforShortLivedClimatePollutantsinMitigationPolicy?.ScienceVol34213December2013
3Part3ofthe2015inventory,TableA93.
4
GovernmentofCanadaannounces2030emissionstarget
http://news.gc.ca/web/articleen.do?nid=974959
5
http://alberta.ca/climateleadership.cfm
6
Availableat:https://www.edf.org/energy/icfmethanecostcurvereport
7
AllvaluesofCO2einthisstudyarecalculatedusing100yrGWPvaluesofMethaneaccordingtotheAR4reportunlessstated
otherwise.Examplecalculationsusingthe20yrGWPscanbefoundinAppendixD
ICFInternational 11 September2015
This relatively constant emissions mask subnational changes including decreased gas and
conventionaloilproductioninAlbertaandemissionsgrowthintheGatheringandBoostingand
Transmission segments, as a result of increased unconventional gas production in British
Columbiaandnewlyconstructedpipelines,respectively.
TheemissionsestimateinthisstudyisslightlyhigherthanCanadasUNFCCCsubmittedvalues.
Existing2013emissionssourcesaccountforover90%ofemissionsin2020.
Thisassessmentdoesnotaccountforallpossiblemethaneemissionsfromoilsandsproduction.
Theonlyemissionsincludedrelatedoilsandsareflaredandventedvolumesandtankemissions
fromSteamAssistedGravityDrainage(SAGD).Offshoreemissions,whileincluded,aresmalland
arenotasignificantpartofthisstudy.Thisstudyalsodoesnotaccountforsomeinsignificant
emissionsfromoiltransportationandrefineryoperations.
ConcentratedReductionOpportunities35oftheover175emissionsourcecategoriesaccountfor
over80%ofthe2020emissions,primarilyatexistingfacilities.
45%EmissionsReductionwithExistingTechnologiesThis45%reductionofoilandgasmethaneis
equalto27milliontonnesCO2e(56Bcfofmethane)andisachievablewithexistingtechnologiesand
techniques.Thisreduction:
Comes at a net cost of $2.76 CAD / tonnes CO2e reduced. If the natural gas is valued at $5
CAD/Mcf,themethanereductionpotentialincludesrecoveryofgasworthapproximately$251.1
millionCAD8($200.8millionUSD)peryear.
Equals $1.33 CAD /Mcf methane reduced ($1.06 USD/Mcf reduced)9 or for less than $0.01
CAD/Mcf of gas produced nationwide10, taking into account savings that accrue directly to
companiesimplementingmethanereductionmeasures(Figure11).
Isachievableatanetannualizedcostof$74.5millionCADperyear($59.6millionUSD)ifthefull
economicvalueofrecoverednaturalgasistakenintoaccountandnotincludingsavingsthatdo
notdirectlyaccruetocompaniesimplementingmethanereductionmeasures11.Iftheadditional
savingsthatdonotaccruetocompaniesareincluded,the45%reductionisachievableatanet
savingstoconsumersandtheCanadianeconomyof$2.3millionCAD($1.8millionUSD).
Isinadditiontoregulationsalreadyinplaceaswellasprojectedvoluntaryactionscompanies
willtakeby2020.
8
Valueiscalculatedbasedonwholegasandnotjustmethane,excludingflaring.
9
AllcostsinthisreportareonaCanadianDollarbasis(CAD)unlesswherespecificallyexpressedasU.S.Dollars(USD).A2015
monthlyaveragewasusedtocalculateanexchangerateof1.25CADto1USD.
https://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/series/EXCAUS/downloaddata
10
BasedonaveragenaturalgasproductionnumbersacrossCanada
11
Doesnotincludeortakeintoaccountpotentialsocialcostofmethaneemissions.Asdiscussedlater,typicallyreduction
benefitsdonotaccruetoTransmissionandDistributioncompanies.
CapitalCostTheinitialcapitalcostofthemeasuresisestimatedtobeapproximately$726.3million
CAD($581millionUSD).
Figure11MarginalAbatementCostCurveforMethaneReductionsbySource
RecoveredGasat
$5.00CAD/Mcf
GWP=100yr@25(AR4)
LargestAbatementOpportunities12In2020,theGasProductionsegmentmakesup26.8%oftotal
oil and gas methane emissions, followed by Gathering and Boosting (21.8%) and Oil Production
(19.9%).35oftheover175emissionsourcecategories13accountforover80%ofthe2020emissions,
primarilyatexistingfacilities.Byvolume,thetopfivelargestsourcesofCanadianoilandgasmethane
emissionsare:
Strandedgasventingfromoilwellsopportunitytoreduceemissionsby78%byinstallingflares.
Fugitives from gathering and boosting stations opportunity to reduce emissions by 60% by
implementingleakdetection,andrepair(LDAR).
Chemical injection pumps opportunity to reduce emissions by 60% by replacing gasdriven
pumpswithanonnaturalgasdrivenvariety.
12
Economicanalysisinthisstudydoesnotincludecarboncostsunlessotherwisestated
13
Forexample,fugitiveemissionsfromreciprocatingcompressorsorventedemissionsfromliquidsunloading.
Reciprocating compressor rod packing seals opportunity to reduce emissions by 22% by

replacingrodpackingatahigherfrequency.
Fugitives from centrifugal compressors opportunity to reduce emissions by 60% by
Provincial Results: Cost Effective Reductions Possible in Alberta and BC Alberta and British
Columbia(Upstreamonly)makeup58%(32.6Bcf)and9%(4.8Bcf)respectivelyoftotalCanadianoil
andgasmethaneemissionsreductionsin2020andreductionsareprojectedtobeachievableinboth
provinceswithexistingtechnologiesforlessthan$0.01/Mcfofgasproduced14.
Albertaa15.7millionmetrictonneofCO2ereduction(32.6Bcf)isprojectedtobeachievable
withexistingtechnologiesandpracticesatanettotalcostof$2.57CAD/tonneCO2eor$1.24CAD
/Mcfreducedwhichislessthan$0.01CAD/McfofgasproducedinAlberta.
British Columbia a 2.3 million metric tonne of CO2e reduction (4.8 Bcf) is projected to be
achievablewithexistingtechnologiesandpracticesatanettotalcost$1.69CAD/tonneCO2eor
$0.81CAD/Mcfreduced,whichislessthan$0.01/McfofgasproducedinBritishColumbia.
CoBenefits Exist Reducing methane emissions will also reduce at no extra cost conventional
pollutantsthatcanharmpublichealthandtheenvironment.Themethanereductionsprojectedhere
wouldalsoresultinareductioninvolatileorganiccompounds(VOCs)andhazardousairpollutants
(HAPs)associatedwithmethaneemissionsfromtheoilandgasindustry.
Thereareseveralcaveatstotheresults:
ThisstudyusedasmuchCanadianspecificdataaspossibleandmodeledemissionsbyresourcetype,
Canadianprovince,andbyusingCanadaspecificactivitydata,wherepossible.Variousassumptions
acrosseachsegmentwereutilizedinconjunctionwithCanadianspecificdata(e.g.CAPP,Environment
Canada,AlbertaEnergyRegulator,etc.)inordertodevelopequipmentandsegmentspecificactivity
estimatesfortheCanadianoilandgasindustry.WherenoCanadiandataexisted,supplementarydata
fromU.S.studieswasused.
DatafromtheSubpartW15oftheU.S.EPAGHGReportingRule(GHGRP)wasanalyzedinconjunction
withregionalproxies(basedongeology)todevelopemissionfactorsthatapplytotheCanadiancase.
Sourcespecific emissions factors from U.S. data are not expected to be significantly different vs.
Canadianoperations.Forexample,apneumaticdevicemadebythesamecompanycanreasonably
beassumedtooperatethesameinCanadaasitwouldintheU.S.
Emissionmitigationcostandperformancearehighlysitespecificandvariable.Thevaluesusedhere
areestimatedaveragevalues.
14
Approximately20%ofemissionscomefromthemidstream(e.g.Transmission,Distribution,etc.)whicharenotbrokendown
provincially,butratherrepresentedinCanadaonaNationallevel.Otherprovincesaccountfortheremainingemissions.
15
SubpartWPetroleumandNaturalGasSystems
http://www.epa.gov/ghgreporting/reporters/subpart/w.html
The emission reduction analysis addresses emissions from SAGD tankage and flaring and venting
sources from oil sands, but due to the limited data on other sources (e.g. mining, tailings ponds,
bitumenprocessing,etc.),theseotheroilsandssourceshavebeenexcludedfromtheanalysis.
2. Introduction
Methaneemissionshaveanenhancedeffectonclimatechangebecausemethanehasaclimateforcing
effect25timesgreaterona100yearbasisthanthatofcarbondioxide,theprimarygreenhousegas(GHG).
Methanesimpactis72timesgreaterthancarbondioxideona20yearbasis16,illustratingthatmethane
reductions made today can have a real and tangible impact on reducing impacts of climate change
tomorrow.Recentresearchalsosuggeststhatmitigationofshorttermclimateforcerssuchasmethane
isacriticalcomponentofacomprehensiveresponsetoclimatechange17.
Methaneemissionsfromtheoiland gasindustriesarethelargestanthropogenicsourcesofCanadian
methaneemissionsaccordingtoUNFCCCreporting,usingCanadaslatestsubmissioninApril201518.At
thesametime,therearemanywaystoreduceemissionsoffugitiveandventedmethanefromtheoiland
gasindustriesand,becauseofthevalueofthegasthatisconserved,someofthesemeasuresactually
increaserevenueorhavelimitednetcost.
SeveralCanadianprovinceshavetakensomeleadershiponthisissueandhaveimplementedsomepolicies
requiringmethanereductions.Sincemanyofthesepoliciesarebasedonperformancebasedandbest
managementpracticesthatleavediscretiontothecompaniesastohowoftentheyareperformed,this
analysis postulates that there may still be opportunities for additional reductions. For example, while
companies in Alberta are required to look for and repair leaks, the frequency of inspections is left to
companydiscretion.Morefrequentinspectionstypicallyyieldgreaterreductions19,butsincethecurrent
Albertapoliciesdonotrequirecompaniestodisclosehowoftentheyarescreeningforleaks,thereare
likelyadditionalreductionstobecaptured.ThetopicoftheCanadianregulatorylandscapeisdiscussed
furtherinSection2.5.
Companiesintheoilandgasindustrieshavealsomadevoluntaryreductionsinmethaneemissions,which
wereincludedinthisanalysis,butthestatisticsonthespecificeffortsundertakenareuncleargiventhe
lackofpubliclyavailabledatasources.Thereductionsprojectedhereareadditionaltoprojectedvoluntary
actionstakenuntil2020.Overall,methaneemissionsremainasignificantcomponentoftheCanadian
GHGinventoryandthereisasizeablepotentialforadditionalcosteffectivereductionopportunities.
16
BasedonAR4valuesforGWP.Seesection2.3ofthisreportforfurtherdiscussionofGWPandAR5valuesfor20yrand
100yr.
17
Shoemaker,J.et.al.,WhatRoleforShortLivedClimatePollutantsinMitigationPolicy?.ScienceVol34213December2013
18
UNFCCC,NationalInventorySubmissions.April17th,2015.
https://unfccc.int/files/national_reports/annex_i_ghg_inventories/national_inventories_submissions/application/zip/can
2015nir17apr.zip
19
ColoradoAirQualityControlCommissionRegulationNumber7(5CCR10019)
http://www.colorado.gov/cs/Satellite/CDPHEAQCC/CBON/1251647985820
2.1. GoalsandApproachoftheStudy
EnvironmentalDefenseFund(EDF)commissionedthiseconomicanalysisofmethaneemissionreduction
opportunitiesfromtheCanadianoilandnaturalgasindustry.Thisstudysanalysisissolutionsoriented
andcomplementsEDFsongoingworkonglobalmethaneemissionsintheoilandnaturalgassectors.This
study also references and implements a similar approach and methodology to the U.S. marginal
abatementcostcurvestudyperformedbyICFInternationalin201420.TheapproachoftheCanadianstudy
wasto:
Defineabaselineofmethaneemissionsfromtheoilandgassectorsaccordingtosegmentsdefined
further in Section 2.2 below. The baseline was established for 2013 and projected to 2020 as a
conservative estimate of a point when existing mitigation technologies could be fully installed
throughoutthesupplychain.
Reviewexistingliteratureandconductfurtheranalysistoidentifythelargestreductionopportunities
andvalidateandrefinecostbenefitestimatesofmitigationtechnologies.
Conductinterviewswithindustry,oilandgasexperts,andequipmentvendorswithaspecificfocusto
identifyadditionalmitigationoptions.
Usethisinformationtodevelopmarginalabatementcost(MAC)curvesformethanereductionsin
theseindustries.
Documentandpresenttheresults.
Thefinaloutputsofthestudyinclude:
Theprojected2020emissionsbaseline.(Chapter3andAppendixB)
Inventoryofmethanemitigationtechnologies.(Chapter3)
Emissionsabatementcostcurvesacrossarangeofscenarios(Chapter4andAppendixC)
Conclusions(Chapter5)
Additionalsensitivitycases(AppendixD)
2.2. OverviewofGasSectorMethaneEmissions
Therearemanysourcesofmethaneemissionsacrosstheentireoilandgassupplychain.Theseemissions
canbecharacterizedas:
Fugitive emissions methane that leaks unintentionally from equipment such as from flanges,
valves,orotherequipment.
20
EconomicAnalysisofMethaneEmissionReductionOpportunitiesintheU.S.OnshoreOilandNaturalGasIndustries
https://www.edf.org/sites/default/files/methane_cost_curve_report.pdf
Ventedemissionsmethanethatisreleasedduetoequipmentdesignoroperationalprocedures,
suchasfrompneumaticdevicebleeds,blowdowns,orequipmentventing.
Incompletecombustionmethanethatpassesthroughacombustiondevice,suchasanengineor
flare,withoutbeingcombustedduetolessthan100%combustionefficiencyofthedevice.
Althoughleaksorfugitivesissometimesusedtorefertoallmethaneemissionsfromtheoilandgas
industry,weusethemorenarrowtechnicaldefinitionsinthisreport.
Figure21illustratesthemajorsegmentsofthenaturalgasindustryandexamplesoftheprimarysources
ofmethaneemissionsasgasisproduced,processed,anddeliveredtoconsumers.Naturalgasisproduced
alongwithoilinmostoilwells(asassociatedgas)andalsoingaswellsthatdonotproduceoil(asnon
associatedgas).Upuntilthepastfewyears,mostoftheCanadiannaturalgassupplycamefromthe
Albertaregion.Morerecently,significantshaleplaysinBritishColumbiahavebeenagrowingsourceof
gassupply.
Figure21NaturalGasIndustryProcessesandExampleMethaneEmissionSources
Sources:AmericanGasAssociation;EPANaturalGasSTARProgram
GasProduction
Rawgas(includingmethane)isventedatvariouspointsduringtheproductionprocess.Gascanbevented
whenthewelliscompletedattheinitialphaseofproduction.Further,becausegaswellsareoftenin
remotelocationswithoutelectricity,gaspressureisusedtocontrolandpoweravarietyofcontroldevices
and onsite equipment, such as pumps. These pneumatic devices typically release or bleed small
amountsofgasduringtheiroperation.
Inbothoilandgasproduction,waterandhydrocarbonliquidsareseparatedfromtheproductstreamat
thewellhead.Theliquidsreleaseentrainedgas,whichmaybeventedfromtanksunlessitiscaptured.
Waterisremovedfromthegasstreambyglycoldehydrators,whichventtheremovedmoistureandsome
gastotheatmosphere.Insomecases,thegasreleasedbytheseprocessesandequipmentmaybeflared
rather thanvented,to maintainsafety andtorelieveoverpressuring within differentpartsofthegas
extraction and delivery system. Other times the gas cannot always be routed to pipelines or used
beneficiallyonsiteandsometimesduetosafetyorinfrastructurereasons,etc.,anditisflared.
FlaringproducesCO2,asignificantbutlesspotentGHGthanmethane,butnoflareis100%efficient,and
some methane (uncombusted) is emitted during flaring. In addition to the various sources of vented
emissions,themanycomponentsandcomplexnetworkofsmallgatheringlineshavethepotentialfor
fugitiveemissions.
Althoughsomegasispureenoughtobeusedasis,mostgasisfirsttransportedbypipelinefromthe
wellheadtoagasprocessingplant.Thegatheringsystemhaspneumaticdevicesandcompressorsthat
vent gas as well as having potential fugitive emissions. Gas processing plants remove additional
hydrocarbonliquidssuchasethaneandbutaneaswellasgaseousimpuritiesfromtherawgas,including
CO2,inorderforthegastobepipelinequalityandreadytobecompressedandtransported.Suchplants
areanothersourceoffugitiveandventedemissions.
Fromthegasprocessingplant,naturalgasistransported,generallyoverlongdistancesbyinterprovincial
pipeline to the city gate hub and then to consumers. The vast majority of the compressors that
pressurizethepipelinetomovethegasarefueledbynaturalgas,althoughasmallshareispoweredby
electricity.CompressorsemitCO2andmethaneemissionsduringfuelcombustionandarealsoasource
offugitiveandventedmethaneemissionsthroughleaksincompressorseals,valves,andconnectionsand
throughventing thatoccursfromsealsandduring operationsand maintenance. Compressorstations
constitutetheprimarysourceofventedmethaneemissionsinnaturalgastransmission.
Somepowerplantsandlargeindustrialfacilitiesreceivegasdirectlyfromtransmissionpipelines,while
othersaswellasresidentialandcommercialconsumershavegasdeliveredthroughsmallerdistribution
pipelinesoperatedbylocalgasdistributioncompanies(LDCs).Distributionlinesdonottypicallyrequire
gascompression;however,somemethaneemissionsdooccurduetoleakagefromolderdistributionlines
andvalves,connections,andmeteringequipment.Thisisespeciallytrueforoldersystemsthathavecast
irondistributionmains,howeverthesearenotcommoninCanada.
OilProduction
Many of the emission sources from domestic oil production are similar to those in gas production
completion emissions, pneumatic devices, processing equipment and engine/compressors. Crude oil
containsnaturalgasandthegasisseparatedfromtheoilstreamatthewellheadandcanbecapturedfor
sale,vented, orflared.Ventingorflaringaremost commoninregionsthat donothavegasgathering
infrastructure(strandedgas).
TheoilsandsregioninAlbertaisasegmentofoilproductionthatdiffersfromconventionaloilproduction.
Methaneemissionsoccurfromtheminefaceandduringtheprocessingofoilsandsinopenpitmining
operations.SmallamountsofmethanemayevolvewhencrudeoilisextractedfromSAGDoperationsand
storedinstoragetanks.BothopenpitmineandSAGDoperationsusenaturalgasasfuelandleaksoccur
from piping and meters, and associated components. Finally, methane may be biogenically produced
from tailing ponds in open pit mining operations. For the purposes of this study and based on the
availabilityofdatafromICFsGMMmodel,tankemissionsfromSAGDproductionwereincludedinthe
emissionsestimates.Alsoincluded,basedonAlbertasST60Breport,wereflaredandventedvolumes
fromcrudebitumenfacilities.TheAlbertareportmightincludesomeSAGDventedemissionsfromtank,
howeverthisisexpectedtobeminimal.Otheroilsandsrelatedemissionswerenotincludedduetolack
ofdataandmitigationoptions.
Oilistakenfromthewellheadinelectricpoweredpipelinesandmorerecentlybyrail,torefineriesfor
processing. Petroleum products are then taken to consumers by pipeline, truck, rail, or barge. The
downstreammethaneemissionsinthepetroleumsectoraremuchsmallerthaninthegassectorasmost
ofthemethanehasbeenremovedfromtheoilbythispoint.Theoiltransportationandrefiningsegments
arenotincludedintheemissionsanalysisofthisreport.
OilandGasOperationsandShaleDevelopments
Forthelast100years,domesticoilproductionhasbeenprimarilyintheAlbertaregionofCanada,both
conventional and oil sands operations. Domestic gas production has historically been mostly
concentratedintheAlbertaregion,butmoreofthefocusofnewnaturalgasdevelopmenthasbeenin
theextractionofgasfromshaleformationsinBritishColumbia.Shaleisasedimentaryrockcomposedof
compactedmud,clayandorganicmatter.Overtime,theorganicmaterialcanproducenaturalgasand/or
petroleum,whichcanslowlymigrateintoformationswhereitcanberecoveredfromconventionaloiland
gaswells.Theshalerockitselfisnotsufficientlypermeabletoallowthegastobeeconomicallyrecovered
throughconventionalwells;thatis,gaswill notflowsufficientlyfreelythroughtheshaletoawellfor
production.
Gasandoilfromshaleformationsisrecoveredbyhydraulicallyfracturingtheshalerocktoreleasethe
hydrocarbons.Thisinvolvespumpingwaterandadditivesathighpressureintothewelltofracturethe
shale,creatingsmallcracksthatallowthegasand/oroiltoflowout.Whenthewaterflowsbackoutof
thewell,methaneisentrainedandmaybevented.Duetothehighglobalwarmingpotentialofmethane,
thiscanbealargesourceofGHGs.Forthesereasons,theincreasedproductionofshalegasisapotential
sourceofincreasedGHGemissions(e.g.ifflowbackemissionsarenotcontrolled).
OffshoreOperations
InCanada,relativelyinsignificantamountsofbothoilandgasareproducedfromoffshorefacilities.Thus,
whileemissionswereestimatedandincludedfortheseoffshorefacilitiesbasedonreportsandotherdata,
the reports do not have the detail and specificity of the rest of the methane inventory and therefore
cannot be included in the same methodology applied to the rest of the inventory for this analysis.
Therefore, while this report includes offshore emissions in the baseline inventory model, offshore
emissionsarenotanalyzedaspartofthemarginalabatementcostcurvereductionsgoingforward to
2020.
2.3. ClimateChangeForcingEffectsofMethane
Different greenhouse gases persist in the atmosphere for different lengths of time and have different
warming effects, and thus have different effects on climate change. In order to compare them, the
scientificcommunityusesafactorcalledtheglobalwarmingpotential(GWP),whichrelateseachGHGs
effecttothatofCO2,whichisassignedaGWPof1.Thescienceandpolicycommunitieshavehistorically
lookedtotheIntergovernmentalPanelonClimateChange(IPCC)assessmentreportsastheauthoritative
basisforGWPvalues.ThecurrentlyacceptedvaluesarefromtheIPCCFifthAssessmentreport21(AR5).
CO2emissionsaretheprimarydriverforclimatechangeoverthelongterm,duetotheirlonglifetimein
theatmosphere.BecausestabilizingclimatewillrequiredeepcutsinGHGemissions,GWPvaluesaremost
commonly expressed on a 100year time horizon. The 100 year GWP is the standard value used by
EnvironmentCanadaandotherfederal,provincial,andinternationalagenciestomeasureGHGemissions.
On a 100year basis, methane is assigned a GWP of 34 by the AR5. This means that one tonne22 of
methanehasthesameeffectas34tonnesofCO2over100years.However,theCanadianGHGinventory
usesa100GWPof25,asspecifiedbytheUNFCCCinventoryprotocol.
SomeGHGs,includingmethane,haveastrongerclimateforcingeffectthanCO2butashorterlifetimein
the atmosphere (12 years for methane). In order to evaluate the shortterm effects, the GWP is also
calculatedona20yearbasis.Ona20yearbasis,theAR5assignsmethaneaGWPof86.Insummary:
Mostcountries,includingCanadaandtheEPAGreenhouseGasReportingruleasof2013usetheAR
4100yearGWPof25formethane.TheAR420yearGWPformethaneis72.
TheGWPsformethanepertheAR5are34for100yearsand86for20years.
ThisstudyusestheAR4100yearGWPof25formethaneexceptwhereotherwisenoted.
2.4. CostEffectivenessofEmissionReductions
Itiscommonindiscussingemissionreductionstodescribecosteffectiveemissionreductions.However,
therearethreedifferentconceptsofcosteffectivenessthatmustbeunderstoodanddifferentiated.
The Company Perspective The first concept is costeffectiveness for the company implementing the
measure.Inthiscase,costeffectivemeansthatthevalueofgasthatisrecoveredthroughamethane
21
IPCC.ClimateChange2013:ThePhysicalScienceBasis.ContributionofWorkingGroupItotheFifthAssessmentReportofthe
IntergovernmentalPanelonClimateChange.
https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar5/wg1/
reduction measure exceeds the incremental capital and operating cost of the measure sufficiently to
createapaybackorrateofreturnthatmeetsthecompanysinvestmentcriteria.Measuresthatmeet
thesecriteriamightbedescribedashavingapositivenetpresentvalue(NPV),ashortpaybackperiod,or
aninternalrateofreturnthatexceedsa certain threshold. Inorderfora measuretomeetthiscost
effectivenesscriterion,themeasuremustrecoverthemethaneemissionsandbeabletorecovertheir
monetaryvalue.Flaringofmethaneemissionsdoesnotmeetthiscriterion,forexample.Inaddition,the
company must be able to monetize the value of the recovered methane. For example, if a producer
reducesmethanelosses,itwillhavemoregastosellandwillreceiveaneconomicbenefit.
EconomyPerspectiveThesecondconceptiscosteffectivenessattheeconomywidescale.Insegments
inwhichthecompanyownsthegas,suchasoilandgasproduction,thecompanycanclearlymonetize
thevalueofreducedgaslosses.Thisisalsotrueinsomeothersegments.Mostmidstreamcompanies
(gathering,processing,andstorage)arepaidafixedfeeforgaslostandconsumedduringtheiroperations.
Iftheycanreducetheirlossesthentheywillbenefitdirectlyfromthereducedlosses.
Transmissionandlocaldistributioncompaniestypicallydonotownthegastheytransportandtheyare
usuallyrequiredbyregulatorstoreturnthevalueofreducedlossestotheircustomers,sotheycannot
recoverthebenefitofreducedmethanelosses.Methanereductionsinthesesegmentsoftheindustry
willnothaveapositivereturntothecompanyorbecosteffectiveinthissense.Thatsaid,thevalueof
reducedlosseswillaccruetootherpartsoftheeconomy.IfapipelineorLDCreducesitslosses,thebenefit
willeventuallyflowthroughtothecustomersandtotheeconomyoverall.Reducedlosseswilleventually
flowthroughaslowerpricesforgasdeliveryanddeliveredcostofgastoconsumers.Thus,evenwhenthe
entityimplementingareductioncannotdirectlybenefitfromreducedlosses,thereisabroaderbenefit
andthatfulleconomicbenefitcanbecalculatedandallocatedagainstthecostofthemethanereduction,
thesecondkindofcosteffectiveness.
TheRegulatoryPerspectiveThelastconceptofcosteffectivenessisinthecontextofpollutioncontrol
programs. In conventional pollution control programs the control technology rarely results in a cost
reductiontothecompanythatisrequiredtoimplementit.Thatis,thecostofcontrolisalmostalways
positiveandthenetpresentvalueisnegativeandthereisnopaybackfortheinvestment.Nevertheless,
these programs incorporate the concept of costeffectiveness, meaning that the cost is acceptable to
societyasameansofmeetingpublichealthandenvironmentalgoals.Thecosteffectivenessvariesfor
different pollutants and different regulatory programs. In this context, methane reductions can be
consideredcosteffectiveeveniftheyhaveanetcosttothecompanyorsocietyoverall.Wheremethane
reductionsdocreateanetvaluetotheimplementingcompany,thecostofcontrolwillbenegative,i.e.,
thecompanyisreducingemissionsandsavingmoneyratherthanspendingmoney.
In this study, the value of recovered gas is included in calculating the costeffectiveness of mitigation
measureswherethegascanberecoveredandwhereitcanbemonetizedbythecompany.Therefore,the
samemeasuremayhavedifferentcostsfordifferentsegments,e.g.,reducingcompressoremissionswill
havealowernetcostintheproductionsegmentthaninthetransmissionsegmentbecausethesavings
canbemonetizedintheformerbutnotthatlatter.Thisreflectsthenetcosttothecompanytoimplement
themeasure.However,wheregascanberecoveredthroughamitigationmeasure,itwillhavevalueto
thebroadereconomy,evenifitisnotrecognizedbythecompanythatmustmaketheinvestment.The
costofcontrol,whetherpositiveornegative,canbealsoevaluatedintheregulatorysenseandcompared
to other available emission reduction options. Finally, there are additional social and environmental
benefits of methane reductions that are not captured in these calculations, including the broader
economic value of reduced climate risk and cobenefit reductions of conventional pollutants such as
groundlevelozoneandhazardousairpollutants.
2.5. CanadianRegulatoryLandscape
TheregulatorystructureinCanadaissuchthateachprovincehasanoverarchingsetofregulationsthat
applytotheoilandgasindustry.Forthepurposesofthisreport,thefollowingmainregulationswere
reviewedwhenevaluatingmethaneemissionsacrossindustrysegments:
AlbertaDirective060:UpstreamPetroleumIndustryFlaring,Incinerating,andVenting23,andST60B:
UpstreamIndustryFlaringandVentingReport24
BritishColumbiaFlaringandReductionGuideline25,andIndustrialFacilityGreenhouseGasEmissions
ReportSummaries26
SaskatchewanDirectiveS10:UpstreamPetroleumAssociatedGasConservation27
AlthoughtherearedifferencesacrossprovincesinCanadaregardingtheapproachtoregulatingemissions
fromoilandgasactivities,thecoremethodologyofeachprovinceisessentiallythesame,andcanbe
characterizedbyafewkeyprinciples,suchas:
Flaringandventingmustfirstbeevaluatedforelimination
Iftheemissionssourcecannotbeeliminated,thentheflaringandventingmustthenbeevaluatedfor
reduction
Iftheemissionssourcecannotbereduced,thentheflaringandventingsourceshallmeetspecified
performancestandards
Inallthreescenariosabove,Canadianregulationstypicallyemployadecisiontreestyleapproachwitha
mandatoryeconomicanalysis(e.g.NPV)todeterminewhatcategoryanemissionssourcefallsinto.Due
tothesimilarityofregulationsacrossprovinces,onlytheAlbertaDirective60regulationsarediscussed
heretoprovidesomefurtherinsight.Developedasadraftin1999andrevisedmultipletimesfromthat
point, Directive 60 applies to all upstream oil and gas industry wells and facilities as well as pipeline
installationsthatconveygas.Oneofthemainfocalpointsofthedirectiveistheconservationofassociated
23
AlbertaDirective060https://www.aer.ca/rulesandregulations/directives/directive060
24
ST60Bhttps://www.aer.ca/dataandpublications/statisticalreports/st60b
25
BritishColumbiaFlaringandVentingReductionhttps://www.bcogc.ca/content/flaringandventingreductionguideline
26
IndustrialFacilityGreenhouseGasEmissionsReportSummarieshttp://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/environment/climate
change/reportsdata/industrialfacilityghgs
27
SaskatchewanDirectiveS10http://www.publications.gov.sk.ca/details.cfm?p=69502
gas,orsolutiongas,asitsreferredtointheregulation.Thisisdemonstratedbythefactthedirectivehas
setaprovincewidesolutiongasflaringlimitof670millioncubicmetresperyear.Ifsolutiongasflaring
exceedsthe670millioncubicmetrelimitinanyyear,theAlbertaEnergyRegulatory(AER)willimpose
reductionsthatwillstipulatemaximumsolutiongasflaringlimitsforindividualoperatingsitesbasedon
analysisofthemostcurrentannualdatasoastoreduceflaringtolessthanthetarget.
Beyondthefocusonsourcessuchassolutiongas,welltesting,dehydrators,andcompressorstationsas
specific emissions sources, Directive 60 does not lay out prescriptive requirements for emissions
reductionsacrossAlberta.Rather,theregulationsareperformancebased,allowingoperatorstoidentify
sourcesthatmeettherequirementsofthedirective.Forexample,wheretheU.S.NSPSSubpartOOOO28
regulation specifically identifies wet seal centrifugal compressors as an emission source that must be
controlled,Directive60doesnotmakementionofspecificsourcessuchaswetsealcompressors.Thus,
itisunclearwhetherallsourcesthatemitmethanearebeingcapturedandanalyzedacrossCanadianoil
andgasactivities.
Further research reinforces this uncertainty. The AER enforces Directive 60 and releases a historical
monthly enforcement report, ST108. A historical review was performed of all enforcement actions
published from AERs ST108 report from 2008 to 2014. The majority of noncompliance events for
Directive060cameintheformofperformanceissues(e.g.improperlyfunctioningflares,exceedingflaring
limits,notcompletingdecisiontreeanalysis,etc.)orproximityissues(e.g.emissionssourcetooclosetoa
residentialarea).Noinstancesofmissedoruncharacterizedemissionssourceswerefoundinthepublic
domain,leadingtotheuncertaintyonwhetherornotallmethaneemissionssourcesarebeingcaptured
acrossCanada.Thereisalsonopubliclyavailabledataonwhatcontrolmeasureshavebeenimplemented
byoilandgasoperatorsandthereductionsinmethaneemissionsasaconsequence,whichalsoleadsto
uncertaintyregardingexistingmethanereductionefforts.
As another example, Alberta requires leak detection and repair but the required protocol leaves the
frequencyoftheinspectionstothediscretionofthecompany29.Sinceeffectivenessoftheseprograms
highlycorrelatedtofrequency,thisstructureleavesuncertaintyastotheeffectivenessoftheprogram
andthepotentialforadditionalreductions.
Finally, looking ahead at the regulatory landscape across Canada, according to Intended Nationally
Determined Contributions (INDC) to the UNFCCC30, Canada is continuing to develop and implement
measurestoreduceemissionsfromkeygreenhousegassources.TheCanadianGovernmentannounced
28
SubpartOOOOStandardsofPerformanceforCrudeOilandNaturalGasProduction,TransmissionandDistribution
http://www.ecfr.gov/cgibin/textidx?node=sp40.7.60.oooo
29
CAPPBestManagementPracticeforFugitiveEmissionsManagement
http://www.capp.ca/publicationsandstatistics/publications/116116
30
CanadassubmissionstotheUNFCCC
http://www4.unfccc.int/submissions/INDC/Published%20Documents/Canada/1/INDC%20%20Canada%20%20English.pdf
itsintentionstodevelopregulationstoaddressmethaneemissionsfromtheoilandgassectorthrougha
responsiblesectorbysectorregulatoryapproachaspartofthiseffort.
3. ApproachandMethodology
3.1. OverviewofMethodology
Thissectionprovidesanoverviewofthemethodologyappliedforthisstudy.Themajorstepswere:
Establishthe2013BaselineInventoryforCanadaupstreamandmidstreamoperationsinCanada
weredividedintotwocategoriesbasedonthepresenceofhydrogensulfide(H2S)(sweetorsour
gas).H2Sispoisonousanditspresencesometimesrequiressystemsthatarelesspronetoleak.The
determinationofwhetherornottoclassifyproductionassweetorsourwasmadebasedondata
extractedfromIHSAccumap.ThedatastructureandtaxonomyoftheU.S.EPAGHGInventorywas
then used as a starting point to generate the list of source categories for the Canadian baseline.
Emissions were segregated by Canadian province, specifically Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba,
andSaskatchewan.
Canadianspecificdatawereusedwhereverpossible.Thiswasparticularlytruefortheactivitydata
(the characterization of the number and type of facilities) such as provincial well counts, miles of
Transmissionpipeline,numberofgatheringstations,etc.Canadianemissionsdatawerelessavailable
inthiscase,andsomeU.S.emissionfactorswereused,suchasSubpartWdata.Thiswasestimated
tobeanappropriateapproachbecausethetypesofequipmentandoperatingproceduresarevery
similarbetweentheU.S.andCanada.Thatsaid,surrogatelocationswereidentifiedintheU.S.tohelp
generatetheseestimatesforselectemissionssourcesbasedongeologicalandoperatingcriteria.The
following analogs were identified specifically for oil and gas activity from production through
processingsegmentsoftheindustrybasedonSMEinput:
AlbertaRockyMountain
BritishColumbiaRockyMountain
SaskatchewanMidwestContinent
ManitobaMidwestContinent
Tofurtherclarifytheapproachabove,onaverybasiclevel,emissionsinthisstudyareestimatedby
thefollowingequation:
Where n is the total number of emissions sources and AF and EF stand for activity and emissions
factor, respectively, for each source. Canadianspecific data was mainly used to estimate the AF
portion of the equation, while some Canadian data as well as proxy data and detailed analysis of
SubpartW,externalreports,etc.,wasusedtoestimatetheEFportion.
Additionally,theCanadiananalysiswasdevelopedusingpubliclyavailablereportsfromtheCanadian
oil and gas industry31, support from Canadian oil and gas experts, and the evaluation of the most
recentU.S.EPAinventoryofmethaneemissionsintheEPAInventoryofU.S.GHGEmissionspublished
in2015withdatafor201332.TheCanadianinventorywasthenreviewedandrevisedtoaccountfor
additional,morerecentinformationsuchasinformationfromtheEPAGHGReportingProgram33and
recentlypublishedstudiessuchastheUniversityofTexas/EDFgasproductionmeasurementstudy
and the Prasino et al BC study34 and other recent studies sponsored by EDF. These changes were
applied to develop a 2013 Baseline, which was used as the basis for projecting onshore methane
emissionsto2020.Thebaselineinventoryincludesmethaneemissionsbysourcefortheonshoreand
offshore exploration and production, gas processing, gas storage, gas transmission, LNG import /
storage,anddistributionsegmentsoftheindustry.
Finally,routinechecksweremadeinthedevelopmentofthebaselinewithexternalsourcesaspoints
ofcomparisonintheanalysis.
Projectionofemissionsto2020theanalysisthenusedthebaselineinventorytoprojectemissions
totheyear2020basedonvariousdriverssuchasgrowthingasproduction,pipelinemileage,etc.
DataforprojectionswereobtainedmainlyfromICFsGasMarketsModel(GMM)modelandare
discussed in Appendix B. Potential reductions were based on regulatory analysis and input from
subjectmatterexperts.Theyear2020waschosenasarealisticdatebywhichcontroltechnologies
couldbeinstalled.
Identificationofmajorsourcesandkeymitigationoptionsthenextstepwastoidentifythelargest
emitting sources in the projected 2020 inventory and the emissions with associated mitigation
technologythatwouldbemosteffectiveandcosteffectiveforthesesources.
Characterization of emission reduction technologies a key part of the study was to review and
updateinformationonthecostandperformanceoftheselectedmitigationtechnologies.Information
was gathered from equipment manufacturers, oil and gas companies, and other knowledgeable
partiesandthenappliedtothevolumeofassociatedemissions.
DevelopmentofMarginalAbatementCostcurvesthetechnologyinformationwasappliedtothe
emissionsinventorytocalculatethepotentialemissionreductionvolumeandcost.Theresultswere
displayedinaseriesofmarginalabatementcostcurvetohighlightwhichoptionsareconsideredmost
costeffective.
31
ExamplesincludeCanadianAssociationofPetroleumProducers(CAPP),EnvironmentCanada,andAlbertaEnergyRegulatory
32
U.S.EPA,InventoryofU.S.GreenhouseGasEmissionsAndSinks:19902013,
http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/ghgemissions/usinventoryreport.html
33
http://www.epa.gov/ghgreporting/
34
Allen,David,et.al.,MeasurementsofMethaneEmissionsatNaturalGasProductionSitesintheUnitedStates.
10.1073/pnas.1304880110
The UNFCCC Canadian national inventory in addition to the Alberta and British Columbia inventories
(referencedaboveinsection2.5)wereconsideredaspartofthisprocess.However,aftercommunicating
with provincial experts from the agencies responsible for those inventories, it was established those
inventoriesdonotincludethecomponentleveldataneededtoundertakethetypeofanalysisthisstudy
performs.ICFuseditsmodeltodevelopthatdetaileddata,whichdiffersfromthepublicinventories.Not
surprisinglydifferentmethodswillyielddifferentresults.However,thebaselinedevelopedforthisstudy
iswithin15%(higher)35oftheemissionsestimatefromtheUNFCCCanadianinventory,suggestingthat
whilethemethodsmaybedifferent,theresultsarecomparable.
Thekeystepsarediscussedfurtherinthefollowingsections.
3.2. Developmentofthe2013BaselineInventory
Thefirststepinthisanalysiswastodevelopabaselineinventoryoffugitiveandventedmethaneemissions
from each oil and gas segment. The inventory serves as a basis for identifying existing sources and
associatedquantitiesofemissionswithpotentialformitigation.Thefollowingapproachwasused:
Developestimatesforequipmentspecificactivity and/ordriversThisstudyreliedon publically

availableinformationtoestimateactivitydataforeachemissionsource.Whiledetailedinformation
andsourcesaredescribedinAppendixA,someexamplesinclude:
TechnicalReportonCanada'sUpstreamOilandGasIndustryVolumes1436
ANationalInventoryofGreenhouseGas(GHG),CriteriaAirContaminant(CAC)andHydrogen
Sulfide(H2S)EmissionsbytheUpstreamOilandGasIndustry37
CH4andVOCEmissionsfromtheCanadianUpstreamOilandGasIndustry38
Organizations such as the Canadian National Energy Board (NEB), U.S. EIA (Energy Information
Agency),InternationalEnergyAgency(IEA),andtheCanadianEnergyPipelineAssociation(CEPA)also
provideinformationonhistoricandprojectionsofoilandgasactivity.Thisstudyhaswellleveldata
forCanadianprovincesfromDIDesktop39inadditiontootherdatasources.CAPPandcompaniessuch
asTransCanadaalsopublishorpresentspecificequipmentleveldata.ThisstudyextractedCanadian
activitydatawhenavailable,mainlyproductionvolumesfortheproductionsegment,naturalgasand
35
Calculatedfrompage18ofPT3of2015CanadianSubmissiontotheUNFCCCusingtotalmethaneemissionsinEnergysector
https://unfccc.int/national_reports/annex_i_ghg_inventories/national_inventories_submissions/items/8812.php
36
[EC]EnvironmentCanada.2014.TechnicalReportonCanada'sUpstreamOilandGasIndustry.Vols.14.Preparedfor
EnvironmentCanada.Calgary(AB):ClearstoneEngineeringLtd.June2014.
37
CanadianAssociationofPetroleumProducersANationalInventoryofGreenhouseGas(GHG),CriteriaAirContaminant
(CAC)andHydrogenSulphide(H2S)EmissionsbytheUpstreamOilandGasIndustry.2004.http://www.capp.ca/publications
andstatistics/publications/86220
38
CanadianAssociationofPetroleumProducersCH4andVOCEmissionsfromtheCanadianUpstreamOilandGasIndustry
Volume.1999.http://www.capp.ca/publicationsandstatistics/publications/84180
39
DrillingInfoBasicProvideshistoricalwellinformation,historicalproduction,andotherdata
http://info.drillinginfo.com/
condensate volumes for processing facilities, miles of transmission pipeline for transmission, LNG
import/exportvolumesfortheLNGfacilities,andnaturalgasendusevolumesforthedistribution
segment or used relevant U.S. specific counts and expert judgment to estimate provincial level
Canadianspecificequipmentcounts.Detailedstepsfordevelopingbothactivityandemissionsfactors
canbefoundinAppendixA.
Finally, data from the U.S. EPAs mandatory Greenhouse Gas Reporting Rule (GHGRP) subparts C
(combustion fromstationarysources) andW (methaneemissionsfrompetroleumand naturalgas
systems)wereusedtoprovidesupplementalinformationforCanadasbaselineinventory.
DevelopequipmentspecificactivitydatabasedonactivitydriversOnceactivitydriversfor2013
and2020wereestablished,thenextstepwastoestimateactivityforequipmentwithoutavailable
specificpublicinformation.Forexample,awellcountwasusedtoestablishthenumberofseparators,
andthemilesoftransmissionpipelinestodeterminethecountofcompressors.Thisstudyusedexpert
judgment and data from reports and publications to determine the most appropriate drivers for
existingactivity.Bydoingso,itwaspossibletofillinthedatagapsidentifiedbyresearcheffortson
equipmentactivity.Someexamplesinclude:
Oil and gas production volumes this activity driver was used to estimate equipmentspecific
activity data for production and gathering and boosting segments that are correlated to
production volumes, such as storage tanks and glycol dehydrators. This studys modeling
approachallowedforthedevelopmentofadditionalactivitydriversthatrepresentthespecific
Canadian oil and gas operational characteristics. Production volumes were used to estimate
volumeofgasprocessed.
Wellcountthisactivitydriverwasusedtoestimateequipmentactivitydatathatarecorrelated
towellcount,suchasseparatorsandpneumaticdevices.
Residential/commercialgasdemandthiswasusedtodeterminethegrowthinthedistribution
segment,ifany.
LNGimportandexportvolumeswasusedtodeterminethenumberofnewLNGfacilitiesthat
willcomeonlinein2020.
EstablishrelevantemissionfactorsAfterestablishingCanadianspecificequipmentcounts,emission
factorswereusedtodeterminethevolumeofmethanebeingemittedbysource.Methaneemissions
forapproximately200sourceswerecalculatedusingthedevelopedactivityfactors(e.g.,equipment
counts) multiplied by emission factors (average emissions from each source) to estimate the total
emissions.ThesefactorsweredevelopedeitherfromCanadianliteraturecitedinthisstudy,theEPA
Inventory, or calculated using available GHGRP data40 and regional proxy data specific to each
particularemissionsource.
40
EnvirofactsCustomizedGHGSearchSubpartWPetroleumandNaturalGasSystems
http://www.epa.gov/enviro/facts/ghg/customized.html
EstablishcurrentcontrolmeasuresThenextstepwastoestablishcurrentcontrolmeasuresinplace
anddevelopascenarioforexpectedpenetrationofcontrolmeasuresinthefuture,i.e.whetherthe
proportionofcontrolmeasuresisexpectedtoremainthesameoraccelerateinthefuture.Thisstudy
primarilyreliedonthelibraryoftechnologiesandpracticesidentifiedintheNaturalGasSTARand
Global Methane Initiative Programs and utilized in the earlier ICF/EDF MAC41 work as control
measuresforthisproject.U.S.proxydataisreasonableintheseinstancesbecauseequipmentsuch
aspneumaticdevices,compressors,andpumpsareonaveragelikelytoperformsimilarlywhether
located in Canada or the U.S. There are typically two options to develop current control measure
penetrationestimates:1)Researchandutilizeallreportedcountryspecificcontrolmeasures,or2)
Researchallpubliclyavailabledataonfacility,segmentandsourcespecificimplementationofcontrol
measuresinthecountries.Companiesoftenreporttheirreductionmeasurestoorganizationslikethe
Global Methane Initiative, United Nations Clean Development Mechanism, and Carbon Disclosure
Project.Thesesourcesprovidesomeinformationoncontrolmeasures.ForCanada,theinformation
waspiecedtogetherbycompanyandprovincedependingontheavailabilityofdata.Whentherewere
any data gaps, this study relied on using expert judgment and U.S.specific data combined with
regional proxies. ICF worked with EDF to determine the future scenario of control measure
penetration.
CalculateemissionsfromthebaselineinventorymodelThebaselineinventorymodelcalculates
emissions estimates by source and segment. The inventory identifies the portion of emissions by
sourcethatiscontrolledversusuncontrolledemissionsthatprovidethepotentialforreductions.The
studyalsoprojectedthebaselineto2020basedontheoilandgasactivityforecast.Table31below
summarizesemissionsbysegmentfromthebaselineinventoryin2013.Asapointofcomparison,
thisstudycontrastedtheinventoryestimatesagainstthevariousindustryandgovernmentalsources
(e.g.CAPP,EnvironmentCanada,UNFCC,etc.)andfoundtheestimatestobereasonable.
41
Table31:2013BaselineInventoryEmissionsbySegment
Million
Segment BcfCH4
tonnesCO2e
NaturalGas
GasProduction 17.4 36.3
GatheringandBoosting 12.4 25.8
GasProcessing 6.9 14.4
GasTransmission 7.1 14.8
GasStorage 1.1 2.4
GasDistribution 1.2 2.4
LNGStorage 1.1 2.3
LNGImport 0.2 0.4
Petroleum
OilProduction 13.0 27.0
Offshore
GasOffshoreProduction 0.01 0.01
OilOffshoreProduction 0.03 0.06

TotalEmissions 60.5 125.9
3.3. Projectionto2020
The2020forecastofnaturalgasandpetroleumsystemsmethaneemissionsstartswiththe2013Baseline
describedinSection3.2.Usingquantitiessuchasgasproduction,gasconsumption,orpipelinemilesas
drivers,emissionestimatesfromthebaselineinventorywereprojectedto2020.Figure31showsthe
results for estimated methane emissions for both the 2013 baseline inventory and for the 2020
projections.DatafromICFsGMMmodelwasusedtoestimatefuturedatasuchasproductionvolumes,
pipelinemileage,numberofcompletions,etc.,whilesourcessuchastheNationalEnergyBoard42andthe
U.S. EIAs Annual Energy Outlook (e.g. Canadian import/exports to/from the U.S.) were utilized to
supplementtheprojections.Inaddition,expectedemissionreductionsfromsourcessuchashighbleed
pneumatic devices and wet seal centrifugal compressors as a result of voluntary control efforts are
includedintheforecast.Othersourceswereassumedtohavenoadditionalcontrolmeasuresapplied.
Emissions are projected to be relatively flat over this period: 125.9 Bcf in 2013 to 124.8 Bcf in 2020.
GrowthisobservedintheGatheringandBoostingandTransmissionssegments,mostlyduetoincreased
unconventional production in British Columbia and new pipeline projects, respectively. Much of the
offsetting decline in emissions can be attributed to the decrease in conventional production across
Alberta,drivenmainlybyeconomicsandgeology.Giventherelativelyflatemissionsprojectionprofile,
morethan90%oftheemissionsin2020comefromexistingsources(sourcesinplaceasof2013)asshown
42
NationalEnergyBoardStatisticsandAnalysis
https://www.nebone.gc.ca/nrg/sttstc/indexeng.html
inFigure32.Theprojectionalsodisaggregatedthenationallevelupstreamemissionsestimateofthe
2013inventorytoCanadianprovincesinthisstudy.ThedetailsoftheanalysisarediscussedinAppendix
A.
Figure31EmissionProjectionsto2020(IncludingOffshoreandExcludingOilSands)

Figure32DistributionofEmissionsin2020
3.4. IdentificationofTargetedEmissionSources

Table32summarizesthelargestemittingsourcecategoriesintheprojected2020emissionsfortheoil
andgassectorsbymajorsourcecategory.Thetop35sourcecategoriesaccountforapproximately80%
ofthetotal2020methaneemissionsof124.8Bcfandtheremaining100+categoriesaccountfor0.7%or
lessofthetotalemissionseachindividually.Althoughthesesourcecategorieswerenotincludedinthis
specifictableduetotheirsmallsize,therearedemonstratedmethanereductiontechnologiesthatcan
providecosteffectivereductionsformanyofthemonaselectivecasebycasebasis.Figure33showsthe
distribution of sources graphically. Vented emissions are the largest emission source category overall,
withstrandedgasventing,reciprocatingcompressorseals,blowdowns,pneumaticcontrollersandpumps
being among the significant sources. Fugitives as a collective source across segments is a significant
emissionscategory.
Table32HighestEmittingOnshoreMethaneSourceCategoriesin2020
2020
Emissions Percentof Cumulative
Segment Source Emissions Cumulative%
Type Total Bcf
(Bcf)
StrandedGasVentingfromOil
OilProduction Vented 12.5 10.0% 12.5 10.0%
Wells
Gatheringand GatheringandBoosting
Fugitive 8.0 6.4% 20.5 16.4%
Boosting Stations
GasProduction ChemicalInjectionPumps Vented 7.7 6.1% 28.1 22.5%
Gatheringand ReciprocatingCompressors
Vented 5.7 4.6% 33.8 27.1%
Boosting SealsUncontrolled
CentrifugalCompressors(Iso
GasTransmission Fugitive 5.5 4.4% 39.3 31.5%
Valve)
Gatheringand CompressorBlowdowns
Vented 5.0 4.0% 44.3 35.5%
Boosting Uncontrolled
LiquidsUnloadingWellsw/
GasProduction Vented 4.7 3.8% 49.0 39.3%
PlungerLifts
GasTransmission TransmissionStationVenting Vented 3.5 2.8% 52.5 42.1%
GasProduction WellHeadFugitives Fugitive 3.1 2.5% 55.6 44.6%
GasProduction Meters/Piping Fugitive 3.0 2.4% 58.6 47.0%
SweetReciprocating
GasProcessing CompressorsSeals Vented 2.9 2.3% 61.5 49.3%
Uncontrolled
SweetBlowdowns/Venting
GasProcessing Vented 2.4 1.9% 63.9 51.2%
(RoutineMaintenance)
GasProduction LowBleedPneumaticDevices Vented 2.2 1.8% 66.2 53.0%
GasProduction Separators Fugitive 2.2 1.7% 68.3 54.7%
OilProduction LowBleedPneumaticDevices Vented 2.2 1.7% 70.5 56.5%
2020
Type Total Bcf
(Bcf)
LiquidsUnloading
Uncontrolled
OilProduction OilTanksSAGDUncontrolled Vented 1.8 1.5% 74.4 59.6%
IntermittentBleedPneumatic
OilProduction Vented 1.8 1.4% 76.2 61.1%
DevicesDumpValves
IntermittentBleedPneumatic
DevicesDumpValves
SweetBlowdownValve
GasProcessing Fugitive 1.7 1.4% 79.7 63.9%
OperatingVenting
GasProcessing SweetGasProcessingPlants Fugitive 1.7 1.4% 81.4 65.2%
GasProduction HighBleedPneumaticDevices Vented 1.6 1.3% 83.0 66.5%
PipelineVenting(Routine
GasTransmission Vented 1.6 1.3% 84.6 67.8%
Maintenance/Upsets)
CompressorExhaust(Gas
LNGStorage Combusted 1.5 1.2% 86.1 69.0%
Engines)
CompressorStations
GasTransmission Fugitive 1.4 1.2% 87.5 70.1%
(Transmission)
OilProduction OilTanks Vented 1.4 1.1% 88.9 71.2%
GasProduction DumpValveVenting Fugitive 1.4 1.1% 90.3 72.4%
CentrifugalCompressors(wet
GasTransmission Vented 1.4 1.1% 91.7 73.5%
seals)Uncontrolled
Gatheringand
IsolationValveVenting Fugitive 1.4 1.1% 93.1 74.6%
Boosting
Gatheringand CompressorExhaust(Gas
Combusted 1.3 1.0% 94.4 75.6%
Boosting Engines)
OilProduction HighBleedPneumaticDevices Vented 1.1 0.9% 95.5 76.5%
OilProduction ChemicalInjectionPumps Vented 1.1 0.9% 96.5 77.4%
Gatheringand BlowdownValveStandby
Fugitive 1.0 0.8% 97.6 78.2%
Boosting Venting
Gatheringand GatheringandBoosting
Fugitive 1.0 0.8% 98.6 79.0%
Boosting Stations
GasProduction Heaters Fugitive 1.0 0.8% 99.5 79.8%
Figure33Top2020ProjectedMethaneEmissionsSources

3.5. SelectedMitigationTechnologies
The following sections describe the mitigation measures included in this analysis to address the high
emittingsourcecategories.Muchofthecost43andperformancedataforthetechnologiesisbasedon
informationprovidedbyindustryandequipmentvendorsourcesconsultedduringthisandtheearlierICF
study,whichhasbeenupdatedandaugmentedwithCanadianspecificinformationaswellasupdates
fromtheEPANaturalGasSTARprogram44andotherdatasources.Thecostshavealsobeenadaptedto
emissionsprofilesestimatedforCanada,specificallyforleakdetectionandrepairpractices.Thediscussion
isorganizedaccordingtotheemissionsourceandmitigationoption.Allcostsinthissectionarelistedin
Canadiandollarsunlessotherwisestatedandalreadyreflecta120%costescalationacrossallofCanada
from base U.S. costs, which is discussed further in Section 4 of this report. In addition to this global
Canadiancostescalation,themodelalsoadjustsforregionalpricedifferencesacrosstheprovinces,which
isalsodiscussedinSection4.
This analysis attempts to define reasonable estimates of average cost and performance based on the
availabledata.Thecostsandperformanceofanactualindividualprojectmaynotbedirectlycomparable
totheaveragesemployedinthisanalysisbecauseimplementationcostsandtechnologyeffectivenessare
highlysitespecific.Costsforspecificactualfacilitiescouldbehigherorlowerthantheaveragesusedin
thisanalysis.
FugitiveEmissionsFugitiveemissionsaretheunplannedlossofmethanefrompipes,valves,flanges,
andothertypesofequipment.Fugitiveemissionsfromreciprocatingcompressors,compressorstations
(transmission,storage,andgathering),wells,andLDCmeteringandregulatorequipmentareoneofthe
largestcombinedemissioncategory.
Leak Detection and Repair (LDAR) is the generic term for the process of locating and repairing these
fugitiveleaks.Thereareavarietyoftechniquesandtypesofequipmentthatcanbeusedtolocateand
quantify these fugitive emissions. Extensive work has been done by EPA and others to document and
describethesetechniques,bothintheGasSTARreferencematerialsandinseveralregulatoryanalyses.
Insomeinstancesandinthisstudy,LDARhasbeenfoundtobeamongstthemostcosteffectiveoptions
toreducemethaneemissions.
Thepotentialsizeandnatureofthesefugitiveemissionscanvarywidelybyindustrysegmentandeven
bysite.Whiletherearesomeprovincialrequirementsforleakdetection,asnotedabove,frequencyof
inspectionislefttothediscretionoftheoperatorwhichsuggestsadditionalreductionsareachievable
withcompaniesallconsistentlyperformingmoreregularscreening.Despitemultipleeffortstoidentify
Canadian costs for leak detection, they are not available publicly. Therefore, this study relied on data
availablefromU.S.studiesandregulations,butmodifiedfortheCanadiancontext.Otherthanlabour,the
costofequipmentforlocatingleakswillnotbedifferent.Thisisbecausethereareonlytwovendorswho
44
http://www.epa.gov/gasstar/

supply the primary leak detection equipment, the infrared camera capable of detecting methane
emissionsfromtheoilandgasindustry.
LDARprogramshavebeenanalyzedforseveralrecentU.S.regulatoryinitiatives,includingfortheEPAs
NSPS Subpart OOOO45 and the Colorado Air Quality Control Commission Regulation Number 7 (5 CCR
10019)46.ThisstudyusedboththeColoradoregulatoryanalysisandtheEPATechnicalSupportDocument
(TSD)47forNSPSSubpartOOOOandOOOOaasthebasisforcoststructureandreductioneffectiveness
calculations.ThisstudytooktheaverageemissionsperfacilitytypefromtheCanadianbaselinedeveloped
inthisstudytoestablishemissionreductionsfromimplementingaLDARprogram.
The key factors in the analysis are how much time it takes an inspector to survey each facility (or
alternativelyhowmanyfacilitiescanbesurveyedinaday),howmanyinspectionsarerequiredeachyear,
how much reduction can be achieved, and how much time is required for repairs. According to the
recently published NSPS OOOOa Technical Support Document, the EPA indicates that more frequent
inspectionsresultingreaterreductions48,summarizedasapproximately:
Annualinspection=40%reduction
SemiAnnualinspection=60%reduction
Quarterlyinspection=80%reduction
Althoughthisanalysisassumesquarterlyemissionsurveysforallfacilities,thereductionwasassumedto
beonly60%.ThismeasurewastakentoaccountforthefactthatsomeCanadianoperatorsarealready
implementregularLDARprogramsperCAPPBestManagementPractices(BMPs).
ThisstudyadaptedtheEPAandColoradoanalysistotheCanadiancontext,whichcalculatesthecapital
andlabourcosttofieldafulltimeinspector,includingallowancesfortravelandrecordkeeping(Table
33).Thisstudyaddedadditionaltimefortraining.Thecapitalcostincludesaninfraredcamera(whichis
usedtolocatefugitiveemissions)atruckandthecostofarecordkeepingsystem.Thecombinedhourly
costwasthebasisforthecostestimates.Thisestimateisonthehighendoftherangeofcostssuggested
bydiscussionswithCanadianoilandgasexperts.
Table33LDARHourlyCostCalculation
Labour CapitalandInitialCosts
InspectionStaff $150,000 InfraredCamera $183,300
45
http://www.epa.gov/airquality/oilandgas/
46
http://www.colorado.gov/cs/Satellite/CDPHEAQCC/CBON/1251647985820
47
U.S.EPA,OilandNaturalGasSector:StandardsofPerformanceforCrudeOilandNaturalGasProduction,Transmission,and
Distribution.BackgroundSupplementalTechnicalSupportDocumentfortheFinalNewSourcePerformanceStandards.
http://www.epa.gov/airquality/oilandgas/pdfs/20120418tsd.pdf
48
NSPSOOOOaTechnicalSupportDocument
http://www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=EPAHQOAR201005055021

Labour CapitalandInitialCosts
Supervision(@20%) $30,000 PhotoIonizationDetector $7,500
Overhead(@10%) $15,000 Truck $33,000
Travel(@15%) $22,500 Recordkeepingsystem $21,750
Recordkeeping(@10%) $15,000 Total $245,550
Reporting(@10%) $15,000
Fringe(@30%) $45,000 TrainingHours 80
SubtotalCosts $292,500 TrainingDollars $12,447
Hours/yr 1880 AmortizedCapital +Training $68,058
HourlyLabourRate $155.6 AnnualLabour $292,500
AnnualTotalCost $360,558
TotalCostasHourlyRate $191.8
Manyanalyseshaveusedfacilitycomponentcountsandhistoricaldataonthetimerequiredtoinspect
eachcomponenttoestimatefacilitysurveytimes.However,theuseoftheinfraredcameratechnology
allowsmuchshortersurveytimes.49Theestimatesherearebasedonexperiencewiththeinfraredcamera
andareshorterthantheestimatesthatarebasedontheolderleakdetectionapproachusinghandheld
devices,suchastheorganicvaporanalyzer(OVA).
Thisstudythenestablishedtheaveragefugitiveemissionvaluesperfacilityforproduction,gatheringand
boosting,transmission,processing,andLDCsfromthebaselinedevelopedinthisstudy.Forthepurposes
ofimplementingLDAR,facilityinproductionisdefinedasasinglewellwhichmayincludebasicprocess
equipmentsuchasseparator,heaters,andglycoldehydrators.Ingatheringandboosting,transmission,
andprocessingthefacilityisdefinedasthestation,withoutthepipelinesincluded.AndfinallyLDCsare
definedasmeteringandregulatorstations/vaults.Foreachsegmenttheaveragefugitiveemissionsvalue
isthetotalfugitiveemissionsfromthesegmentdividedbythetotalnumberoffacilitiesinthatsegment.
Table34summarizestheassumptionsfortheoverallLDARcalculation.Inadditiontothesurveys,the
estimate includes one initial visit to each site to inventory the equipment (equivalent hours to two
inspection visits for each site with cost averaged over five years) and additional visits for repairs.
AssumptionsweremadeforestimatingthehoursforeachinspectionbasedonSMEinputandreviewof
theNSPS.Alargenumberoftheentirepopulationofwellsareexpectedtohaveonlythewellwithout
49
Robinson,D,et.al.,RefineryEvaluationofOpticalImagingtoLocateFugitiveEmissions.JournaloftheAir&Waste
ManagementAssociation.Volume57June2007.

anysubstantialequipmentonsite.Thetimerequiredtosurveythechristmastree/wellandassociated
pipingisminimal.Whenthetimerequiredtosurveythesewellsisaveragedwithothersitesthathave
process equipment it is reasonable to assume that it takes 0.33 hours per site across an 8 hour work
workday,onaverage,or24wellsperday.Asaconservativemeasure,thisstudyassumedonly20wells
perdaycouldbeinspectedbycarusinganIRcamera,or0.4hoursperwell.
Somerepairscanbemadeatthetimeofthesurvey,suchastighteningvalvepackingorflangesbutothers
willrequireadditionalrepairtime.Thisanalysisassumesrepairtimeequivalenttothreesurveyvisitsfor
eachfacilityforrepairseachyear.Thecapitalcostoflargerrepairsisnotincludedontheassumptionthat
theserepairswouldneedtobemadeanywayandtheLDARprogramissimplyalertingtheoperatortothe
need.ThetimeforrepairsisconsistentwiththelowendoftheColoradoanalysisthatwasderivedbased
oncomponentcountsandleakrates.Thislowerrepairestimatetakesintoaccountthat:
Theseareaveragevaluesacrossfacilitiesnoteveryfacilitywillrequirerepairs.
These are average values over time not every facility will need repairs every year while being
monitoredonacontinuingbasis.
Someorallofcostofmajorrepairsisassumedtobepartofregularfacilitymaintenance.TheLDAR
processallowsoperatorstopinpointtheseleaksthatarefixedduringregularshutdowncycles.
Table34CostCalculationQuarterlyLDAR
Wells Gathering Processing Transmission LDC

MethaneMcf/yr 117 2,900 9,370 20,086 114
%Reduction 60% 60% 60% 60% 60%
ReductionMcf 70 1,740 5,622 12,052 7
HourseachInspection 0.4 10.7 16.0 16.0 0.7
Frequency(peryear) 4 4 4 4 5
AnnualInspectionCost $307 $8,183 $12,274 $12,274 $639
InitialSetUp $31 $818 $1,227 $1,227 $51
RepairLabourCost $230 $6,137 $9,206 $9,206 $384
TotalCost/yr $568 $15,138 $22,708 $22,708 $1,074

RecoveredGasValue* $536 $13,250 $42,817 $80,077 $455
NetCost $32 $1,888 ($20,109) ($57,369) $619

CostofReduction($/Mcfmethanereduced)

Wells Gathering Processing Transmission LDC

WithoutGasCredit $8.07 $8.70 $4.04 $1.88 $15.69
WithGasCredit50 $0.45 $1.09 $(3.58) $(4.76) $9.05

*Gasat$5CAD/Mcf
The value of reduced gas losses is credited to the program for the upstream segments. These final
reductioncostvalueswereusedfortheanalysis.
ReciprocatingCompressorRodPackingReciprocatingcompressorsareusedinmostsegmentsofthe
naturalgasandoilindustry,thoughrarelyinlocalgasdistributionthaninothersegments.Rodpacking
systemsareusedtomaintainasealaroundthepistonrod,minimizingtheleakageofhighpressuregas
fromthecompressorcylinder,whilestillallowingtherodtomovefreely(Figure34).However,somegas
still escapes through the rod packing, and this volume increases as the packing wears out over time,
potentiallytomanytimestheinitialleakrate.Thereisnostandardoptimumintervaltoreplacetherod
packing, but the NSPS Subpart OOOO requires rod packing in new reciprocating compressors in the
productionandprocessingsectorstobereplacedevery26,000hoursofoperation(approximatelyevery
threeyears).
Figure34ReciprocatingCompressorRodPacking
Industryreportsthattherodpackingforcompressorsatgasprocessingplantsandsometransmission
stations is routinely replaced at least that frequently as part of routine maintenance. However, it is
believedthatrodpackingintheproductionandgatheringandboostingsectorsisreplacedlessfrequently.
Thisisdue,inpart,toseveralfactors,includingtheremotelocationofthesecompressors,thelackofa
50
WithGasCreditOperatorisabletomonetizethemethanerecovered,thusreducingoverallreductioncost.

backupcompressorforuseduringcompressordowntime,andbecausemanyofthecompressorsinthese
sectorsareleasedratherthanowned.Thisanalysisassumesarequirementtoreplacerodpackingforall
reciprocatingcompressorsevery26,000hoursofoperation.
GasSTARdata51indicatesthatrings(thecompressorpacking)costbetween$450and$900percylinder
and$1,500to$3,750percompressortoinstall.IndustrysourcesfromthepreviousU.S.MACCurvestudy52
putthecostat$7,500percylinder,whichwasadoptedforthisanalysis.Acrossa15yearperiod,replacing
a cylinder every 3 years costs approximately $22,500, while replacing a cylinder every 5 years costs
approximately$37,500.Theincrementaldifferencebetweenthe5yearand3yearcaseis$15,000total
or$3,000ifannualizedoverthe5yearcase.Assuming3.3cylindersperreciprocatingcompressoryields
atotalincrementalcostof$9,900perreciprocatingcompressor.
TheTechnicalSupportDocument(TSD)forNSPSSubpartOOOOprovidesadetailedanalysisofrodpacking
replacement.TheemissionsfromnewrodpackingareestimatedintheTSDat11.5standardcubicfeet
perhour(scfh).Baselineemissionsforrodpackingareestimatedatapproximately57scfh,howeverthe
ageofthepackingatthattimeisnotstated.Thereislittledataontheemissionsfromrodpackingover
timebutreductionsforthismitigationoptioncomefromreplacingtherodpackingatashorterinterval
thancurrentlybeingpracticedatagivenfacility.
Forthisanalysisitwasassumedthatthefacilitycurrentlyreplacestherodpackingeveryfiveyearsand
thattheintervalisreducedtothreeyears(26,000hours).Itwasassumedthatthenewrodpackingemits
11.5scfhandtheemissionsincreaselinearlyto57scfhafterthreeyearsandincreaselinearlythereafter.
Comparingtheemissionsunderthisscenariofor15years,thethreeyearreplacementschedulewould
emit31%lessthanthefiveyearreplacementschedule.Inaddition,thecostofrodpackingreplacement
would be 67% greater for the three year replacement schedule than the five year schedule. As noted
above,itwasassumedthatrodpackingisalreadychangedonthisscheduleinmanyprocessingplantsand
some transmission stations, so the applicability was reduced to 25% for processing and 70% for
transmission,storageandLNG.TheassumptionsaresummarizedinTable35.
Table35AssumptionsforRodPackingReplacement
CapitalCost
Percent Mcf Lifetime Costw/oGas
per
Reduction Reduced/year (years) Credit
Compressor
$9,900 31% 438 3 $9.09/Mcf
51
ReducingMethaneEmissionsFromCompressorRodPackingSystems
http://www.epa.gov/gasstar/documents/ll_rodpack.pdf
52

CentrifugalCompressors(wetseals)Thesealsinacentrifugalcompressorperformasimilarfunctionto
the rod packing in a reciprocating compressor allowing the rotating shaft to move freely without
allowingexcessivehighpressuregastoescape.Centrifugalcompressorswithwetsealsusecirculatingoil
as a seal against the escape of high pressure gas, and the oil entrains some of the gas as it circulates
throughthecompressorseal.Thisgasmustbeseparatedfromtheoiltomaintainproperoperation(called
degassingthesealoil),andthegasremovedfromthesealoilistypicallyventedtotheatmosphere,and
insomecasescaptureandreroutedtobeneficialuseorsenttoaflare.53Theseemissionscantotal30,000
Mcf/yearormore.Therearetwooptionstomitigatingemissionsfromwetsealsystems.Thefirstisthe
replacementofthewetsealswithdrysealsthatdonotuseoilanddonotventsignificantamountsofgas.
Thedrysealtechnologyalsoprovidesadditionalbenefitsintermsofreducedoperationalanddowntime
costs.Mostnewcentrifugalcompressorsarebeingfittedwiththedrysealasastandardoption.
Thesecondoptionistocaptureandusetheentrainedsealoilgasratherthanventingit.Typically,this
recoveredgasiseitherinjectedbackintothecompressorsuction,injectedintoalowpressurefuelline,
orsenttothesalesline.Insomecases,thecapturedgasmaybesenttoaflareforcombustion.Thisretrofit
technology currently exists at several compressor stations that had such systems installed as original
equipment,butithasnotbeenappliedcommerciallyasaretrofit.However,theequipmentneededfora
retrofitiscommerciallyavailable.
Bothtechnologiesarecommerciallyavailable.Thechoiceonwhethertouseadrysealorwetsealretrofit
dependsonseveralfactors,suchassizeandlifeexpectancyofthecompressor,wetsealemissionsrate,
andwhetherthereisaplacetoputthecapturedgas.Ineithercase,itisquitelikelythatanoperatorwill
implementtheoptionthatprovidesthemostbenefitspecifictotheparticularoperatorssituation(e.g.
operations,location,economics,safety,etc.).
Althoughthegascanberecaptured,itmaybedifficulttouseitproductively,asthisdependsonboththe
pressure of the captured gas and whether a need for the gas exists. The applicability is therefore
discountedby10%to25%dependingontheindustrysegment.Thedrysealretrofithaslargeupfront
capital cost, anywhere from $375,000 to $750,000, depending on compressor size. However, it does
provideoperationalefficiencyoverthelongrun,becauseitdoesnotrequiresealoilreplenishmentand
toutslowermaintenancethanawetseal.Thewetsealcapturesystemhasamuchlowerupfrontcapital
investment of approximately 75,000 to $150,000 depending on the size of the compressor and the
efficiencyofcapture.However,themaintenancecostofaretrofitdonotchange.Forthisstudy,itwas
assumedthattheoperatorwilleitherreplacethewetsealwithadrysealat$675,000withamaintenance
costreductionof$75,000ortheywillretrofitthewetsealwithacapturesystematacostof$105,000.
53
ReplacingWetSealswithDrySealsinCentrifugalCompressorshttp://www.epa.gov/gasstar/documents/ll_wetseals.pdf

Bothoptionsresultinanequivalentcosteffectivenessof$0.4/Mcfwithoutagascreditand$5.94/Mcf
withagascredit.
Figure35WetSealCompressorSchematic
PneumaticDevicesPneumaticdevicesusethepressureofthenaturalgasstreamtooperatevarious
control functions, such as adjusting valves to maintain proper pressure, actuating liquid level and
temperature controllers, etc. Some devices require a continuous small discharge of gas as part of the
controllerfunction.Thesetypesofdevicesaredesignatedaseitherlowbleeddevices(emitting<6scf/hr)
orhighbleeddevices(emitting6scf/hr,buttypicallymuchmoreoftenmorethan30scf/hr).Inaddition
tothesetwocategories,thereareintermittentdevicesthataredesignedtodischargegasonlywhenthey
are actuating. These types of pneumatic devices can have emissions anywhere between high and low
bleedcontrollers.Onecommondeviceisanintermittentlevelcontroldevice(dumpvalve)thatemits
gasonlywhenactuatedandtypicallyhasemissionssimilartolowbleedcontrollers.Thelevelofemissions
fromanintermittentdeviceishighlyvariableanddependsontheprocessitislocatedonandthefunction
itperforms.
AlthoughstudiesexistwithCanadianspecificemissionsfactorsforpneumatics,thereisnotaconsolidated
dataset for each province or broken down by segment. To generate the necessary factors, this study
supplementedCanadianspecificinformationwithproxydata.TheEPAGHGReportingProgramSubpart
Wprovidesinformationonpneumaticcontrollersthatcanbeusedtoestimatethedistributionofthese
devicesineachsegmentoftheCanadianoilandgasindustry.ThisanalysisisdiscussedinAppendixAand,
forexample,yieldsaroughdistributionof10%highbleed,60%intermittent,and30%lowbleeddevices
for the Production segment. Further analysis was performed to estimate the distribution of higher
emitting intermittent devices vs loweremitting dump valves, also discussed in Appendix B. For the
Productionsegment,itwasestimatedthat75%oftheintermittentbleeddevicesareofthedumpvalve
variety.
Thetwomitigationoptionsconsideredinthestudyare:

Replacehighbleedcontrollerswithlowbleedcontrollers.
Installinstrumentairsystemswheregridpowerisavailable.
Somecomponentsrequirehighbleedcontrollersforoperationalreasons,primarilyforfastactingvalves
associated with compressors, so the measure was applied to only 60% of the inventory of high bleed
controllersintransmission,storage,andLNG,80%inprocessingand90%ofthehighbleedcontrollersin
other segments. Although there are lower cost estimates from Gas STAR and vendors, this measure
assumedacostof$4,464perreplacementbasedonindustrycomments.Bothoptionsyieldagreaterthan
90% reduction. This yields a reduction cost of $1.45/Mcf of methane for replacement of high bleed
pneumaticsand$9.07/Mcfofmethaneforreplacementofintermittentbleedpneumaticswithinstrument
airsystems,includingacreditforrecoveredgas,whereapplicable.
Instrumentairsystemsdirectlyreplacenaturalgasthatisusedbypneumaticdevicesasasourceofpower
with air. This requires the installation of an air compressor, compressed air tank, and dryer. The
instrumentaircanbecompressedtothesamepressureastheexistingnaturalgaspressureusedinthe
pneumaticdevices.Therefore,therearenooperationallimitationsonwhathighbleeddevicescanbe
convertedtoinstrumentair,i.e.theycanachievethesameleveloffastactionasnaturalgas.However,
not all facilities have access to grid power. Hence, this study assumes that 30% of gathering, 50% of
processing,and30%oftransmissionhighbleeddevicescanbeconvertedtoinstrumentair,resultingina
100%reductioninmethaneemissions.Implementationofinstrumentairatfacilitiesthatonlyhavelow
bleed (with possibly a few high bleed devices for operational consideration) is usually not feasible
economicallyandhavenotbeenconsideredinthisstudy.
Chemical Injection Pumps These are small pumps used to inject various chemicals, most commonly
methanol,intogaswellstopreventwellfreezeupduringcoldweather.Theyaretypicallydrivenbygas
pressureandventgaswhentheyoperate.Thesuggestedmitigationmeasureistoreplacethegasdriven
pumpswithelectricpumpsdrivenbysolarenergyorgridpower.(Wellpadsandmanygathering/boosting
stationstypicallydonothaveelectricity.)ThistechnologyhasbeendemonstratedbyGasSTARPartners
and industry respondents indicated that it is gaining broader acceptance. Replacement results in
eliminationofthemethaneemissions,andthegasdrivenpumpcouldbeleftinplaceasabackup.The
costofthemeasurewasestimatedat$7,500perpump,yieldinganannualreductionof180Mcf/yearand
acosteffectivenessof$0.32/Mcfofmethanereducedwiththerecoveredgascredit.Localconditionsor
operationalconsiderationsincludinghoursofsunlightmaylimittheapplicability.TheU.S.studyassumed
80%applicabilityhoweverthismeasurewasreducedto60%forthisstudytoaccountforhigherlatitudes.
OilandCondensateTankswithoutControlDevicesCrudeoilandliquidcondensateproductionatwells
andgatheringfacilitiesisstoredinfixedrooffieldtanksanddissolvedgasintheliquidsisreleasedand
collects in the tank space above the liquid. Ultimately, this gas is often vented to the atmosphere or
occasionallysenttotheflare.Vaporrecoveryunits(VRUs)collectandcompressthisgas,whichcanthen
beredirectedtoasalesline,usedonsiteforfuel,orflared.

ThesizingoftheVRUdependsonthevaporvolume,whichinturndependsontheupstreamseparator
pressure,APIgravityoftheoilorcondensate,andthethroughputofthetank.Forthisstudy,thisstudy
assumedadistributionoftanks,andtherebyVRUs,bysizewhichisrepresentativeoftheindustrywhere
fewertanksarelargeandlocatedingatheringsystemsandmostofthetanksareatthewellheadsand
smallerinsize.Table36showsthedistributionassumedforVRUsizesapplicableinthisstudy.Datawas
adapted from the EPA Natural Gas STAR lessons learned Installing Vapor Recovery Units on Storage
Tanks54andthisdatawassupportedinconversationswithprovincialexperts.
Table36AssumptionsforVaporRecoveryUnits
Design Population Installation

O&M ValueofGasInternalRateof($/Yr),
Capacity Distribution &Capital
($/Year) Payback(months),Return(%)
(Mcfd) Weighting Costs($)
25 25% $53,607 $11,051 $45,450 19 58
50 45% $69,110 $12,629 $90,900 11 111
100 15% $83,286 $15,155 $182,040 6 200
200 10% $111,638 $17,681 $364,088 4 310
500 5% $155,939 $25,259 $910,215 3 567
BasedonGasSTARandindustrydata,theweightedaveragecapitalcostofthismeasureisassumedtobe
$75,954withanoperatingcost(electricity)of$13,749peryearandareductionof9,232Mcfperyear.
Thisyieldsareductioncostof$4.78/Mcfifthegasisrecoveredforsaleor$2.83/Mcfifitisflared.Some
facilitiesalreadyhaveVRUsandtheymaynotbeeffectivewheretheliquidvolumeissmallorthemethane
content is low. Also VRUs require electricity, which is not available at all sites. For these reasons, the
measure is applied to 50% of the remaining oil and 25% of the remaining condensate tank emission
inventory.
KimrayPumpsKimraypumpsaregaspoweredpumpsusedtocirculateglycolingasdehydrators.They
arelargerthanthechemicalinjectionpumpsandventlargeramountsofgas.Inthefacilitiesthathave
electricity,thesecouldbereplacedbyelectricmotordrivenpumps.Thereplacementcostisestimatedat
$15,000perpumpbasedonvendorandGasSTARdata.Unlikethesolarpumps,thesepumpswillrequire
gridelectricity,estimatedtocost$3,000peryear.Basedona5,000Mcfemissionreduction,thecost
effectiveness is $6.25/Mcf of methane with credit for gas recovered and it is applied to 50% of the
inventory.
LiquidsUnloadingLiquidsunloadingistheprocessofremovingliquidsfromthebottomofgaswells
whentheaccumulationisimpedingthegasproduction.Theliquidsmustberemovedinordertoallow
effective production from the well. Historically this has been practiced on older, vertical wells whose
pressurehasdeclined.
54
EPALessonsLearned:VaporRecoveryUnits
http://www.epa.gov/gasstar/documents/ll_final_vap.pdf

Whilethereareavarietyofmethodsofremovingthisliquid,onemethodisbyventingorblowingthe
welltotheatmosphere,usingthepressurizedgasinthereservoirtoliftandblowtheliquidsoutofthe
well. The frequency and duration of liquids unloading depends on the well and reservoir conditions,
however,ventingisnotaveryeffectivemethodofremovingtheliquids.Further,sincethewellisvented
totheatmosphere,itresultsinlargemethaneemissionsandlossesofgas.Therearemultiplemethodsof
removing liquids without venting, but in standard practice, the primary goal of liquids unloading is to
improvewellperformance,notreduceemissions.Thechoiceofmethodisnormallyafunctionofthecost
versusthevalueofimprovedwellperformance.ThepreviousU.S.MACcurvecontainscasestudieson
thistopic55.
Figure36PlungerLiftSchematic
Plungerliftsaredevicesthatfitintothewellboreandusethe
gas pressure to bring liquids to the surface more efficiently
while controlling and limiting the amount of venting (Figure
36). If there is sufficient reservoir pressure, the gas can be
directedtothesaleslinewithnoventing.Ifthereisinsufficient
pressuretodirectthegastothesaleslineandthegasmustbe
vented,theemissionscanstillbereducedby90%comparedto
uncontrolled venting. Plunger lifts are a relatively low cost
optionandcanbeimplementedinarelativelysimplemanual
controlmethodormorecomplexautomatedinstallations.That
said,thetechnologydoeshavelimitations.Thewellmusthave
sufficientpressuretooperatetheplungerandolderwellsmay
require cleanouts or workovers to allow the plunger to
operate. Further, not all well types can use a plunger lift for
liquidsremoval.
GasSTARestimatesforplungerliftinstallationrangefrom$3,750to$15,00056butindustrycommenters
ontheU.S.studycitedcostsintherangeof$22,500andpointedoutthatwelltreatmentsandcleanouts
mayberequiredbeforeplungerliftscanbeinstalled.Thisanalysisassumesacostof$30,000,including
theallowancethatsomewellsmayneedcleanoutsorotherwork.GasSTARPartnersreportreductions
ofventingemissionsof90%forplungerliftsthatdonotgotothesalesline.Inaddition,theyreportthat
liquids unloading can increase production by anywhere from 3 to 300 thousand cubic feet per day
(Mcf/day).Theincreasedproductivityofthewellistheprimarygoalofliquidsunloadingandthehigher
gasproductioncanpayforthecostofplungerliftsmanytimesover.However,thesubsequentincrease
in well productivity is difficult to predict and is not included in this analysis. Without credit for the
55
56
InstallingPlungerLiftSystemsInGasWellshttp://epa.gov/gasstar/documents/ll_plungerlift.pdf

productivity increase, the costeffectiveness breakeven point is at about 1,200 Mcf/year of venting,
estimatedhereasareductioncostof$0.07/Mcfreduced.
If the well does not have sufficient pressure or cannot support a plunger lift, there are a variety of
mechanical pumping technologies that can be employed to remove liquids. However, these are much
moreexpensiveandwhiletheymayhaveapositivepaybackforincreasingwellproduction,theymost
oftendonotpurelyforthemethaneemissionreduction.Moreover,themethanereductionvalueonly
applies if the well would otherwise be vented. As the well pressure declines, venting becomes a
diminishinglyeffectiveoption.Inaddition,itisnotclearhoweffectiveventingwillbeatremovingliquids
from long horizontal wells that are now being drilled. It may be that venting for liquids removal will
continuetobeprimarilyfocusedonolder,verticalwells.
ThereisnoCanadiandataset,soaproxywasusedbutwithCanadianspecificityincludedasdescribed
below. The GHG Reporting Program Subpart W provides extensive data on wells that are venting for
liquidsunloadingwithandwithoutplungerlifts.Thedatafor2013showsover25,000wellsventingan
average of 352 Mcf per year without plunger lifts and over 28,000 wells with plunger lifts venting an
averageof362Mcfperyear.Wellsthatuseplungerliftsandsendthegastothesaleslinedonothave
anyventingemissionsanddonotreporttothispartofSubpartW.Whileitseemscounterintuitivethat
wells with plunger lifts that vent would be emitting more than those without plunger lifts, this study
interprets this information to indicate that most of the wells with the largest venting emissions have
alreadyinstalledplungerliftswhilemostoftheremainingwellsareventinginfrequentlyorventingsmall
volumesthatdonotjustifythecostofinstallingplungerlifts.Thatsaid,thereareasmallnumberofwells
withoutplungerliftsthatreportlargerventingemissionsandaccountforadisproportionatefractionof
the venting emissions for wells without plunger lifts, approximately 36% of total venting emissions.
Installingplungerliftsonthesewellscouldbecosteffectiveandcreatesignificantemissionreductions.
Because plunger lifts are not applicable to all wells, the measure was applied to 30% of this emission
segment for the analysis. The costs of plunger lifts were also increased based on conversations with
provincialexperts.
As noted above, wells with plunger lifts also reportsignificant emissions from venting. Operation of a
plungerliftiscomplexanditseffectivenessasanemissionreductiontechniquedependsonmanyfactors
tooperatetheplungerattheoptimumtimetomaximizeproductionandminimizeemissions.Approaches
to plunger lift operation range from ad hoc manual operation, to fixed mechanical timers, to
programmable fuzzy logic automated controllers. Specific data on the potential reductions from
optimizedplungerliftoperationisnotavailablebutitisclearfromindustryexperiencethatanintegrated
programoftraining,technology,andautomationcanimprovetheperformanceofplungerliftsforboth
productivityandemissionreductions.Consequently,theremaybeanopportunityforsignificantemission
reductionthroughoptimizationofplungerlifts,whichisnotincludedhereandwouldbeadditionaltothe
reductionestimatesthisanalysisprovidesforinstallationofnewplungerlifts.
Finally, another option to reduce methane emissions from liquids unloading is to use a portable or
temporaryflaresystemtoburnventedemissions,whichisrequiredbylawinsomejurisdictionslikeBritish

Columbiaifthereissufficientvolume.AlthoughthisstillresultsintheemissionsofGHGs(CO2)andother
airpollutants,aportableflarewouldbeusedtoflaregasfromventingevents,thusavoidingtherelease
ofagaswithahigherglobalwarmingpotential.Atemporaryflarewouldbeusedtoflaregasfrommanual
unloadingofthewell.Estimatedcostsforpurchasingatrailermountedflaresystemrangingfrom2050
ft.inheight,designedtohandlegasflowratesof110MMscfdisapproximately$45,000.Basedondata
forliquidsunloadingventedemissions,the110MMscfdcapacityflareshouldbeadequateacrossmost
oil&gasfacilitiesandisusedassuch.
StrandedGasVentingfromOilWellsandVentingofOilCompletionGasOilcontainssomeamountof
naturalgas,whichisseparatedatthewellhead.Wherethereisagassaleslineavailable,thegasissent
tosales.Whennonearbysaleslineexists,thegasiseitherventedorflared.Thiscanoccurduringthe
shortperiodafterthewelliscompletedoritcancontinuethroughoutthelifeofthewell,dependingon
theaccesstogatheringinfrastructure.WhileflaringcreatesCO2emissionsfromcombustionandsome
unburnedmethane,thetotalgreenhousegasemissionsaremuchlowerthanventingthemethane,with
itshigherglobalwarmingpotential.
Themeasuremodeledhereisflaringofthegasontheassumptionthatthegaswouldbesenttosalesif
theinfrastructurewereavailable.WhileGasSTARandvendorinformationciterelativelylowcostflares,
industrycitedmoreexpensiveflaringequipmentthatisbeingrequiredtomeetregulatoryrequirements.
ThisstudyadoptedanevenhigherestimatebasedoninputfromCanadianexperts,assumingacapital
costof$93,750andafuelcostof$9,000forignition.Theflareisassumedtobe98%effective.Thecost
effectivenessdependsontheamountofgasflared,whichislowerforcompletionemissionsthanflaring
ofassociatedgasonacontinuousbasis.Thecosteffectivenessisestimatedat$2.78/Mcfofmethanefor
completiongas.
PipelineVenting(RoutineMaintenance/Upsets)Theseemissionsoccurwhencompaniestakesections
ofpipelineoutofserviceformaintenanceandventthegasthatisinthepipeline.Theseemissionscanbe
reducedforplannedshutdowns(notemergencyshutdowns)byfirstusingthepipelineinlinecompressors
locatedatcompressorstationstopumpdownthegasintheaffectedsectiontoapressurethatiswithin
thecompressionratioofthecompressor.Oftenthisstillleavesasignificantamountofgasthatcanfurther
be captured using a leased mobile compressor unit. This mobile unit captures the remaining gas and
injectsitintothepipelineupstreamordownstreamofthepipesectionbeingblowndown.Incaseswhere
thepipesectiontobeblowdownisnotincloseproximitytotheinlinecompressorthenonlytheportable
unit may be an effective option. The analysis in this study assumed a combination of both measures
appliedto10milesectionsofpipeline,basedonaGasSTARanalysis57.Wealsoassumedthatonly1in4
pipelinepumpdownactivitieswereabletousebothportableandinlinecompression,andtherestused
onlyinlinecompression.Usingthepipelinecompressorrequiresnocapitalcostbutonlythefuelcostto
pumpdowntheline.Thesecondoptionwastoleaseaportablecompressorandpayforthedeliveryand
57
UsingPipelinePumpDownTechniquesToLowerGasLinePressureBeforeMaintenance.
http://www.epa.gov/gasstar/documents/ll_pipeline.pdf

fuel consumption. Capital costs are zero while operating costs are $590,226/yr, yielding a cost
effectivenessof$2.05withnogasrecoverycredit.
TransmissionStationVentingTransmissionstationventingischaracterizedasasingleemissionssource
characterizedasroutineblowdowns/maintenance.Compressorsmaybeblowndowntotheatmosphere
formaintenanceorupsetconditionsmultipletimesayear,releasingmethanetotheatmosphere,orin
somecasestotheflare.Captureofthisgasispossibleandcanberoutedtothefuelsystemorotherlow
pressuregasstream.
ThereisnoCanadiandataset,butSubpartWhastwodistincttableswithemissionsdataonblowdown
emissions.Onetablecontainsdataonphysicalvolumesthatwereblowndownmorethanonceduring
thereportingyear,whiletheothertablehasuniquephysicalemissionvolumesthatwereblowndown
onlyonceduringthereportingyear.Bothtableswereconsideredwhencharacterizingemissionsfactors
and reduction opportunities across the Transmission and Gas Processing segments. For performing
pipelinecaptureofgasfromotherroutineblowdownemissions,assumptionsweremadebasedonSME
input.Capitalcostsvarybetween$30,000and$75,000whetherperformedonapercompressororper
plant basis, respectively. The cost effectiveness is estimated at $0.80/Mcf and $1.62/Mcf on a per
compressororperplantbasis,respectively.
Summary
Table37summarizesthemitigationmeasuresappliedintheanalysisforeachmajoremissionsource.
Table 38 summarizes the characteristics of the measures modeled. The costeffectiveness ($/Mcf of
methaneremoved)wascalculatedwithandwithoutcreditforanyrecoveredgas58.TheCanadianannual
costwascalculatedastheannualamortizedcapitalcostovertheequipmentlifeplusannualoperating
costs.Thiswasdividedbyannualmethanereductionstocalculatethecosteffectivenesswithoutcredit
forrecoveredgas.Wheregascanberecoveredandmonetizedbytheoperatingcompany,thevalueof
thatgaswassubtractedfromtheannualcosttocalculatethecosteffectivenesswithcreditforrecovered
gas.Thecostsshownherearethebaselinecosts,whichareadjustedforregionalcostvariationinthe
analysis.Asnotedearlier,theseareaveragecoststhatmaynotreflectsitespecificconditionsatindividual
facilities.
58
Thepriceofnaturalgaswasassumedtobe$4/Mcfforthemainportionofanalysisinthisreport.

Table37SummaryofMitigationMeasuresApplied
Source MitigationMeasure
Oil/CondensateTanksw/oControlDevices VaporRecoveryUnits
LiquidsUnloadingWellsw/oPlungerLifts PlungerliftsandPortableFlares
Replacewithlowbleeddevicesor
HighBleedPneumaticDevices
instrumentair
IntermittentBleedPneumaticDevices Replacewithinstrumentairsystems
ChemicalInjectionPumps Solarelectricpumps
KimrayPumps Electricpumps
PipelineVenting(RoutineMaintenance/Upsets) Pipelinepumpdown
Wetsealgascapture orDryseal
CentrifugalCompressors(wetseals)
retrofits
Gascapture androutetofuelsystemor
TransmissionStationVenting
lowerpressuregasstream
StrandedGasVentingfromOilWells Flaring
ReciprocatingCompressorRodPacking Rodpackingreplacement
ReciprocatingCompressorFugitives Leakdetectionandrepair(LDAR)
CompressorStationFugitives Leakdetectionandrepair(LDAR)
WellFugitives Leakdetectionandrepair(LDAR)
GatheringStationFugitives Leakdetectionandrepair(LDAR)
LargeLDCFacilityFugitives Leakdetectionandrepair(LDAR)

Table38SummaryofMitigationMeasureCharacteristics
Name CapitalCost OperatingCost PercentReduction $/Mcfw/Credit $/Mcfw/oCredit
Earlyreplacementofhighbleeddeviceswithlowbleeddevices $4,500 $0 97% $1.46 $9.07
ReplacementofReciprocatingCompressorRodPackingSystems $9,900 $0 30.7% $1.47 $9.09
InstallFlaresStrandedGasVenting $94,050 $9,000 98.0% $3.17 $3.17
InstallFlaresPortable $45,000 $0 98% $0.17 $0.17
InstallPlungerLiftSystemsinGasWells $30,000 $3,600 95% $0.07 $7.54
InstallVaporRecoveryUnits $75,955 $13,750 95% $4.79 $2.83
LDARWells $257,997 $292,500 60% $1.25 $8.87
LDARGathering $257,997 $292,500 60% $1.95 $9.56
LDARLDCMRR $257,997 $292,500 60% $9.63 $17.24
LDARProcessing $257,997 $292,500 60% $3.18 $4.44
LDARTransmission $257,997 $292,500 60% $5.54 $2.07
ReplacePneumaticChemicalInjectionPumpswithSolarElectricPumps $7,500 $113 100% $0.33 $7.28
ReplaceKimrayPumpswithElectricPumps $15,000 $3,000 100% $6.25 $1.36
PipelinePumpDownBeforeMaintenance $0 $591,468 80% $5.55 $2.06
WetSealDegassingRecoverySystemforCentrifugalCompressors $105,000 $0 95% $7.13 $0.48
WetSealRetrofittoDrySealCompressor $675,000 $75,000 95% $7.13 $0.48
BlowdownCaptureandRoutetoFuelSystem(perCompressor) $30,000 $0 95% $6.81 $0.81
BlowdownCaptureandRoutetoFuelSystem(perPlant) $75,000 $0 95% $5.99 $1.62
ReplacewithInstrumentAirSystemsIntermittent $90,000 $26,655 100% $5.75 $1.86
ReplacewithInstrumentAirSystemsHighBleed $90,000 $26,655 100% $5.75 $1.86

3.6. SourceCategoriesNotIncludedinMACAnalysis
Severalsourcecategorieswithemissionswerenotaddressedintheanalysis.Thesourcesandthereasons
fortheirtreatmentaresummarizedbelow.
OilSandsProductionAsnotedinthisstudy,thefollowingsourcesfromoilsandsoperationshave
beenincludedaspartoftheemissionsinventory:
StrandedGasFlaringandVentingcoverssourcescontributingtoflaredandventedvolumes
frominsitubitumenfacilitiesbasedonAlbertasST60Breport.
SAGDTankagecoversventedvolumesfromtanksemissionsoperatinginsteamassistedgravity
drainageproductionoperations.
Beyond these characterized sources, some entities across Canada have made additional efforts to
estimatefugitiveoilsandsemissions, withonesuchestimatefoundontheAlberta Environmental
Monitoring,Evaluation,andReportingInformationServicewebsite59.Thereportonlyfocusesonoil
sands mining production. According to their estimates, methane emissions from oil sands mining
operationsareroughlyinthe4Bcfrange,withemissionsbrokendownasfollows:
TailingsPond74%
MineFaces24%
OtherSources2%
However,evenwithpreliminarystudiesanddataonthistopic,oilsandsminingemissionshavebeen
excludedfromthisreportasanemissionssourceduetothehighlevelofuncertaintyandrelatively
low level of source characterization. Furthermore, there are no mitigation options currently
implementedtocapturemuchoftheseemissions.Thus,thisisanareainwhichfurtheranalysiscould
yieldadditionalopportunitiesforreduction.
CastirongasmainsCastiron mains havebeenidentifiedasa significant emissionsourceinthe
distributionsegmentintheUnitedStates.IntheUnitedStates,thesecastironmainsareprimarily
located in congested urban areas where replacement or repair is very expensive, reported as $1
millionto$3million(US)permile.Thismakesforaveryexpensivecontroloptionbasedpurelyon
emissionreduction.Inaddition,LDCsaremakingincreasingeffortstoreplacemilesofcastironeach
yearforsafetyreasons,sotheemissionsaregraduallydeclining.Newtechnologiescouldreducethe
costofreductioninthefuture.Thatsaid,researchindicatedthatcastironmainsarenotcommonin
Canadaandthisoptionwasnotincluded.
Engine exhaust The exhaust from gasburning engines and turbines contains a small amount of
unburned methane from incomplete combustion of the fuel. While it is a small percentage, it is
59
FugitiveEmissionsforSGEROilSandsFacilities:20112014
http://aemeris.aemera.org/library/Dataset/Details/263

Developmentofthe2013BaselineInventory
significantinaggregate.Oxidationcatalystdevicesareusedtoreduceunburnedemissionsofother
hydrocarbonsintheexhaustbuttheyarenoteffectiveatreducingemissionsofmethaneduetoits
lowerreactivity.However,newcatalystsarebeingdeveloped,inpartfornaturalgasvehicles,which
maybeapplicabletothesesources.Thisisatopicforfurtherresearchandtechnologydeployment.
OthersourcesThereareadditionalcosteffectivemeasuresformethanereductionthathavebeen
identifiedbytheEPAGasSTARprogramandothers.Theyarenotincludedherebecausethisreport
focusesonlyonthelargestemittingsources.However,theiromissionshouldnotbetakentoindicate
thatthemeasureslistedherearetheonlycosteffectivemethanereductionmeasures.

4. AnalyticalResults
4.1. DevelopmentofEmissionControlCostCurves
Withthe2020ProjectedBaselineestablishedandmitigationtechnologiesidentifiedandcharacterizedfor
themajoremittingsectors,emissioncostreductioncurveswerecalculatedforavarietyofscenarios.The
modeldevelopedforthistaskincludestheindividualsourcecategoriesforeachsegmentoftheoiland
gasindustrybyregion.Mitigationtechnologiescanbematchedtoeachsourcebyregionand/orindividual
sourceapplied.Themodelcanalsospecifywhatportionofeachsourcepopulationthemeasureapplies
toandwhetheritappliestonew(post2013),existing(asof2013),orallfacilities.Themodelcalculates
the reduction achieved for each source and calculates the cost of control based on the capital and
operatingcosts,theequipmentlife,andwhereappropriate,thevalueofrecoveredgas.Keyglobalinput
assumptionsinclude:whetheraparticularsegmentisabletomonetizethevalueofrecoveredgas,the
valueofgas,andthediscountrate/costofcapital.Individualinstancesofcostadjustmentswereapplied
acrossprovincestoaccountforU.S./Canadacostdifferencesinadditiontoprovincialcostdifferences.
TheRockyMountainregionintheU.S.wasusedasaproxytorepresentcostinCanadaonanationallevel.
This was chosen as a conservative estimate because based on the U.S. EDF MAC curve study, Rocky
Mountaincostswereroughly20%higherthanbasecostsintheGulfCoast60.Provincialcostswerethen
furtheradjustedupordownbasedonregionalconsumerpriceindex(CPI)fluctuationsbetweenprovinces
reportedbytheNEB61.CPIadjustmentsrangedfroma6%increaseincostinAlbertatoa3%costdecrease
in British Columbia. These estimates were considered to be conservative, as a report for the Alberta
DepartmentofEnergy62onAlbertasnaturalgasandoilinvestmentcompetitivenessindicatedthatAlberta
was1214%moreexpensivethantheU.S.oncomparableoilandgasactivities.
TheresultsarepresentedprimarilyasaMarginalAbatementCostCurve(MACcurve),showninFigure
41.Thisrepresentationshowstheemissionreductionssortedfromlowesttohighestcostofreduction
andshowstheamountofemissionreductionavailableateachcostlevel.Theverticalaxisshowsthecost
perunitin$CAD/Mcfofmethanereduced.Anegativecostofreductionindicatesthatthemeasurehas
apositivefinancialreturn,i.e.savesmoneyfortheoperator.Thehorizontalwidthofthebarsshowsthe
amountofreduction.Theareawithinthebarsisthetotalcostperyear.Theareabelowthehorizontal
axisrepresentssavingsandtheareaabovetheaxisrepresentscost.Thenetsumofthetwoisthetotal
netcostperyear.AllcostsinthissectionareinCanadiandollars(CAD)unlessotherwisestated.
60
ThecostslistedinthisreportaretheCanadianbaselinevalues,i.e.escalatedby20%fromGulfCoastvaluesandconvertedto
Canadiandollars.
61
StatisticsCanadaConsumerPriceIndexTables
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/tablestableaux/sumsom/l01/ind01/l3_3956_2178eng.htm?hili_cpis01
62
TechnicalReportAppendicestoProjectCommitteeFinalTechnicalReporttotheAlbertaDepartmentofEnergyonAlberta's
NaturalGas&ConventionalOilInvestmentCompetitiveness
http://www.energy.alberta.ca/Org/pdfs/CRSierraTechReportApp.pdf
Figure41ExampleMACCurve
4.2. EmissionReductionCostCurves
This section presents the results of the cost curve analysis. The curves represent different views of a
potentialemissioncontrolscenarioin2020basedonmeasuresinstalledbetween2013and2020.The
emissionreductioncostsaretheannualcostsperMcfofmethanereduced.Thisshouldnotbeconfused
withcostperMcfofnaturalgasproduced,whichisanentirelydifferentmetric.Inthecasesshownhere,
thetotalannualcostofreductionsdividedbytotalCanadiangasproductionislessthan$0.01/Mcfofgas
producedinallcases.
Thereareseveralcaveatstotheresults:
Canadiandatasources/reportsandotherU.S.sourcesarethebeststartingpointsforthisanalysis,
buteachisbasedonmanyassumptionsandsomeolderdatasources.Althoughthesereportsandthe
inventoryareimprovingwithnewdata,aspectsofthemethodologyareimperfect,especiallyatthe
detailedlevel,foragranularanalysisofthistype.
Emissionmitigationcostandperformancearehighlysitespecificandvariable.Thevaluesusedhere
areestimatedaveragevalues.
Theanalysispresentsareasonableestimateofpotentialcostandmagnitudeofreductionswithina
rangeofuncertainty.
Thebasecaseassumptionfortheresultsinthissectionassumesa$5CAD/Mcf($4USD/Mcf)pricefor
recovered gas and a 10% discount rate/cost of capital for calculating the cost of control. Additional
sensitivity and alternative cases are shown in Appendix C (e.g. Provincial MAC curves and segment
emissionsbreakdowns).
Figure42showsthenationalaggregateMACcurveforthebaselinetechnologyassumptionsbysource
categoryforbothtonnesCO2efollowedbythesamechartinBcf.TheBcfcurveisusedformuchofthe
analysisandbreakdownsinthissection.Itshowsthereductionsachievablefromeachsourcewiththe
relevant emission control measure. These results are aggregated across industry segments, so the
reciprocatingcompressorfugitivesblock,forexample,includesthecostandreductionsfromthesource
amongallsegments.Thevariationsbetweenregionsandbetweensegmentsforagiventechnologyare
averagedforeachblock.
Figure42NationalAggregateMACCurveforBaselineTechnologyAssumptions
RecoveredGasat
$5.00CAD/Mcf
GWP=100yr@25(AR4)

Thetotalreductionsare56Bcfofmethaneperyearor45%ofthe2020emissionsfromtheoilandgas
industries. The total annualized cost to achieve those reductions is $74.5 CAD million/year or $2.76
CAD/tonnesofCO2eofmethanereduced.Thistotalannualcostisthenetofthe$36.9millionannual
savings(greenbarsbelowtheaxis)and$111.4millionannualcost(bluebarsabovetheaxis).Thechart
shows which sources and technologies have the lowest costofcontrol (height vertical axis) and the
greatestreduction(widthhorizontalaxis).TheresultsarealsosummarizedinTable41.Thecostranges
from $9.16/tonnes of CO2e methane reduced for Gas Capture of Compressor blowdowns to $41.04/
tonnesofCO2emethanereducedforLDARatLDCmeteringandregulatorstations.Thesecostsinclude
regional cost adjustments and follow the cost calculations discussed in Section 3 and 4. Credit for
recoveredgasaccruestoallsectorsexcepttransmissionandLDCs,whicharelimitedbyrateregulation
frommonetizingtheemissionreductions.
Table41alsoshowstheestimatedannualizedcostsinadditiontoreductionpotentialandcostperMcf
reducedofmethane.Thisisatopdownestimatebasedontheprojectedreductionsandthecapitalcost
per measure so the costs are less certain than in a bottomup costing, particularly with respect to
differencesbetweensegments.Thetotalcapitalcostisestimatedat$726.7CADmillion.
Table41AnnualizedCost,ReductionPotential,Cost/Mcf,andInitialCapitalCost
Annualized Bcf Cost$/Mcf InitialCapital

Source/Measure Cost Methane Methane Cost
($million/yr) Reduced/yr Reduced ($million)
CompressorBlowdownsGasCapture $13.25 2.40 $5.51 $42.5
OilTanksVRU $8.13 1.53 $5.33 $11.1
KimrayPumpsElectricPump $2.00 0.39 $4.94 $1.3

Blowdowns/Venting(RoutineMaintenance)Gas $5.25 1.14 $4.63 $18.4
Capture
HighBleedPneumaticDevicesInstrumentAir $1.75 0.43 $3.93 $9.1
CentrifugalCompressors(wetseals)GasCapture $3.88 1.95 $2.01 $13.9
GasProcessingPlantsLDAR $1.63 1.02 $1.65 $4.1
CentrifugalCompressors(BlowdownValve)LDAR $0.38 0.76 $0.44 N/A
ReciprocatingCompressorFugitivesLDAR $0.50 4.18 $0.13 N/A
LiquidsUnloadingUncontrolledFlares $0.13 1.04 $0.18 $85.3
ChemicalInjectionPumpsSolarPumps $6.63 5.23 $1.26 $128.4
LiquidsUnloadingUncontrolledPlungerLift $1.00 0.61 $1.57 $45.4
DumpValveFugitivesLDAR $1.38 0.79 $1.75 N/A
TransmissionStationVentingGasCapture $6.25 3.35 $1.86 $28.3
CentrifugalCompressors(IsoValve)LDAR $7.25 3.59 $2.03 N/A
PipelineVentingPumpDown $2.38 1.00 $2.36 $0.00
CompressorStations(Transmission)LDAR $2.13 0.87 $2.37 N/A
WellFugitivesLDAR $19.75 6.62 $2.98 $53.1
HighBleedPneumaticDevicesLowBleed $7.88 2.38 $3.29 $90.9
StrandedGasVentingfromOilWellsFlares $32.50 9.76 $3.33 $115.9
ReciprocatingCompressorRodPackingRod $7.25 2.15 $3.39 $36.1

Packing
GatheringandBoostingStationsLDAR $16.88 4.82 $3.51 $42.9
GrandTotal $74.56 56.01 $1.33 $726.7
Figure43showstheemissionreductionsbymajorcategory.Reducingventingandfugitiveemissionsare
some of the main opportunities for reduction. Although also a vented emission source, stranded gas
ventingisasignificantsourceofmethaneemissions.Rodpackingreplacementandwetsealcompressors
arealsosignificantsingleequipmenttypesourceswithviablemitigationmeasures.
Figure43DistributionofEmissionReductionPotential
Figure 44 shows the reduction in methane emissions by industry segment for the same case. The
transmissionanddistributionsectorsarenotabletomonetizetheirreductionsandthereforewillalways
haveanetpositivecost.TheLDCsegmenthasonlyonemeasureandisthehighestcost.Thecostsforthe
othersectorsdependontheparticularmitigationoptionsavailableineachandtheiraggregatecost.The
oilandgasproductionsegmentsplusgastransmissionaccountformorethan70%ofthetotalreductions.
Figure44EmissionReductionbyIndustrySegment
Figure 45 shows the breakdown of reduction options for the Gas Production segment. LDAR at wells
accounts for almost half of the reductions and can be reduced at roughly $2.98 per Mcf. Chemical
injection pumps, liquids unloading, and the replacement of high bleed pneumatics are also significant
sourcesatrelativelylowpositivecostmitigationoptions.Thetotalreductionopportunityis14.3Bcfwith
anetcostof$1.95/Mcfofmethanereduced.
Figure45EmissionReductionsfortheGasProductionSegment
Figure46showsthereductionsfortheOilProductionsegment.Strandedgasventingisbyfarthelargest
source,representingabout10Bcfofreductionopportunity.InstallationofVRUsonoiltanksinaddition
tothereplacementofhighbleedpneumaticsaresignificantcomponentsaswell,accountingfornearlya
quarterof thereductions.Ahandfulofother emissionsourcesroundoutthesegment,withthe total
reductionacrossoilproductionbeing13.3Bcfatacostof$2.10/Mcfofmethanereduced.
Figure46EmissionReductionsfortheOilProductionSegment
Figure47showsthereductionsforGatheringandBoosting.LDARtoreducefugitivesatstationsaccounts
foralmosthalfofthereductions,whilecompressorblowdownsandreciprocatingcompressorrodpacking
almostaccountfortheotherhalf.Thetotalreductionisopportunity11.4Bcfatacostof$1.22/Mcf.
Figure47EmissionReductionsfortheGatheringandBoostingSegment

Figure 48 shows the reductions for the Gas Transmission segment. Transmission station venting and
fugitiveemissionsfromcentrifugalcompressorsrepresentthetwolargestopportunitiesforreductionin
transmission.Emissionsfromthesetwosourcescanbemitigatedbyimplementingagascaptureprogram
andLDAR,respectively.Duetoregulatorylimitations,transmissionpipelinesarenotabletomonetize
emissionreductions,sothecostofreductionsispositiveforallmeasures,$2.13/Mcfofmethanereduced
for10.6Bcfofreductions.
Figure48EmissionsReductionsfortheGasTransmissionSegment

Figure49showsthereductionsfortheGasProcessingsegment.Fugitivesfromreciprocatingcompressors
andblowdowns/ventingcapturearethetwolargestsources,whileprocessingplantfugitivesandwetseal
centrifugalcompressoremissionsareothersignificantsources.LDARreductionopportunitiesexistfor
othersources,andhavingacomprehensiveLDARprogramthattargetsprocessingplantswillbenefitother
emissionsourcesaswell.Thecostofreductionsforallmeasuresis$2.65/Mcfofmethanereducedfor
5.4Bcfofreductions.
Figure49EmissionsReductionsfortheGasProcessingSegment

4.3. CoBenefits
Measuresthatreducegasemissionswillalsoreducetheemissionsofconventionalpollutantsvolatile
organiccompounds(VOCs)andhazardousairpollutants(HAPs)inthegasaswellasmethane.Mostof
thesecomponentsareremovedfromthegasatthegasprocessingstagesotheprimarycobenefitsare
atorpriortothatstageinthevaluechain.Althoughnotquantifiedaspartofthisreportsscope,itcanbe
reasonablyanticipatedthatareductionofbothVOCsandHAPswouldresultalongwithactionstakento
reducemethane.IfthecobenefitofreducingVOCs/HAPswereconsideredinconjunctionwiththecost
ofreducingmethaneemissions,theoverall$/Mcfcostwoulddecrease,essentiallyyieldingalowercost
ofcontrol.ItshouldbenotedthatacontroloptionsuchasflaringdoesnotavoidallVOCSorHAPs.

5. Conclusions
Thekeyconclusionsofthestudyinclude:
124.8 Bcf of Emissions in 2020. Methane emissions from oil and gas activities are projected to
remainstablefrom2013to2020ataround60.2milliontonnesCO2e(125Bcfofmethane).
This relatively constant emissions mask subnational changes including decreased gas and
conventionaloilproductioninAlbertaandemissionsgrowthintheGatheringandBoostingand
Transmission segments, as a result of increased unconventional gas production in British
Columbiaandnewlyconstructedpipelines,respectively.
TheemissionsestimateinthisstudyisslightlyhigherthanCanadasUNFCCCsubmittedvalues.
Existing2013emissionssourcesaccountforover90%ofemissionsin2020.
Thisassessmentdoesnotaccountforallpossiblemethaneemissionsfromoilsandsproduction.
Theonlyemissionsincludedrelatedoilsandsareflaredandventedvolumesandtankemissions
fromSteamAssistedGravityDrainage(SAGD).Offshoreemissions,whileincluded,aresmalland
arenotasignificantpartofthisstudy.Thisstudyalsodoesnotaccountforsomeinsignificant
emissionsfromoiltransportationandrefineryoperations.
ConcentratedReductionOpportunities35oftheover175emissionsourcecategoriesaccountfor
over80%ofthe2020emissions,primarilyatexistingfacilities.
45%EmissionsReductionwithExistingTechnologiesThis45%reductionofoilandgasmethaneis
equalto27milliontonnesCO2e(56Bcfofmethane)andisachievablewithexistingtechnologiesand
techniques.Thisreduction:
Comes at a net cost of $2.76 CAD / tonnes CO2e reduced. If the natural gas is valued at $5
CAD/Mcf,themethanereductionpotentialincludesrecoveryofgasworthapproximately$251.1
millionCAD($200.8millionUSD)peryear.
Equals $1.33 CAD /Mcf methane reduced ($1.06 USD/Mcf reduced) or for less than $0.01
CAD/Mcf of gas produced nationwide, taking into account savings that accrue directly to
companiesimplementingmethanereductionmeasures(Figure51).
Isachievableatanetannualizedcostof$74.5millionCADperyear($59.6millionUSD)ifthefull
economicvalueofrecoverednaturalgasistakenintoaccountandnotincludingsavingsthatdo
notdirectlyaccruetocompaniesimplementingmethanereductionmeasures.Iftheadditional
savingsthatdonotaccruetocompaniesareincluded,the45%reductionisachievableatanet
savingstoconsumersandtheCanadianeconomyof$2.3millionCAD($1.8millionUSD).
Isinadditiontoregulationsalreadyinplaceaswellasprojectedvoluntaryactionscompanies
willtakeby2020.
CapitalCostTheinitialcapitalcostofthemeasuresisestimatedtobeapproximately$726.3million
CAD($581millionUSD).
Figure51MarginalAbatementCostCurveforMethaneReductionsbySource
RecoveredGasat
$5.00CAD/Mcf
GWP=100yr@25(AR4)
LargestAbatementOpportunitiesIn2020,theGasProductionsegmentmakesup26.8%oftotaloil
andgasmethaneemissions,followedbyGatheringandBoosting(21.8%)andOilProduction(19.9%).
35oftheover175emissionsourcecategoriesaccountforover80%ofthe2020emissions,primarily
atexistingfacilities.Byvolume,thetopfivelargestsourcesofCanadianoilandgasmethaneemissions
are:
Strandedgasventingfromoilwellsopportunitytoreduceemissionsby78%byinstallingflares.
Fugitives from gathering and boosting stations opportunity to reduce emissions by 60% by
Chemical injection pumps opportunity to reduce emissions by 60% by replacing gasdriven
pumpswithanonnaturalgasdrivenvariety.
Reciprocating compressor rod packing seals opportunity to reduce emissions by 22% by
replacingrodpackingatahigherfrequency.
Fugitives from centrifugal compressors opportunity to reduce emissions by 60% by
Provincial Results: Cost Effective Reductions Possible in Alberta and BC Alberta and British
Columbia(Upstreamonly)makeup58%(32.6Bcf)and9%(4.8Bcf)respectivelyoftotalCanadianoil
andgasmethaneemissionsreductionsin2020andreductionsareprojectedtobeachievableinboth
provinceswithexistingtechnologiesforlessthan$0.01/Mcfofgasproduced.
Albertaa15.7millionmetrictonneofCO2ereduction(32.6Bcf)isprojectedtobeachievable
withexistingtechnologiesandpracticesatanettotalcostof$2.57CAD/tonneCO2eor$1.24CAD
/Mcfreducedwhichislessthan$0.01CAD/McfofgasproducedinAlberta.
British Columbia a 2.3 million metric tonne of CO2e reduction (4.8 Bcf) is projected to be
achievablewithexistingtechnologiesandpracticesatanettotalcost$1.69CAD/tonneCO2eor
$0.81CAD/Mcfreduced,whichislessthan$0.01/McfofgasproducedinBritishColumbia.
CoBenefits Exist Reducing methane emissions will also reduce at no extra cost conventional
pollutantsthatcanharmpublichealthandtheenvironment.Themethanereductionsprojectedhere
wouldalsoresultinareductioninvolatileorganiccompounds(VOCs)andhazardousairpollutants
(HAPs)associatedwithmethaneemissionsfromtheoilandgasindustry.


AppendixA. Developmentofthe2013BaselineInventory
A.1. Overview
The analysis of methane emission reduction potential uses Canadianspecific research reports from
organizationssuchasCAPP,EnvironmentCanada,andregulatorybodiessuchasAER.TheCanadiandata
iscombinedwiththestructureandemissionssourcesfromthemethaneportionoftheNaturalGasand
PetroleumSystemssectionofEPAsInventoryofU.S.GreenhouseGasEmissionsandSinks:19902013as
abasis.Thebaselineinventoryrepresentsarobust,comprehensivedatasetthatutilizesvariousCanadian
specificdataresourcesandappliesU.S.inventorymethodologytoestimateemissions.
A.2. H2SContentSweetvs.SourSplits
OilandGasactivitywasdividedintotwocategoriesbasedonthepresenceofH2Ssweetorsour.The
determination on whether or not to classify production as sweet or sour was made based on data
extracted from IHS Accumap. The percentage of sweet vs. sour activity (e.g. gas production, gas
processingthroughput,etc.)foreachprovincewascalculatedandusedtosegregateactivityaccordingly
inthebaselineinventory.
A.3. NaturalGasInventory
ThedatastructureandtaxonomyfromtheU.S.EPAInventorywereusedasastartingpointtogenerate
thelistofsourcesforthenaturalgasportionofthebaseline.Asignificantchangetothestructureofthe
naturalgassegmentinthe2013BaselinewasbreakingouttheGatheringandBoostingsegment.Thisis
thesegmentbetweenonshoreProductionandeitherGasProcessingorGasTransmission.Thissegment
isincludedintheonshoreproductionsegmentoftheEPAInventorybasedonthe1996GRImeasurement
studyratherthanbeingfullybrokenoutasaseparatesegment.Inthisstudy,somesourcesweremoved
fromProductiontotheGatheringandBoostingsegmentinordertoallowthemtobeanalyzedseparately
for this segment and new emissions estimates, for some sources not represented in the 2013 EPA
inventory,wereadded.Forexample,emissionsfromcondensatetanksweremovedfromtheProduction
segmenttotheGatheringandBoostingsegment.
EmissionsweresegregatedbyCanadianprovince,specificallyAlberta,BritishColumbia,Manitoba,and
Saskatchewan.Basedongeologicalcriteria,surrogatelocationswerealsoidentifiedintheU.S.tohelp
generateestimatesforactivityforselectemissionssourceswhenCanadianspecificinformationwasnot
available. Various source estimates (both activity and emissions factors) were driven using data (e.g.
SubpartWdata,wellcounts,milesofTransmissionpipeline,etc.)fromtheregionalproxiestoeventually
yieldaCanadianspecificvalue.Thefollowinganalogswereidentified:
AlbertaRockyMountain
BritishColumbiaRockyMountain
SaskatchewanMidwestContinent
ManitobaMidwestContinent
In subsequent sections, instances where regional proxies were used to estimate Canadian activity or
emissionsfactorswillbeidentifiedassuch.
ICFInternational A1 September2015

A.3.1. GasProduction
A.3.1.1. NaturalGasWellCounts
Well counts were obtained from DI Desktop, based on the HPDI database for Canada. These well
countsdrivethecountofassociatedwellequipment,suchheaters,separators,anddehydrators(foundin
theirrespectivesectionsbelow),aswellasdriveactivityestimatesforothersources.Wellcountswere
splitaccordingtothemajorCanadianprovincesanalyzedinthisreport.
A.3.1.2. WellHeadFugitives
Gaswellcountsweresplitoutbyprovinceandusedastheactivityforthissource.Emissionsfactorswere
generatedforeachprovinceaccordingtotheirregionalU.S.proxyandworkdonebytheUniversityof
TexasforEDFonfugitiveemissionsfromwellsites63.Fromthisstudy,anyidentifiablewellheademissions
(i.e., emissions from the well itself, not the associated equipment) were grouped together and then
dividedbythewellcountatthosesitestodetermineanoverallperwellemissionfactor.Theseemissions
factorswerethenappliedtothenaturalgaswellcountsforeachprovince.
A.3.1.3. Heaters,Separators,Dehydrators,andMeters/Piping(WellFugitives)
SimilartotheU.S.EPAInventory,wellcountsdrivetheseequipmentactivitiesbyapplyingastandardratio
ofequipmentperwell,accordingtoU.S.region.RatiosgeneratedforeachU.S.regionwereappliedto
eachCanadianprovincebaseditsproxy.AnexampleforAlbertaheatersis:

TheemissionfactorsusedherewereprovidedbytheEPAInventory,andareappliedaccordingtothe
regional proxy specific to each unique Canadian province. Emission factors for heaters, separators,
dehydrators,andmeters/pipingarealsofromtheEPAInventory.
A.3.1.4. ReciprocatingCompressors
Inputfromindustryexpertsindicatedthatthepopulationofsmallwellheadcompressorsmaynotbeas
prominent as in the U.S. (e.g. due to electrical codes, etc.). To account for this input and difference
betweenproductionoperationsinCanadaandtheU.S.,atotalcountofcompressorswasestimatedacross
gasproductionandgatheringandboostingsegmentsbyutilizinganinternalEDFcompressormemofor
the U.S. that describes an average compressor count per station. Once a count of compressors was
determined,anoperatingfactorof45.2%wasappliedpertheEPAinventorytoarriveattotalcompressor
activity.75%ofthecompressoractivitywasapportionedtothegatheringandboostingsegmentwhile
25%oftotalcompressoractivitywasapportionedacrossthegasproductionsegmentassmallerwellhead
compressors.Sections3.2.2and3.2.5providespecificdetailsonthemethodologyforestimatingtotal
compressorandstationactivity.
AnexamplecalculationforAlbertareciprocatingcompressorsis:
& 45.2% 25%
WhereRCAisReciprocatingCompressorActivityandG&Bisgatheringandboosting.
63
Allen,David,et.al.,MeasurementsofMethaneEmissionsatNaturalGasProductionSitesintheUnitedStates.
10.1073/pnas.1304880110

EmissionfactorswereobtainedfromtheEPAInventorysplitaccordingtoeachuniqueCanadianprovince
anditsregionalproxy.
A.3.1.5. GasWellCompletionsandWorkovers
Gas well completions are broken out for hydraulically fractured wells and nonhydraulically fractured
wells.TheemissionfactorsprovidedwereobtainedfromtheEPAInventory.Forgaswellcompletions
withhydraulicfracturing,50%oftheactivitywasbrokenoutintocompletionsthatflareand50%into
reducedemissionscompletions64.ForBritishColumbia,thesplitwas70%RECand30%flaring,whoever
theemissionsarecontrolledinbothcases.
EmissionfactorsfromtheEPAInventoryareusedforbothtypesofcompletions.Theactivityfactorsfor
eachofthesesourcesweredevelopedusingcompletionsdatafromtheICFGasMarketsModel.Allgas
completionswithhydraulicfracturingwithsourgasareconsideredbeingcontrolledthroughflaring.Gas
wellworkoverswereconsideredusingthesamemethodologyasstatedabove,withasmallfractionof
gaswells(approximately4.35%)requiringworkovers.
A.3.1.6. WellDrilling
ThenumberofwellsdrilledwasestimatedfromdataintheCAPPVolume3Inventoryreport65.Thereport
includesacountofwellsdrilledfortheyear2000andhistoricEIACanadagasproductionwasusedto
extrapolatethecounttotheyear2013.TheemissionfactorforwelldrillingwasobtainedfromtheEPA
Inventory.
A.3.1.7. WellTesting
ThissourcewasnotincludedinthepublishedEPAInventory,butisincludedinsubpartWoftheGHGRP.
ActivitywasobtainedbyusingthetotaloilandgaswellcountbyprovinceacrossCanadaandassuming
eachwellcontributestowelltesting.Theemissionfactorwasdevelopedusingtotalemissionsreporting
undersubpartWforeachregionandthetotalwellcountintheU.S.fromHPDIforeachregion.The
regionalsubpartWfactorswerethenappliedtotheCanadianprovincesaccordingtotheirU.S.proxy.
A.3.1.8. PneumaticDevices
PneumaticdevicesinthepublishedEPAInventoryarelistedasasinglecategoryanduseasingleemission
factor. However, pneumatic devices are reported in subpart W under three categories: low bleed,
intermittent bleed, and high bleed devices. In order to break out the devices into the respective
categories,the2013emissionsdatainSubpartWwasanalyzed.Fromeachdevicetypesemissions,the
countofeachdevicetypewasbackcalculatedusingtheprescribedstandardemissionfactorinsubpart
W. This was done for each regional proxy and applied to estimate Canadian provincial activity, as
described further below. An example calculation for low bleed devices for the regional proxy Rocky
Mountainis:

64
EvaluationofAirEmissionsAssociatedwithHydraulicFracturing:AnalysisofEmissionsfromDrilling,Completions,and
OperationofUnconventionalGasWellsinAlberta
http://www.ptac.org/attachments/1389/download
65
ANationalInventoryofGreenhouseGas(GHG),CriteriaAirContaminant(CAC)andHydrogenSulphide(H2S)Emissionsby
theUpstreamOilandGasIndustry(Volume3,MethodologyforGreenhouseGas)

Where RM is Rocky Mountain and LBD is low bleed device and the emissions per device is defined in
SubpartW.
Theintermittentbleedcategorycoversavarietyofdifferenttypesofdeviceswithdifferentemission
characteristicsandisnotwellcharacterizedeitherinthesubpartWdataorothersourcesofemission
data.Someofthese,ascharacterizedinthesubpartWemissionfactors,havearelativelyhighemission
factor,whileothersaremuchlower.Forthisreason,theintermittentdeviceswerefurthersegregated
intotwocategories:dumpvalvesandnondumpvalveintermittentdevices.Thedumpvalvesrepresent
devicesthatdonothaveacontinuousbleedandgenerateemissionsonlywhenactuating.Thesetypesof
devices are generally found as level controllers in separators. Assuming that approximately 75% of
separatorshavealoweremittingintermittentbleeddumpvalveyieldedanestimatethatapproximately
75%ofthetotalintermittentbleeddevicesweredumpvalves.ThepercentagesplitswerebasedonSME
input.
Then,theactivityfactorsforeachtypeofdevicewerecalculatedthesamewayaccordingtoprovince,
regionalproxy,andwellcountdata(bothU.S.andCanada).First,thesumofthetotalpneumaticdevice
counts(foraparticulardevice)wascalculatedfromSubpartWaccordingtoregionalproxyanddividedby
thetotalnumberofwellsinthatU.S.region.Anexamplecalculationfollowsforlowbleeddevicesinthe
rockymountainregion,utilizingtheLBDActivitycalculationabove.

Thelowbleeddeviceexamplecalculationabovewasfurtheradjustedtoaccountforwellsnotreported
toSubpartW.Oncethelowbleeddeviceratiofortherockymountainregionhasbeencalculateditwas
multipliedbytheAlbertagaswellcounttoyieldthelowbleeddeviceactivityforAlbertaasfollows:

Similar calculations are performed for each type of pneumatic device across the remaining Canadian
provincestogenerateactivityfactors.
Emissionsfactorsweresourcedfroma2013EDFstudywiththeUniversityofTexas66.Inthereport,bleed
ratesfromlow,high,andintermittentbleedsweremeasuredandcompiledfrommultiplesites.Emissions
factorswerenotincludedfromthePrasinostudy67(referencedinthebodyofthestudyduetothefact
that their emissions factor calculation for high bleed devices included data from low bleed devices.
Includingdataforhighbleedsandlowbleedsinthesamecalculationwouldbiastheemissionsfactorlow
andthuswasnotutilized.
A.3.1.9. ChemicalInjection(Pneumatic)Pumps
ThecountofchemicalinjectionpumpsisderivedusingasubpartWfactorofchemicalinjectionpumps
perwellandappliedacrossprovincialwellcountsinCanada.Theemissionsfactorforchemicalinjection
pumpscomefroma2013PrasinoStudy67performedinBritishColumbiabycalculatingaweightedaverage
of the generic diaphragm and piston pump varieties from the Table 1 summary of findings. A 2008
66
http://www.pnas.org/content/110/44/17768
67
ForDeterminingBleedRatesforPneumaticDevicesinBritishColumbia
http://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/environment/climatechange/stakeholdersupport/reportingregulation/pneumatic
devices/prasino_pneumatic_ghg_ef_final_report.pdf

CETACWestreport68wasalsoreviewedaspartofcharacterizingthechemicalinjectionpumpemissions
factor.ThePrasinoreportreferencesmuchoftheworkanddataperformedintheCETACWestreport.
Boththeactivityandemissionsfactorsareappliedaccordingtotheregionalproxies.
A.3.1.10. DehydratorsandKimrayPumps
DehydratorcountsintheCanadianInventoryweredeterminedusingthe2003CAPPDehydratorstudy69
andscaledfrom2003to2013usingnaturalgasproductiondata.Thecountwassplitintosmallandlarge,
withlargebeingconsideredthedehydratorswithabenzeneemissionrateabove1tonneperyear.In
additiontosize,dehydratorswerealsosplitintocontrolledanduncontrolledactivitybasedonasubpart
Wcalculatedcontrolratio.Theemissionfactorsforlargedehydrators,bothcontrolledanduncontrolled,
werealsobasedonsubpartWderiveddata.Forsmalldehydrators,theemissionfactorfromtheU.S.EPA
Inventorywasused.Thebaseemissionfactorwasconsidereduncontrolled,whileanadjustmentof95%
mitigationforcontrolledsmalldehydratorswasapplied.
KimraypumpactivitywasestimatedusingtheU.S.EPAInventorymethodology.Kimraypumpactivity
was estimated by taking multiplying dehydrator activity above and EPAs value of average dehydrator
throughput(2millioncubicfeetperday)multipliedbya45%capacityfactoracrossanentireyear.Finally
afractionof0.891isappliedtoaccountfortheestimateofdehydratorswithgasdrivenKimraypumps
beingpresent.AnexamplecalculationforAlbertaisasfollows:
2
45% 365 0.891
EmissionsfactorswereappliedfromtheU.S.EPAInventoryaccordingtoregionalproxy.
A.3.1.11. DumpValveVenting
Activity was estimated by calculating a dump valve per well count according to subpart W data and
reportingoilandgaswells.Thisratiowasthenmultipliedbyprovincialgaswellcountsaccordingtothe
regional proxy. Since this source was not included in the published EPA Inventory, but is included in
subpartWreporting,theemissionfactorwasalsodevelopedusingsubpartWusingtotalemissions.For
productionsites,anaverageemissionsperdevicewascalculatedaccordingtoregionalproxyandthen
appliedtoeachprovince,respectively.AnexampleforbothactivityandemissionsfactorinAlbertaisas
follows:

WhereDVisdumpvalvesandRMisRockyMountain.

WhereEFisemissionsfactor.Theemissionsfactorforeachprovincewassupplementedwithdataon
malfunctioningdevicesfromthepreviousEDFpneumaticsdevicestudy.SMEinputdeterminedthatthe
68
FuelGasEfficiencyBMPEfficientUseofFuelGasinChemicalInjectionPumps(Module5)
http://www.capp.ca/publicationsandstatistics/publications/137309
69
Sep2003Pub#:2003001:ThisdocumentprovidesbackgroundinformationonBenzeneemissionsintheoilandgasindustry
andwhatindustryisdoingtoregulateandreduceemissions.

malfunctioningdeviceswerestuckdumpvalvesandtheaccompanyingdumpvalveemissionsfactorwas
addedtotheSubpartWderiveddumpvalveemissionsfactor.
A.3.1.12. LiquidsUnloading(GasWellCleanUps)
Activity was estimated by calculating a liquids unloading value (both reporting unloadings with and
withoutplungerlifts)perwellcountaccordingtosubpartWdataandreportingoilandgaswells.This
ratiowasthenmultipliedbyprovincialgaswellcountsaccordingtotheregionalproxy.Inasimilarfashion,
aspecificregionalsubpartWemissionsfactorwascalculatedaccordingtoregionandwhetherornotthe
wellhadaplungerliftpresentornot.Thus,forproductionsites,anaverageemissionsperwellreporting
liquids unloading was calculated according to regional proxy and then applied to each province,
respectively.ExamplecalculationsarebelowforbothactivityandemissionsfactorsinAlberta:
WhereLUisliquidsunloadingandwoPlungeriswithoutplungerlifts.
WhereEFisemissionsfactor.Activityandemissionsfactorsforwellswithplungerliftsiscalculatedina
similarmannertowellswithoutplungerliftsabove.
A.3.1.13. VesselBlowdowns,CompressorBlowdownsandStarts,andPressureReliefValves
Activity for compressor starts is equal to the number of small production compressors (a separate
emissions source) estimated according to the methodology in 3.1.4. Activity for vessel blowdowns is
assumed to be the summation of activity for heaters, separators, and dehydrators at well sites. The
numberofpressurereliefvalveswasestimatedbytakingtheratioofpressurereliefvalvesintheU.S.EPA
inventorytototalwellsandthenapplyingthatratiotoprovincialgaswellcountsaccordingtoregional
proxies.
All emissions factors for each emissions source are from the U.S. EPA Inventory region according to
regionalproxy.
A.3.2. GatheringandBoosting
According to U.S. EPA Inventory methodology, the gathering and boosting segment was previously
includedas partoftheProductionsector,but hasbeen broken outin thisanalysissothatit could be
separatelyanalyzed.Thissectorinthe2013CanadianBaselinecontainsemissionsfromlargereciprocating
compressors,compressorstations,pneumaticdevices,andpipelines,amongstothersources.Someother
supportingequipmenttypeswereleftintheirrespectivesegment,asfoundintheEPAInventoryandwill
benoted.
A.3.2.1. CondensateTanks
ActivitydataforcondensatetanksinGatheringandBoostingisbasedonleasecondensateproduction
specifictoeachprovinceaccordingtotheHPDIdatabasefor2013.DatareportedtosubpartWwas
usedtoupdatetheU.S.EPAInventoryemissionfactorsforcondensatetankventing.Thedatapulledfrom
subpartWwasonaregionalbasisandincludedaverageAPIgravity,separatorpressure,andseparator
temperature.ThisdatawasthenusedtorunsimulationsthroughAPIsE&PTanksoftwareinorderto

develop new emission factors. The emission factors for each region were then applied to Canadian
provincesaccordingtoregionalproxies.BasedonSMEinputandtostayconsistentwiththeEPAInventory
methodology,itwasassumedthatonaverage50%ofthetankshadcontrolmeasuresinplace,although
thiscouldmeanhigherorlowerpercentagesindifferentjurisdictions.Forexample,BritishColumbiais
assumedtobe70%controlledbasedonO&Gexpertinput.
A.3.2.2. Compressors
The initial estimate of the compressor count comes from a ratio of compressors per gathering and
boostingstation70basedonapreviousinternalEDFcompressormemo.Anaverageof2.75compressors
per station was established from an analysis performed on the U.S. gathering and boosting system
validatedbyandanEDFstudyofgatheringsystems,whilea45.2%operatingfactorwasappliedfromthe
U.S.EPAinventory.
AsmentionedinthesmallreciprocatingsectionaboveforGasProduction,inputfromindustryexperts
indicatedthatthepopulationofsmallwellheadcompressorsmaynotbeasprominentasintheU.S.(e.g.
duetoelectricalcode,etc.).Toaccountforthisinputanddifferencebetweenproductionoperationsin
CanadaandtheU.S.,atotalcountofcompressorswasestimatedacrossgasproductionandgatheringand
boostingsegmentsbyutilizinganinternalEDFcompressormemofortheU.S.thatdescribesanaverage
compressor count per station. 75% of the compressor activity was apportioned to the gathering and
boostingsegmentwhile25%oftotalcompressoractivitywasapportionedthegasproductionsegment.
Forthissourceandsimilarsourcesinothersegments,therearetwosourcesofreciprocatingcompressor
emissions.Fugitiveemissions(nonseal)fromsourcessuchasopenendedlines,flanges,andvalves,in
additiontoventedrodpackingsealemissions.Toaccountforfugitivesources,theemissionsourcewas
separatedintoblowdownvalveoperating,blowdownvalvestandby,andisolationvalveactivity.Todrive
theactivityforeachofthesesources,thetotalcompressorcountwasusedsincesubsequentemissions
takeintoaccountoperatingmodesand%oftimeoperatinginthosemodes.
Emission factors for each fugitive source were derived from subpart W according to regional proxies,
includingdatafrombothmeasuredandnonmeasuredcompressorsandappliedacrossprovinces.Vented
emissions were calculated using total compressor count per reporting facility and subpart W derived
emissionfactors,specifictorodpacking.
Inadditiontosplittingoutfugitivesourcesoncompressors,bothsealandnonsealemissionsourceswere
furthersplitbetweencontrolledanduncontrolled.ThesplitwasderivedfromanAlbertaEnergyRegulator
flaringandventingreport71.Thecontrolpercentagewasthepercentageofsolutiongasbeingflaredrather
than vented, and is unique per industry segment. The respective emissions factors for the controlled
sourceswereassumedtobegoingtoaflareandthusacontrolfactorof98%wasapplied.
A.3.2.3. ScrubberDumpValves
AccordingtoinputfromSMEs,thebaselineinventoryassumesonescrubberdumpvalvepercompressor.
Theactivityfactorforscrubberdumpvalvesisthesumofindividualactivityfactorsforcontrolledand
70
TwoindependentsourcesofdatawereusedtodeterminethecountofGatheringandBoostingStations.1)TheOilfieldAtlas
(TenthEdition,20142015),and2)ST102:FacilityListformerlyBatteryCodesandFacilityCodesfromtheAER.
71
ST60B:UpstreamPetroleumIndustryFlaring&VentingReport
https://www.aer.ca/dataandpublications/statisticalreports/st60b

uncontrolledreciprocatingcompressors.TheemissionfactorwasderivedfromsubpartWdataaccording
toregionalproxyandappliedtoeachprovince.
A.3.2.4. CompressorExhaust(GasEngines)
Theexhaustfromcompressorenginesandturbinescontainssomeunburnedmethane.Theactivityfactor
for these two emissions sources in the derived from analysis of the EPA Inventory which has total
horsepowerhoursoftheequipment.Additionally,theU.S.EIApublishestheamountofnaturalgasused
asLeaseFuel,whichisfuelburnedatnaturalgasproductionsites.Anewfuelvolumewascalculated
for small reciprocating, gathering and boosting reciprocating, and gathering and boosting centrifugal
compressors,respectively,accordingtotypicalhorsepowerratingsofeachcompressortype.Thisfuel
volumewasusedasthenewactivityfactorforcompressorexhaust.Theanalysisassumed70%ofthe
leasefuelwasconsumedinenginesandturbinesandthebreakdownbetweenenginesandturbineswas
determinedtobe96%to4%,respectively,usingthebreakdownofcompressorsaccordingtocountofU.S.
compressorsfromtheEDFCompressorAnalysisreport.
TheemissionsfactorswereupdatedusingemissionsfactorsfromtheEPAsmanualofemissionfactors
(AP42). Since AP42 lists 3 separate emission factors for engines (two stroke leanburn, four stroke
leanburn, and four stroke richburn), a combined emission factor was developed based on the data
obtained from U.S. state energy agencies. This data set, which contained nearly 10,500
compressors/enginesacrossallsectorsoftheindustry,wasusedtodeterminethebreakoutofengine
types:10%twostrokeleanburn,34%fourstrokeleanburn,and56%fourstrokerichburn.Theseratios
were used to give an overall emission factor for engines. The emission factor for turbines, was listed
directlyinAP42andusedasis.
A.3.2.5. GatheringandBoostingStations
FormallycalledLargeCompressorStationsintheEPAInventory,thecountofstationswasdetermined
fromtwoindependentsourcesasdescribedin3.2.2.Theemissionfactorforthissourceisderivedfrom
subpart W data for transmission stations by taking the average emissions per station and applying it
accordingto regionalproxyinCanada. Anexample calculationforthegatheringand boostingstation
emissionsfactoris:

&
#
DehydratorsandKimraypumpswerehandledinasimilarfashionasdescribedinGasProduction(3.1.10)
ThepneumaticdevicemethodologyissplitinasimilartofashionasinGasProduction(3.1.8).Theactivity
countisdrivenbyanAPI/ANGA72ratioofdevicepergatheringstationmultipliedbytheratiosestablished
ingasproductionaccordingtothetypeofdevice(e.g.Highbleed,lowbleed,intermittentbleed,etc.).
TheemissionfactormethodologyisthesameasdescribedintheGasProductionsection.
72
CharacterizingPivotalSourcesofMethaneEmissionsfromNaturalGasProduction
http://www.api.org/~/media/Files/News/2012/12October/APIANGASurveyReport.pdf

A.3.2.8. PipelineLeaks,PipelineBlowdowns,CompressorStarts,andCompressorBlowdowns
TheseemissionsweremovedfromProductiontoGatheringandBoostingtobetterrepresentthebreakout
ofemissionsintheindustry.Pipelineleaksandblowdownsarebasedonagatheringmilesestimatefrom
a1992CAPPstudy73,whichbreaksoutgatheringlinesbyprovince.Gatheringmilesarescaledupto2013
accordingtoCanadasnaturalgasproductiongrowthfrom1992to2013,brokendownbyprovince.The
unitsofpipelineblowdownsisalsoinmilesandfollowsthesamemethodology.
Forcompressorstarts,activityisbasedonthetotalnumberofcompressorsintheGatheringandBoosting
segmentasdetailedinsection3.2.2.Sincetheunitsofactivityforcompressorblowdownsisstations,
theactivityfactorforcompressorblowdowns(controlled)isthecountofgatheringandboostingstations
multipliedbytheAlbertaEnergyregulatorsflaringandventingpercentageforthegatheringandboosting
segment74.ActivityforuncontrolledcompressorblowdownsissimplytheventingportionoffromtheAER
flaring and venting analysis. An important assumption is that these ratios are also applied across the
remainingCanadianprovincestoestimatetheirrespectivecountsofcompressoractivity.
Emissionsfactorsforpipelineleaks,pipelineblowdowns,andcompressorstartsaresourcedfromtheU.S.
EPA Inventory, while the emissions factor for compressor blowdowns was calculated using subpart W
data.Specifically,emissionsthesubpartWtablefortransmissionstationventingwasusedasaproxyfor
compressorblowdownsinGatheringandBoostingandappliedacrosseachCanadianprovince.
A.3.3. GasProcessing
A.3.3.1. GasPlantFugitives
ActivityforcurrentlyoperatingGasPlantsacrossCanadawasobtainedbyaninternaldatasourcefrom
theICFCalgaryOffice.Thesourceprovidesa2013listofgasprocessingfacilitiesaccordingtoprovince
andwhethertheplantisconsideredasweetorsourprocessingplant.Thiscountbyprovincedrivesmuch
oftheactivityfortheProcessingsegment.Theemissionsfactorforgasplantfugitivesisobtainedfrom
theU.S.EPAInventory.
A.3.3.2. ReciprocatingandCentrifugalCompressors
ReciprocatingcompressormethodologyissplitinasimilartofashionasdescribedintheGatheringand
Boostingsegment.Theonlydifferenceisthatcentrifugalcompressorsnowareincludedandhavesimilar
piecesofitsactivitybrokenoutintoseparatesources(e.g.blowdownoperatingvalue,isolationvalve,
etc.).TheoverallactivitycountisdrivenbyasubpartWratioofcompressorstogasplantsaccordingto
regionalproxyandappliedacrossprovinceswithrespecttotheirspecificgasplantcount.Anexample
calculationforcentrifugalcompressorsinAlbertais:
73
GasPipelinesinCanadaatYearEnd1992.
http://statshb.capp.ca/SHB/Sheet.asp?SectionID=8&SheetID=111
http://www.capp.ca/library/statistics/handbook/pages/statisticalTables.aspx?sectionNo=8
74
ST60B:UpstreamPetroleumIndustryFlaring&VentingReport
https://www.aer.ca/dataandpublications/statisticalreports/st60b

TheemissionsfactorforeachofthesourcesarealsomainlyderivedfromsubpartW. For centrifugal

compressors,subpartWratiosofcompressoremissionspercompressorareusedforblowdownoperating
andisolationvalvemodes,whiletheEDFmemo75oncompressorsealemissionswasusedasthesealonly
emissions factor. Reciprocating compressor emissions factors were strictly sourced from subpart W
analysiswithminorsupplementsfromtheU.S.EPAInventory.Forexample,subpartWprovidesemissions
dataonblowdownandisolationvalves,whichcanproduceprovincialemissionsfactors,butsubpartW
doesnothavedataonemissionsfromreciprocatingcompressorPRVsandmiscellaneouscomponents.
TherespectiveemissionsfactorsfromtheU.S.EPAinventoryareusedheretosupplementtheemissions
factorforcompleteness.
A.3.3.3. ScrubberDumpValves
Thisemissionssourcefollowedasimilarmethodologyasingatheringandbooster,wherebyitisassumed
thatthereisonescrubberdumpvalvepercompressor.Theactivityfactorforscrubberdumpvalvesisthe
sumofindividualactivityfactorsforcontrolledanduncontrolledreciprocating&centrifugalcompressors.
TheemissionfactorwasalsoderivedfromsubpartWdataaccordingtoregionalproxyandappliedtoeach
province.
A.3.3.4. GasEngineandTurbineExhaust
TheactivityfactorforthesetwoemissionssourcesintheCanadianBaselineInventoryaredrivenbyU.S.
EIApublishedvaluesforgasprocessingfuelconsumption(theamountofnaturalgasusedasPlantFuel)
and total U.S. gas processing throughput. The total fuel volume from the EIA was used under the
assumptionthat80%ofthefuelbeingconsumedisforuseinenginesandturbinesinatypicalprocessing
plant.Furthermore,fuelconsumptionsplitsbetweenenginesandturbineswasassumedtobe46%to
54%,respectively,usingthecurrenthorsepowerhourratiosinthepublishedU.S.EPAInventory.These
estimates for both engines and turbines were divided by total U.S. gas processing throughput and
apportionedaccordingprovincialgasprocessingthroughput.Thefinalresultofthesecalculationswasa
fuelconsumptionnumberbyprovinceinmillionstandardcubicfeetofnaturalgasburned.
The emissions factors were also updated and followed the same methodology as described in section
B.3.2.4.
DehydratorsandKimrayPumpsfollowedasimilarmethodologyasinGasProduction(3.1.10).
A.3.3.6. AGRVents,Blowdowns/VentingandPneumaticDevices
ActivityforAGRventsiscalculatedbytakingthe1992ratioofAGRventstogasprocessingplantsinthe
U.S.EPAInventoryandmultiplyingtheratiobygasprocessingplantsinCanadaaccordingtoprovince.
Pneumaticdevicesarenotsplitintohigh,low,orintermittentbleedcategoriesforthissegment,butrather
followtheU.S.EPAInventoryconventionofhavingjustonesource.Theunitsofactivityforpneumatics
usingthisconventionissimplythegasplantcount,whichisknownfromthemethodologyaboveforgas
processingplantsacrossCanada.Blowdowns/ventingalsofollowasimilarmethodologyaspneumatics
andalsohavegasplantcountasitsactivity.
75
MethaneEmissionsfromProcessEquipmentatNaturalGasProductionSitesintheUnitedStates
http://dept.ceer.utexas.edu/methane/study/

Inallthreesources,emissionsfactorsfromtheU.S.EPAInventorywereusedforeachprovinceaccording
toregionalproxies.
A.3.4. GasTransmission
A.3.4.1. PipelineLeaks
PipelineleakactivityisdrivenbytotalmileageoftransmissionpipelineacrossCanada.Datawasobtained
froma2013reportfromtheCanadaEnergyPipelineAssociation76.Thisinformationwassummedupfor
theentiretransmissionsegmentacrossonshoreCanadaandconvertedtomiles.Theemissionsfactor
wasobtainedfromtheU.S.EPAInventory.
A.3.4.2. TransmissionCompressorStations
Activity for transmission compressor stations was estimated by analyzing internal printouts of
transmission pipeline maps and locations of compressor stations across Canada. Based on publicly
availablecompanyandprovincialdata,itwaspossibletogeneratearatioofcompressorstationspermile
oftransmissionpipelineacrosseachprovincesandthemergethatdataintoanationalestimateoftotal
compressorstations.
TheemissionsfactorforcompressorstationswasobtainedfromtheU.S.EPAInventory.
Activityforcompressorswereestimatedintwodistinctsteps.First,thetransmissioncompressorstation
count from 3.4.2 was multiplied by a ratio of U.S. EPA compressor count (both reciprocating and
centrifugal)tothenumberofU.S.compressorstationsfromtheEPAInventory.Doingsoyieldsatotal
compressor count across Canada. Secondly, an estimate of the % split between reciprocating vs.
centrifugalcompressorswasobtainedbyanalyzingpublisheddatafromTransCanadas77operationsand
theirsplitsofreciprocatingvs.centrifugalcompressors.Theresultingsplitswere87%centrifugaland13%
reciprocating.Forcentrifugalcompressors,subpartWdatafortransmissionwasutilizedtodetermine
splitsbetweenwetanddryseals.Similarstepswereperformedintermsofbreakingoutblowdownand
isolationvalueactivityconsistentwiththemethodologyfoundingatheringandboosting.
Emissionsfactorsforbothreciprocatingandcentrifugalcompressorswerealsodevelopedconsistently
withtheGatheringandBoostingsegment,namelysourcedfromsubpartW,theU.S.EPAInventory,and
theEDFcompressormemowithdataoncentrifugalsealemissions.
A.3.4.4. EngineandTurbineExhaust
Fuelconsumptioninenginesandturbinesinthetransmissionsegmentwasalsoestimatedintwodistinct
steps. First, as a driver, the ratio of total U.S. pipeline fuel consumption from the EIA to total U.S.
transmissionpipelinemileagewascalculatedandappliedtothetotalmilesoftransmissionpipelineacross
Canada.Secondly,thefuelconsumptionwasapportionedacrossenginesandturbinesaccordingtothe
estimateofCanadianreciprocatingandcentrifugalcompressorsandtheratioofmillionhorsepowerhour
76
AboutPipelinesOurEnergyConnections
http://www.cepa.com/wpcontent/uploads/2013/10/CEPA_OurEnergyConnectionsE_Oct04.pdf
77
MultiplereferencesfromTransCanadawereused.Anexampleis:
https://docs.nebone.gc.ca/lleng/llisapi.dll/fetch/2000/90465/92833/92843/665035/711778/718015/772304/B835_
_G04_Ontario___A2J7T6_.pdf?nodeid=772407&vernum=2

toreciprocatingandcentrifugalcompressors,respectively,fromtheU.S.EPAInventory.Assumingthat
that90%ofthisfuelwasusedforcompression,estimatesfortotalengineandturbineexhaustwerethen
abletobecalculated.Theemissionsfactorsfollowedasimilarmethodologyinothersegmentsforengine
exhaust.
Activityforhigh,low,andintermittentbleeddevicesweredeterminedbytakingsubpartWratiosofeach
devicerespectivelytothecountofreportingU.S.transmissionstations.Thisratiowasthenmultipliedby
thetotaltransmissionstationcountinCanadaforeachdevicetoarriveatitsrespectiveactivity.
Emissionsfactorswereappliedaccordingtosimilarmethodologyasdescribedinothersections,mainly
citingEDFstudiesonmeasuringdeviceleakagerates.
A.3.4.6. DumpValveLeakage
ThisemissionssourcefollowedasimilarmethodologyasinGatheringandBooster,wherebyitisassumed
thatthereisonescrubberdumpvalvepercompressor.Theactivityfactorforscrubberdumpvalvesisthe
sumofindividualactivityfactorsforcontrolledanduncontrolledreciprocating&centrifugalcompressors.
TheemissionfactorwasalsoderivedfromsubpartWdataaccordingtothetransmissionsegment.
A.3.4.7. PipelineVenting
Activityforpipelineventingwassimplythetotaltransmissionpipelinemileageascalculatedearlierinthis
segment.TheemissionsfactorwasobtainedfromtheU.S.EPAinventory.
A.3.4.8. TransmissionStationVenting
ThetotalcountoftransmissionstationsfromCanadawasusedastheactivityfortransmissionstation
venting. The emissions factor was obtained from subpart W by calculating blowdown emissions and
reporting station count from the transmission segment across 20112013 and averaging the resulting
emissionsfactor.Theresultingvaluewasimplementedastheemissionsfactorfortransmissionsstation
ventinginCanada.
A.3.5. GasStorage
A.3.5.1. GasStorageCompressorStations
Theactivityandemissionsfactorsforpneumaticdevicesfollowthesamemethodologyasdescribedin
theGasProcessingsegments.
Both reciprocating and centrifugal compressors were driven off of U.S. EPA Inventory gas storage
capacitiesbetween1992and2013.Aratioofcompressors,bytype,wastakenasaratiotogasstorage
in1992andmultipliedagainsttheobtainedgasstoragecapacityvalueforCanadiangasstoragein2013
accordingtoCGAstatistics78.
78
CanadianGasAssociation
http://www.cga.ca/resources/publications/factsheetsandbulletins/

Developmentofemissionsfactorsforbothcompressortypesfollowedamethodologysimilartoother
segments,utilizingdatafromsubpartW,theU.S.EPAInventory,andexternalreports.
A.3.5.4. EngineandTurbineExhaust
TheactivityfactorforthesetwoemissionssourcesintheCanadianBaselineInventoryaredrivenbyU.S.
EIA published values for pipeline fuel consumption (the amount of natural gas used as Pipeline Fuel
Consumption)andmillionhorsepowerhourvaluesfromtheU.S.EPAinventoryforenginesandturbines.
ThetotalpipelinefuelvolumefromtheEIAwasusedundertheassumptionthat80%ofthefuelbeing
consumedisforuseinenginesandturbinesinagasstoragestation.ThevaluesfromtheEPAInventory
werethenusedtocalculateacompositeMMscf/MMHPhrconversionfactorandatypicalconsumption
rateforreciprocatingandcentrifugalcompressors,respectively.Oncetheconsumptionratesforeach
compressortypewereknow,itwaspossibletomultipletheseratesbytheestimatedreciprocatingand
centrifugal compressor counts as described in its section in Gas Storage. The final result of these
calculationswasafuelconsumptionnumberbyinmillionstandardcubicfeetofnaturalgasburned.
Emissionsfactorsforengineandturbineexhaustwerecalculatedaccordingtothesamemethodologyin
otherexhaustsections.
A.3.5.5. DehydratorVents
Dehydratorvents,bothactivityandemissionsfactors,followasimilarmethodologyasinthecompressor
sectionofGasStorage.
A.3.6. LiquefiedNaturalGas(ImportandStorageTerminals)
Besides import and storage terminals below, other sources LNG followed similar methodology as
described in other segments of this appendix. This studys analysis relies on GMM predictions for
potentialfuturecompletionsofLNGterminals.Basedonmodeloutputs,thisstudyassumesmostmajor
LNGinstallationactivitywilloccurpost2020andthuswillnothaveamajorimpactontheresults.
A.3.6.1. ImportTerminals
There is not significant activity across Canada for LNG import terminals. However, there was one
identified active import terminal according to research performed for the year 201379. The import
terminal, Canaport80, represents the only activity for emissions for import terminals. Emissions from
importterminalswereestimatedusinganemissionsfactorsourcedfromtheU.S.EPAinventory.
A.3.6.2. StorageTerminals
ActivityforLNGimportantterminalswasobtainedbyanalyzingdatafromdatapubliclyavailablefrom
WestportPower81.Accordingtoanalysisoftheavailablemap,itwasdeterminedthatapproximately13
LNGstoragestationswerepresentinCanadain2013andwasusedasthebasisforemissionsestimatefor
thissource.TheemissionsfactorwasobtainedfromtheU.S.EPAInventoryforLNGimportterminals.
79
LNGImportTerminals
http://www.globallnginfo.com/world%20lng%20plants%20&%20terminals.pdf
80
CanaportLNGImportTerminal
http://www.canaportlng.com/
81
WestportPowerLNGStationMap
http://www.westport.com/is/naturalgas/lnginfrastructure

A.3.7. GasDistribution
Gas Distribution in the Canadian Baseline Inventory follows the U.S. EPA Inventory methodology with
threekeydifferences.First,eachsourceisdrivenbyresidentialgasconsumptionormainsmileagespecific
toCanada.TotaldistributionmileagewasobtainedfromtheCanadianGasAssociation82,whileresidential
gasconsumptionwasobtainedfromStatisticsCanada83.ThefinalmaindifferencebetweentheCanadian
methodologyandtheU.S.EPAInventorywastheimplementationofemissionsfactorsfromanEDFstudy
onleaksfromdistributionsystems84.TheresultingemissionsfactorsfromtheEDFstudyaresignificantly
lowerthanU.S.EPAInventoryvalues.Itsimportanttonotethesefactorsappliedtoallsourcesexcept:
Residential, Commercial/Industry, Pressure Relief Valves, Pipeline Blowdowns (Maintenance), and
Mishaps(Digins).
A.3.8. OilProduction
A.3.8.1. OilTankVenting
Activitydata foroiltanksisbasedonoilproductionspecifictoeach provinceaccordingtotheHPDI
databasefor2013.Additionally,datareportedtosubpartWwasusedtoupdatetheemissionfactorsfor
condensatetankventing.ThedatapulledfromsubpartWwasonaregionalbasisandincludedaverage
APIgravity,separatorpressure,andseparatortemperature.Thisdatawasthenusedtorunsimulations
throughAPIsE&PTanksoftwareinordertodevelopnewemissionfactors.Theemissionfactorsfor
eachregionwerethenappliedtoCanadianprovincesaccordingtoregionalproxies.BasedonSMEinput
andtostayconsistentwiththeEPAInventorymethodology,itwasassumedthat50%ofthetankshad
controlmeasuresinplace.
SAGDtankagefromoilsandsproductionwereobtainedasoutputsfromICFsGMMmodelandusedas
activityforestimatingemissionsfromSAGDtankage.Itwasassumed50%oftheproductionwasdueto
steamassistedgravitydrainageand50%due tosurfacemining. Itwasalsoassumedthat 50%ofthe
activitywascontrolledand50%uncontrolled.Theemissionsfactorsdevelopedaboveforgenericoiltanks
wereappliedacrosstheSAGDactivitytoestimateemissions.
A.3.8.2. OilTankDumpValveVenting
Activityandemissionsfactorsfordumpvalveventingwereestimatedusingasimilarmethodologyas
describedintheGatheringandBoostingsegment.
Activityandemissionsfactorsforpneumaticdevices(high,low,andintermittentbleed)wereestimated
using a similar methodology as described in the Gathering and Boosting segment. Data from the oil
productionsegmentofsubpartWwasusedaccordingtoregionalproxies.
82
CGADistributionMileage.
http://www.cga.ca/wpcontent/uploads/2011/02/Chart16NaturalGasDistributionSystem.pdf
http://www.cga.ca/wpcontent/uploads/2015/06/Chart16NaturalGasDistributionSystem.pdf
83
StatisticsCanada.
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/57003x/57003x2015002eng.pdf
84
DirectMeasurementsShowDecreasingMethaneEmissionsfromNaturalGasLocalDistributionSystemsintheUnitedStates.
http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/es505116p

A.3.8.4. ChemicalInjection(Pneumatic)Pumps
ActivityforchemicalinjectionpumpsintheoilproductionsegmentweresourcedaccordingtotheU.S.
InventoryPetroleummodel,whichisbasedona1999Radianreport85.Theonlydifferenceisthatacount
ofCanadianoilwellsisusedtodrivechemicalinjectionpumpactivityinsteadofU.S.oilwellcounts.
Theemissionsfactorforchemicalinjectionpumpscomefroma2013PrasinoStudy86performedinBritish
Columbiabycalculatingaweightedaverageofthegenericdiaphragmandpistonpumpvarietiesfrom
theTable1summaryoffindings.
A.3.8.5. OilWellCompletions
ActivityoncompletionsdatawasmainlysourcedfromICFsproprietaryGMMmodelfor2013.Oilwell
completionswerenotbrokenoutforhydraulicallyfracturedwellsandnonhydraulicallyfracturedwells
inthepublishedU.S.EPAInventory.However,thesetwocategorieswerebrokenoutinsubpartW,so
thiswasalsoimplementedintheCanadianbaseline.ThedatareportedtosubpartWwasusedtodevelop
newemissionfactorsuseinCanadaforbothemissionssources.
A.3.8.6. OilWellWorkovers
Thesamemethodologyforoilwellcompletionswasusedtodevelopactivityandanemissionsfactorfor
workoverswiththeoneadditionalassumptionof4.35%ofwellsrequiringworkovers.
A.3.8.7. StrandedGasFlaringandVentingfromOilWells
Stranded gas flaring and venting emissions in the Canadian baseline are estimated by directly
incorporatingknowninformationfromAlbertaEnergyRegulatorreportsonsolutiongasfor2013.The
ST60Breportcontainsvolumesofventedandflaredgasfor2013inAlbertaandthevolumesfromthat
report were imported into the baseline inventory. Thus, no explicit activity or emissions factor were
implementedforthissource,butreportedemissionsweredirectlyused.AstudybytheCanadianEnergy
Research Institute references this data in their February 2015 report, The Associated Gas Sector in
Alberta87.Emissionsareestimatedbyusingtheflaringvolumeof495millioncubicmetres,anassumed
methanecontent,andconsidering2%uncombustedmethane.Ventedvolumesaresimplythereported
403 million cubic metres of reported vented solution gas. Stranded gas flaring emissions are only
consideredinAlbertaandBritishColumbia,wheresourgasispresent.Finally,aventedratioinscf/bbl
wascalculated(i.e.totalcrudeoilproductioninAlbertatototalreportedventedvolumein2013according
toST60B)andextrapolatedacrossotherprovincesaccordingtotheirlocalcrudeoilproductions.This
allowedforestimatesacrossotherprovincesfortheirflaredandventedvolumesofstrandedgasfromoil
wells.
85
MethaneEmissionsfromtheU.S.PetroleumIndustry
http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/pdfs/radianpetroleum1999.pdf
86
ForDeterminingBleedRatesforPneumaticDevicesinBritishColumbia
http://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/environment/climatechange/stakeholdersupport/reportingregulation/pneumatic
devices/prasino_pneumatic_ghg_ef_final_report.pdf
87
AERST60B2014,UpstreamPetroleumIndustryFlaringandVentingReport,2013.November2014
http://www.ceri.ca/images/stories/Associated_Gas_Sector_in_Alberta__February_2015.pdf

A.3.8.8. Separators(LightandHeavy),Heater/Treaters,andHeaders(LightandHeavy)
ActivityforallsourceswerecalculatedaccordingtotheU.S.EPAInventoryforpetroleumsystems.Much
ofthisactivityfollowsthe1999Radianreport88,whichcharacterizeseachoftheseemissionssourcesand
drivesactivitybasedmainlyonwhetherproductionislight(i.e.APIgravitygreaterthan20)orheavy(API
gravitylessthan20).ICFassumedthat90.1%ofoilswellsacrossCanadaareconsideredproducinglight
crude,whiletheremainderofoilwellsareproducingheavycrude89.Thesepercentagesdrivethelightvs.
heavysplitsforseparatorsandheaders.Heater/treatersareassumedtobepresentforbothlightand
heavycrudewells.
TheemissionfactorforallthreesourceswereoriginallysourcedfromtheU.S.EPAInventoryandthen
wereupdatedtotheemissionfactorspublishedinsubpartW.
88
MethaneEmissionsfromtheU.S.PetroleumIndustry
http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/pdfs/radianpetroleum1999.pdf
89
TheCanadianemissionsinventorydoesnotconsideroilsandsproduction,whichmayhavesignificantlyheaviercrude
production.Estimatesareforlight/heavysplitsareforconventionalcrudeonly.

AppendixB. EmissionProjectionto2020
B.1. CanadasOilandGasProduction
B.1.1. GasProduction
CanadaproducesmostofitsnaturalgasintheWesternCanadianSedimentaryBasin(WCSB),although
thereissomelimitedproductioninOntarioandinoffshoreNovaScotia.Thedeclineofconventionalgas
productioninWCSBandstagnantassociatedgasproductionhasledtoCanadiansoverallgasproduction
declineoverthelastdecadefrom16.7Bcfdin2000to13.2Bcfdin2013(seeFigureB1).However,this
trend is expected to reverse with the expected acceleration of shale gas development across North
America. Two major shale gas plays in the WCSB are the Montney and Horn River Shales, which are
primarilylocatedinBritishColumbia.Increasingdemandfornaturalgasinoilsandsproduction,aswellas
LNGexportsfromBritishColumbiaareexpectedtodrivethedevelopmentofshalegasinWesternCanada.
Eastern Canadas offshore production is relatively small and largely supplies local demand in the
MaritimesprovincesandtheU.S.Northeast.ThefigurebelowshowsCanadashistoricalgasproduction.
FigureB1CanadianHistoricalGasProduction

Source:NEBCanadasEnergyFuture2013
B.1.2. OilProduction
WesternCanadaaccountsfor93percentofCanadianoilproduction,whichconsistsofbothconventional
oil and oil sands production.90 Oil sands has driven Canadian oil production growth in recent years,
whereas conventional production has remained flat. In Eastern Canada, oil production comes from
offshorefieldssuchastheHibernia,WhiteRoseandTerraNova.Thesefieldsaccountforasmallportion
ofthetotalproduction(7%in2013),andoffshoreoilprospectsinCanadaislikelytoremainuncertainin
thefuture.FigureB2belowsummarizesCanadianoilproductionbytypeandarea.
90
CanadianAssociationofPetroleumProducers.CrudeOilForecast,Markets&Transportation.CAPP,June2014.Available
at:http://www.capp.ca/publicationsandstatistics/crudeoilforecast
ICFInternational B1 September2015
FigureB2CanadianHistoricalOilProduction

Source:NEBCanadasEnergyFuture2013
B.2. OverviewofICFsGMMModel
InordertodevelopprojectionsoffutureproductionlevelsofnaturalgasandoilinCanada,thisstudyhas
usedICFsproprietaryGasMarketModel(GMM).TheGMMisanationallyrecognized,comprehensive,
detailed supply and demand equilibrium model of the North American gas market. The Canadian gas
market is integrated with the U.S., and therefore production projections in Canada require an
understandingofthefullNorthAmericanmarket.TheGMMoperatesbyequilibratingsupplyanddemand
acrossthepipelinenetworkonamonthlybasisforaforecastperiod.Themodelgeneratesgasproduction
andgasconsumptionforecasts,showspipelineutilizationandflows,andstorageoperations.TheGMM
forecastsgassupply,consumption,andpricesatover120supplyanddemandmarketnodes.TheGMM
forecaststhemarginal(orincremental)valueofnaturalgas(i.e.,naturalgasprices)bybalancingsupply
anddemandineachofthemarketnodes.GMMdevelopsaforecastfordrypipelinequalitygas,anda
separatevintageproductionmodelisusedtodevelopestimatesofwellcompletionsandliquids(crudeoil
andleasecondensate)productionfromvariousbasins.
ThisstudysBaseCaseforecastincorporatesthefollowingkeyunderlyingassumptions:
Historical U.S. GDP growth rates are based on the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysiss (BEA)
estimates.ThisstudyusesrecentWallStreetJournalsSurveyofEconomistsforthe2015U.S.GDP
rate of 2.9%, in order to capture potential nearterm swings in economic activity. From 2016
forward,thisstudyassumesaU.S.GDPgrowsat2.6%peryear.HistoricalCanadianGDPgrowth
isbasedonestimatespublishedbyStatisticsCanada;fortheforecast,thisstudyassumesthat
CanadianGDPgrowsat2.5%peryearfrom2014forward.Thisstudysassumptionsareconsistent
withprojectionsfromotherinstitutionssuchastheEIA,OECD,andIMF.
Longtermoilprice(refinersaveragecostofcrude)isassumedtostabilizearound$75perbarrel
(in2014$).
Demographictrendsareconsistentwithtrendsduringthepast20years.U.S.populationgrowth
averagesabout1%peryear.FutureCanadiandemographictrendsareconsistentwithhistorical
trends,andbasedoninformationfromStatisticsCanada.
Futureweatherpatternisassumedtobeconsistentwithaveragesoverthepast20years.
Electricloadgrowthaverages1.2%peryear.
ThisstudysBaseCasereflectsEPAscurrentrulesforMercury&AirToxicsStandardsRule(MATS),
waterintakestructures(oftenreferredtoas316(b)),andcoalcombustionresiduals(CCR,orash).
ItalsoincludestheCrossStateAirPollutionRule(CSAPR),whichwasreinstatedinJanuary2015.
CSAPRhasreplacedtheCAIRprogram,imposingregionalandstatecapsonemissionsofNOXand
SO2.
CurrentU.S.andCanadagasproductionisfromover400trillioncubicfeetofprovengasreserves.
ThesubstantialNorthAmericannaturalgasresourcebase,totalingover4,000trillioncubicfeet
ofunprovedplusdiscoveredbutundevelopedgasresource,cansupplytheU.S.andCanadagas
marketsforover100years(atcurrentconsumptionlevels).
Shalegasaccountsforover50percentofremainingrecoverablegasresources.
No significant restrictions on well permitting and fracturing beyond current restrictions (e.g.,
banningofhydraulicfracturinginNewYorkState).
GMMforecastswellcompletions,notwellsdrilled.Inventoryofdrilledbutuncompletedwells
(DUC)couldbelargeinsomeproducingareas(mostlyintheU.S)andisnotconsideredinthis
analysis.
ProjectionsofoilsandsdevelopmentisbasedonGMMsestimatederivedfromCAPPandNEB
estimates.Itisanexogenousinputintothemodel.Oilwellcompletionestimatesdonotinclude
anywellsdevelopedforoilsandsdevelopment.
No significant hurricane disruptions to natural gas supply. Modest disruptions assumed,
consistentwiththeaveragedisruptionoverthepast20years.
Arctic projects (specifically Alaska and Mackenzie Valley gas pipelines) are not included in our
projection.
Nearterm midstream infrastructure development is aligned with project announcements.
Unplanned (generic) projects are included when the market signals need for capacity (i.e.,
projectedbasiscoverstheunitcostofexpansion).Thisstudyassumesthattherearenosignificant
delaysinpermittingandconstructionofpipelines.
B.3. ProjectedCanadianProduction
Over the next seven years, production growth in Canada will be driven by shale gas development in
westernCanada.ConventionalandtightwellcompletionsinAlbertaandSaskatchewanareexpectedto
seethelargestdeclines.Thisreflectstheongoingdeclineinconventionaloilandgasextraction.Thisstudy
expects no new gas wells in eastern Canada in 2020 due to the uncertain outlook for offshore
development.
FigureB3showstheannualwellcompletionsin2013and2020,aswellascumulativeandaveragewell
completionsbetween2013and2020.TheannualgaswellcompletionsintheMontneyandHornRiver
playsincreaseovertime,withanaverageannualwellcompletionof500and180wellsrespectively.These
twoplaysareexpectedtoservetheLNGexportandoilsandsproductiondemand.Thisstudysforecastof
2,250newgaswellcompletionsin2020isinlinewiththeNEBsestimateofroughly2,200newgaswells
drilledinWesternCanadain202091.
NewannualoilwellcompletionsinCanadaareexpectedtodecreasebetween2013and2020duetothe
decline in new conventional oil well drilling and completions. EURs for the conventional oil wells will
decline slowly over time, as sweet spots are running out leading to more expensive resources and
declining well productivity. Although, conventional oil production will decline over time, overall oil
productioninWesternCanadawillincreaseovertimeduetothegrowthofoilsands.
FigureB3NewAnnualOilandGasWellCompletionsinCanada
Source:ICFInternational.OtherWesternCanadashaleincludessmallershaleplaysexcludingMontneyandHornRiver.Note
thatoilwellcompletionsareonlyforconventionalandtightoilproduction,anddoesnotincludeanywellsassociatedwithoil
sandsproduction.
FigureB4belowshowstotalgasproductionfromgaswellsandoilwells(associatedgasproduction)in
Canada.Totalgasproductionisexpectedtoreachnearly16Bcfdin2020,whichisa7.6%increaseover
2013production.ThisisdrivenbygrowthinshalegasparticularlyintheMontneyandHornRiverShales.
Thegrowthinshalegasmorethanoffsetsthe3.8BcfddeclineinothersourcesincludingEasternCanada
Offshore,CBM, conventionalandtightplays.ThisstudyforecaststotalCanadiangas productiontobe
higher than the NEBs forecast of 11.7 Bcfd by 202092 in its 2013 report: Canadas Energy Future.93
However,NEBsestimate of2013productioninCanada(13.2Bcfd)waslowerthanactual marketable
91
NationalEnergyBoard.CanadasEnergyFuture2013CrudeOilProduction.NEB,2013.Availableat:https://www.neb
one.gc.ca/nrg/ntgrtd/ftr/2013/ppndcs/pxlprdctneng.html
92
NationalEnergyBoard.CanadasEnergyFuture2013NaturalGasProduction.NEB,2013.Availableat:https://www.neb
one.gc.ca/nrg/ntgrtd/ftr/2013/ppndcs/pxgsprdctneng.html
93
https://www.nebone.gc.ca/nrg/ntgrtd/ftr/2013/indexeng.html
productionin2013(14.0Bcfd).94,95Furthermore,theNEBs2013forecastisdifferentfromthisstudys
forecastduetodifferentassumptionsaboutNorthAmericangasdemand,gasuseforoilsandsproduction,
andqualityofnaturalgasresourcebaseinCanada.
FigureB4GasProductionOutlook
Eastern Albertaand British Other

Canada Saskatchewan Columbia Western
Offshore/ Alberta Conventional Montney HornRiver Conventional Canada
Year Other CBM andTight Shale Shale andTight Shales U.S. Canada
GasProductionFromGasWells(Bcfd)
2013 0.2 0.8 7.1 2.4 0.5 1.3 0.9 56.3 13.1
2020 0.1 0.5 4.1 4.5 1.5 1.0 2.7 66.4 14.4
GasProductionFromOilWells(Bcfd)
2013 0.0 0.0 1.6 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.0 11.3 1.6
2020 0.0 0.0 1.4 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 17.9 1.5
TotalGasProduction(Bcfd)
2013 0.2 0.8 8.6 2.4 0.5 1.4 0.9 67.6 14.7
2020 0.1 0.5 5.6 4.5 1.5 1.0 2.7 84.3 15.9
Source:ICFInternational.OtherWesternCanadashaleincludessmallershaleplaysexcludingMontneyandHornRiver.
Canadianliquidsproductionisexpectedtoincreasethrough2020(FigureB5below).WesternCanada
shalesarerichinNGLandleasecondensates.AlbertaandSaskatchewanconventionalandtightplaysare
primarily oil, while shale plays in British Columbia are relatively dry. Liquids production from Canada
includesbothproductionfromtheshaleandbitumenproductionfromoilsands.Oilandleasecondensate
productionisanticipatedtogrowbyover20%from3.4MMbpdin2013to4.1MMbpdby2020,driven
primarilybyoilsandsproduction,whichisexpectedtoreach2.9MMbpdby2020from2MMbpdin2013.
ThisstudysforecastofoilproductionismoreconservativethanthoseofCAPP(4.6MMbpdby202096)
andNEB(4.8MMbpdby202097)duetooilpriceassumptions.NGLproductionincreasesby200Mbpd.
These volumes largely come from Western Canada shales such as the Montney and others. Areas
expectingadropinliquidsproductionincludeEasternCanadaandconventionalplaysinWesternCanada.
94
https://www.nebone.gc.ca/nrg/sttstc/ntrlgs/stt/archive/mrktblntrlgsprdctn2013.xls
95
Notethatmarketableproductiondoesnotincludepipelinelossesandgasuseforleaseandplant.ICFsproductionestimate
includestotaldrygasproduction,includingpipelinelossesandleaseandplantuse.
96
CanadianAssociationofPetroleumProducers.CrudeOilForecast,Markets&Transportation.CAPP,June2015.Available
at:http://capp.ca/publicationsandstatistics/publications/264673
97
NationalEnergyBoard.CanadasEnergyFuture2013CrudeOilProduction.NEB,2013.Availableat:https://www.neb
one.gc.ca/nrg/ntgrtd/ftr/2013/ppndcs/pxlprdctneng.html
FigureB5LiquidsProductionOutlook
Eastern Albertaand British Other

Canada Saskatchewan AlbertaOil Columbia Western
Offshore/ Alberta Conventional Sands Montney HornRiver Conventional Canada
Other CBM andTight Production Shale Shale andTight Shales U.S. Canada
OilandLeaseCondensate
Production(MBbl/d)
2013 240 0 1,150 2,030 10 0 30 190 7,040 3,440
2020 210 0 960 2,890 10 0 20 520 8,870 4,070
NGLProduction(MBbl/d)
2013 10 0 350 140 0 40 100 2,610 640
2020 0 0 220 250 0 30 330 4,880 840
Source:ICFInternational.Notethatoilsandproductionisseparatelylistedinthetableabove.
B.4. SummaryTablesandProjectionChartsforWesternCanada
Figure B6 through Figure B9 describe ICFs projections from Western Canada in more detail at the
provinciallevel.TotalgaswellsinWesternCanadadeclineslightlyfromalmost163,000wellsin2010to
over147,000wellsin2020.However,gasproductiongrowstonearly5,800Bcf/yearduetohigherEUR
andwellproductivity,particularlyforproductionoutofBritishColumbiasshaleplays.FigureB6showsa
32%increaseinconventionaloilwellsfrom67,000in2010to89,000in2020.Despitethisincreaseinwell
counts,producersarerunningoutofsweetspotsandfacingloweroilwellproductivity,andtherefore,
conventional oil production is expected to decrease to approximately 356,000 Mbbl by 2020. Oil
productionisalsoimpactedbyloweroilprices,whichreducestheincentivesforgrowthinoilproduction.
Notethatproductionofoil(bitumen)fromoilsandsisexcludedinallofthefiguresbelow.
FigureB6WesternCanadianOilandGasWellCountandProductionProjections

Source:CanadianGMMModelWellCountandProductionPredictions.Doesnotincludeoilsandsproduction.
Saskatchewanisnotamajorgasproducer,andmostoftheproductionisfromconventionalwells.Gas
production follows the decline in gas well count over the next 5 years. This study does not anticipate
significantnewwelldrillingandcompletionsintheprovince,althoughthenewwellshaveslightlyhigher
productivity due to technology improvements. The province is expected to produce 170 Bcf of gas by
2020, with gas well counts declining to roughly 13,000 wells by 2020. Conventional oil production is
expectedtopeakataround187,000Mbblin2015,anddeclinethereafterduetodecreaseddrillingactivity
aswellasdeclineinEURs(asnewwellshavetobedrilledinlessproductiveareas).
FigureB7SaskatchewanOilandGasWellCountandProductionProjections

Source:CanadianGMMModelWellCountandProductionPredictions
British Columbia becomes a larger gas producer in Western Canada, driven by growth in shale plays
includingtheMontneyandHornRiver/Liard.Productioninthisareareplacesthedecliningproductionin
AlbertaandSaskatchewan.Gaswellcompletionsrisetoabout12,000wells,pushinggasproductionto
approximately2,600Bcfperyear.Furthermore,giventhattheMontneyandHornRiverplaysarerelatively
new,thisstudyanticipatesgreatertechnologylearningeffect,suchthattheaverageEURisexpectedto
growovertime.Conventionaloilproductionintheprovinceisexpectedtodecreaseoverthenext5years
duetoloweroilprices,anddeclineinproductivity.
FigureB8BritishColumbiaOilandGasWellCountandProductionProjections

GasproductioninAlbertadeclinestoapproximately3,000Bcfby2020duetodecreaseinconventional
gasproductionintheprovince.Thebestareasintheconventionalplaysarealreadydrilled,andtheEURs
forfuturewellsareexpectedtodecline.Furthermore,increasedproductionfromBritishColumbiasshale
plays will limit the growth in Alberta. Therefore, both production and well counts for natural gas are
expectedtodecline.Intermsofoilproduction,conventionalproductionintheprovincepeaksin2015
andthendeclinestoaround180millionbblsby2020.Loweroilpricesanddecliningresourceproductivity
resultinaflatteningtotaloilwellcount,butadecliningproduction.

FigureB9AlbertaOilandGasWellCountandProductionProjections


AppendixC. AdditionalTablesandFigures
AdditionalsensitivityMACcurvesforCanada,Alberta,andBritishColumbia,aredevelopedbelow,with
accompanyingtablesoftopemissionssourceswithineachprovince.Whenapplicable,thesecurvesonly
addresstheupstreamsegments(production,gatheringandprocesstransmissionanddistributionare
not included. For the subsequent figures, all MAC curves reflect baseline MAC parameters unless
otherwisespecified.Forexample,baselineMACparametersareinCanadiandollarsandaresetat$5CAD
/Mcfnaturalgaspriceand100yrGWPat25.
FigureC1TotalCanadianMACCurvewith20YrGWPinCO2e
RecoveredGasat
$5.00CAD/Mcf
GWP=20yr@72(AR4)
ICFInternational C1 September2015
FigureC2AlbertaUpstreamMACCurvewith100yrGWPinCO2e
RecoveredGasat
$5.00CAD/Mcf
GWP=100yr@25(AR4)
FigureC3AlbertaUpstreamMACCurvewith20yrGWPinCO2e
RecoveredGasat
$5.00CAD/Mcf
GWP=20yr@72(AR4)
FigureC4AlbertaUpstreamMACCurveforBaselineTechnologyAssumptionsinBcf
TableC1Top80%EmittingOnshoreMethaneSourceCategoriesin2020forAlbertaUpstream
2020
Type Total Bcf
(Bcf)
OilProduction StrandedGasVentingfromOil Vented 9.4 12.8% 9.4 13%
Wells
Gatheringand GatheringandBoosting Fugitive 5.2 7.2% 14.6 20%
Boosting Stations
GasProduction ChemicalInjectionPumps Vented 5.0 6.8% 19.6 27%
GasProduction LiquidsUnloadingWellsw/ Vented 4.1 5.6% 23.7 32%
PlungerLifts
Gatheringand ReciprocatingCompressors Vented 3.7 5.1% 27.4 37%
Gatheringand CompressorBlowdowns Vented 3.3 4.5% 30.7 42%
GasProcessing SweetReciprocating Vented 2.8 3.8% 33.4 46%
CompressorsSeals
Uncontrolled
GasProduction Meters/Piping Fugitive 2.6 3.6% 36.0 49%
GasProduction WellHeadFugitives Fugitive 2.5 3.4% 38.5 53%
GasProcessing SweetBlowdowns/Venting Vented 2.2 3.0% 40.7 56%

GasProduction Separators Fugitive 2.0 2.7% 42.7 58%
OilProduction OilTanksSAGDUncontrolled Vented 1.8 2.5% 44.5 61%
GasProduction LiquidsUnloading Vented 1.7 2.3% 46.2 63%

Uncontrolled
GasProduction LowBleedPneumaticDevices Vented 1.7 2.3% 47.9 65%
GasProcessing SweetBlowdownValve Fugitive 1.6 2.2% 49.5 68%

OperatingVenting
GasProcessing SweetGasProcessingPlants Fugitive 1.6 2.2% 51.1 70%
OilProduction OilTanks Vented 1.4 1.9% 52.5 72%
GasProduction IntermittentBleedPneumatic Vented 1.3 1.7% 53.8 74%
DevicesDumpValves
GasProduction HighBleedPneumaticDevices Vented 1.1 1.6% 54.9 75%
GasProduction DumpValveVenting Fugitive 1.1 1.5% 56.0 77%
Gatheringand IsolationValveVenting Fugitive 0.9 1.2% 56.9 78%
Boosting
GasProduction Heaters Fugitive 0.9 1.2% 57.8 79%
GasProcessing SweetCentrifugal Fugitive 0.8 1.1% 58.6 80%
Compressors(Blowdown
Valve)

FigureC5DistributionofUpstreamEmissionReductionPotentialinAlberta

FigureC6BritishColumbiaUpstreamMACCurvewith100yrGWPinCO2e
RecoveredGasat
$5.00CAD/Mcf
GWP=100yr@25(AR4)

FigureC7BritishColumbiaUpstreamMACCurvewith20yrGWPinCO2e
RecoveredGasat
$5.00CAD/Mcf
GWP=20yr@72(AR4)

FigureC8BritishColumbiaUpstreamMACCurveforBaselineTechnologyAssumptionsinBcf

TableC2Top80%EmittingOnshoreMethaneSourceCategoriesin2020forBritishColumbiaUpstream
2020
Type Total Bcf
(Bcf)
Boosting Stations
Gatheringand ReciprocatingCompressors Vented 1.8 14.5% 4.4 35%
Gatheringand CompressorBlowdowns Vented 1.6 12.8% 6.0 48%
Gatheringand CompressorExhaust(Gas Combusted 0.5 3.8% 6.5 52%
Boosting Engines)
GasProduction ChemicalInjectionPumps Vented 0.5 3.6% 6.9 55%
Gatheringand IsolationValveVenting Fugitive 0.4 3.5% 7.4 59%
Boosting
Boosting Stations
GasProduction LiquidsUnloadingWellsw/ Vented 0.4 3.0% 8.2 65%
PlungerLifts
Gatheringand BlowdownValveStandby Fugitive 0.3 2.6% 8.5 68%
Boosting Venting
Gatheringand CompressorExhaust(Gas Combusted 0.3 2.1% 8.8 70%
Boosting Engines)
Gatheringand ScrubberDumpValves Fugitive 0.2 1.8% 9.0 72%
Boosting
GasProduction WellHeadFugitives Fugitive 0.2 1.8% 9.2 73%
GasProduction Meters/Piping Fugitive 0.2 1.6% 9.4 75%

GasProduction Separators Fugitive 0.2 1.4% 9.6 76%
GasProduction LowBleedPneumaticDevices Vented 0.2 1.3% 9.8 78%

Gatheringand KimrayPumps Vented 0.2 1.3% 9.9 79%
Boosting
GasProduction LiquidsUnloading Vented 0.2 1.2% 10.1 80%
Uncontrolled

FigureC9DistributionofUpstreamEmissionReductionPotentialinBritishColumbia
ThetablesbelowpresentCanadasegmentbreakdownsofemissionsacrossallsegments.
TableC3Top80%EmittingMethaneSourceCategoriesin2020forGasProduction
2020
Source Emissions Cumulative%
Type Total Bcf
(Bcf)
ChemicalInjectionPumps Vented 5.0 14.9% 5.0 15%
LiquidsUnloadingWellsw/ Vented 4.1 12.2% 9.1 27%
PlungerLifts
Meters/Piping Fugitive 2.6 7.8% 11.7 35%
WellHeadFugitives Fugitive 2.5 7.4% 14.1 42%

Separators Fugitive 2.0 5.9% 18.3 55%
LiquidsUnloading Vented 1.7 5.0% 20.0 60%
Uncontrolled
LowBleedPneumaticDevices Vented 1.7 5.0% 21.7 65%
IntermittentBleedPneumatic Vented 1.3 3.8% 23.0 69%
DevicesDumpValves
HighBleedPneumaticDevices Vented 1.1 3.4% 24.1 72%
DumpValveVenting Fugitive 1.1 3.4% 25.2 76%

Heaters Fugitive 0.9 2.6% 26.1 78%

2020
Type Total Bcf
(Bcf)
Devices
TableC4Top80%EmittingMethaneSourceCategoriesin2020forOilProduction
2020
Type Total Bcf
(Bcf)
StrandedGasVentingfromOil Vented 9.4 37.7% 9.4 38%
Wells
StrandedGasVentingfromOil Vented 2.7 10.7% 12.1 48%
Wells
OilTanksSAGDUncontrolled Vented 1.8 7.3% 13.9 56%
OilTanks Vented 1.4 5.6% 15.3 61%
DevicesDumpValves
HighBleedPneumaticDevices Vented 0.8 3.1% 18.4 74%

DevicesDumpValves
TableC5Top80%EmittingMethaneSourceCategoriesin2020forGatheringandBoosting
2020
Type Total Bcf
(Bcf)
GatheringandBoosting Fugitive 5.2 19.2% 5.2 19%
Stations
ReciprocatingCompressors Vented 3.7 13.6% 8.9 33%
SealsUncontrolled
CompressorBlowdowns Vented 3.3 12.1% 12.2 45%
Uncontrolled
Stations
ReciprocatingCompressors Vented 1.8 6.7% 16.6 61%
SealsUncontrolled
CompressorBlowdowns Vented 1.6 5.9% 18.2 67%
Uncontrolled
IsolationValveVenting Fugitive 0.9 3.3% 19.1 70%
CompressorExhaust(Gas Combusted 0.7 2.7% 19.9 73%
Engines)

2020
Type Total Bcf
(Bcf)
BlowdownValveStandby Fugitive 0.7 2.5% 20.5 75%
Venting
Stations
CompressorExhaust(Gas Combusted 0.5 1.8% 21.6 79%
Engines)
ScrubberDumpValves Fugitive 0.5 1.7% 22.0 81%
TableC6Top80%EmittingMethaneSourceCategoriesin2020forGasProcessing
2020
Type Total Bcf
(Bcf)
SweetReciprocating Vented 2.8 19.0% 2.8 19%
CompressorsSeals
Uncontrolled
SweetBlowdowns/Venting Vented 2.2 15.4% 5.0 34%
SweetBlowdownValve Fugitive 1.6 11.3% 6.6 46%
OperatingVenting
SweetGasProcessingPlants Fugitive 1.6 10.9% 8.2 57%
SweetCentrifugal Fugitive 0.8 5.7% 9.0 62%

Compressors(Blowdown
Valve)
SweetCompressorExhaust Combusted 0.7 5.1% 9.8 67%
(GasEngines)
SweetCentrifugal Vented 0.7 4.8% 10.5 72%
Compressors(wetseals)
Uncontrolled
SweetAGRVents Vented 0.6 4.3% 11.1 76%
SweetCentrifugal Fugitive 0.5 3.1% 11.5 80%
Compressors(IsoValve)

TableC7Top80%EmittingMethaneSourceCategoriesin2020forGasTransmission
2020
Type Total Bcf
(Bcf)
CentrifugalCompressors(Iso Fugitive 5.5 32.1% 5.5 32%
Valve)
TransmissionStationVenting Vented 3.5 20.7% 9.0 53%
PipelineVenting(Routine Vented 1.6 9.2% 10.6 62%
Maintenance/Upsets)

2020
Type Total Bcf
(Bcf)
CompressorStations Fugitive 1.4 8.5% 12.0 70%
(Transmission)
CentrifugalCompressors(wet Vented 1.4 8.1% 13.4 79%
seals)Uncontrolled
M&R(Trans.Co.Interconnect) Fugitive 0.6 3.8% 14.0 82%

TableC8Top80%EmittingMethaneSourceCategoriesin2020forGasDistribution
2020
Type Total Bcf
(Bcf)
Residential Fugitive 0.8 33.6% 0.8 34%
Mishaps(Digins) Vented 0.3 12.1% 1.2 46%
MainsUnprotectedsteel Fugitive 0.3 11.4% 1.4 57%
MainsProtectedsteel Fugitive 0.3 11.0% 1.7 68%
MainsCastIron Fugitive 0.2 8.4% 1.9 77%

M&R100300 Fugitive 0.1 4.3% 2.0 81%
AprovincialbreakdownofupstreamemissionsacrossCanadain2013and2020isprovidedbelow.
FigureC10CanadianProvincialMethaneEmissionsBreakdownin2013

FigureC11CanadianProvincialMethaneEmissionsBreakdownin2020

TableC9BaselineInventorySimplePaybackTableforSelectMitigationTechnologies
SimplePayback
MitigationTechnology
Period98
Earlyreplacementofhighbleeddeviceswithlowbleeddevices 6.6
ReplacementofReciprocatingCompressorRodPackingSystems 3.4
InstallFlaresStrandedGasVenting 2.6
InstallFlaresPortable 0.1
InstallPlungerLiftSystemsinGasWells 6.0
InstallVaporRecoveryUnits 1.3
LDARWells 5.4
LDARGathering 11.2
LDARProcessing 0.9
LDARTransmission 0.3
ReplacePneumaticChemicalInjectionPumpswithSolarElectric 5.9
Pumps
ReplaceKimrayPumpswithElectricPumps 0.5
98
SimplePaybackCalculatedas:Takingtheinitialinvestmentcostsdividingbytheannualcashflow(cost).Thepaybackperiod
ismeasuredinyearsandrepresentsthetimetorecovertheinitialinvestment.

SimplePayback
MitigationTechnology
Period98
WetSealDegassingRecoverySystemforCentrifugalCompressors 0.1
WetSealRetrofittoDrySealCompressor 0.6
BlowdownCaptureandRoutetoFuelSystem(perCompressor) 2.6
BlowdownCaptureandRoutetoFuelSystem(perPlant) 1.0
ReplacewithInstrumentAirSystems Intermittent 2.1
ReplacewithInstrumentAirSystems HighBleed 0.8
FigureC12TotalCanadianMACCurvewith$3.75CAD/McfNaturalGasPrice
$19.76
RecoveredGasat
$3.75CAD/Mcf
GWP=100yr@25(AR4)

FigureC13TotalCanadianMACCurvewith$6.25CAD/McfNaturalGasPrice
RecoveredGasat
$6.25CAD/Mcf
GWP=100yr@25(AR4)

FigureC14TotalCanadianMACCurvewithBaseParametersinBcf

FigureC15AlbertaUpstreamMACCurvewith$3.75CAD/McfNaturalGasPrice
RecoveredGasat
$3.75CAD/Mcf
GWP=100yr@25(AR4)

FigureC16AlbertaUpstreamMACCurvewith$6.25CAD/McfNaturalGasPrice
RecoveredGasat
$6.25CAD/Mcf
GWP=100yr@25(AR4)

FigureC17BritishColumbiaUpstreamMACCurvewith$3.75CAD/McfNaturalGasPrice
RecoveredGasat
$3.75CAD/Mcf
GWP=100yr@25(AR4)

FigureC18BritishColumbiaUpstreamMACCurvewith$6.25CAD/McfNaturalGasPrice
RecoveredGasat
$6.25CAD/Mcf
GWP=100yr@25(AR4)

AppendixD. EmissionsCalculationswithGWPSensitivities
Basedontheliteraturecitedinthisstudy,TableD1belowcontainstheglobalwarmingpotentialsfor
methaneaccordingtotheAR4/AR5reportandwhetheritisona20yearora100yearbasis.
TableD1MethaneGlobalWarmingPotentials
Assessment 20yrBasis 100yrBasis

Report# GWP GWP
AR4 72 25
AR5 86 34
As indicated in the main report, the 2020 Canadian Emissions Baseline value of 125 Bcf translates to
approximately60.2milliontonnesCO2ewhenusinganAR4100yrGWP.TableD2demonstratesthe
GWPsensitivityandrecalculatesthemilliontonnesofCO2edependingonwhatGWPisused.TableD3
performsthesamecalculationbutforthetotal2020Canadianreductionopportunityof56Bcf.This
meansthatiftheAR520yearGWPwasusedinsteadofthe100year,93MMTCO2eofreductionscould
beachievedfromthetechnologiesandpracticesidentifiedinthisreport.

TableD22020CanadianBaselineEmissionswithGWPSensitivity
Emissions Emissions
AssessmentReport#
(MMTCO2e) (MMTCO2e)
UsedinCalculation
w/20yrBasisGWP w/100yrBasisGWP
AR4 173.3 60.2
AR5 207.0 81.9
TableD32020ReductionOpportunitywithGWPSensitivity
Emissions Emissions
AssessmentReport#
(MMTCO2e) (MMTCO2e)
UsedinCalculation
w/20yrBasisGWP w/100yrBasisGWP
AR4 77.7 27.0
AR5 92.8 36.7
ICFInternational D1 September2015

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Economic Analysis of Methane Emission

Reduction Opportunities in the Canadian Oil

ICFInternational iii September2015

ICFInternational vii September2015

ICFInternational viii September2015

Reciprocating compressor rod packing seals opportunity to reduce emissions by 22% by

Developestimatesforequipmentspecificactivity and/ordriversThisstudyreliedon publically

GasProduction Meters/Piping Fugitive 3.0 2.4% 58.6 47.0%

GasProduction Separators Fugitive 2.2 1.7% 68.3 54.7%

OilProduction LowBleedPneumaticDevices Vented 2.2 1.7% 70.5 56.5%

ICFInternational 310 September2015

ICFInternational 311 September2015

ICFInternational 312 September2015

Overhead(@10%) $15,000 Truck $33,000

Travel(@15%) $22,500 Recordkeepingsystem $21,750

Recordkeeping(@10%) $15,000 Total $245,550

Fringe(@30%) $45,000 TrainingHours 80

SubtotalCosts $292,500 TrainingDollars $12,447

Hours/yr 1880 AmortizedCapital +Training $68,058

HourlyLabourRate $155.6 AnnualLabour $292,500

ICFInternational 313 September2015

Wells Gathering Processing Transmission LDC

%Reduction 60% 60% 60% 60% 60%

ReductionMcf 70 1,740 5,622 12,052 7

HourseachInspection 0.4 10.7 16.0 16.0 0.7

AnnualInspectionCost $307 $8,183 $12,274 $12,274 $639

InitialSetUp $31 $818 $1,227 $1,227 $51

RepairLabourCost $230 $6,137 $9,206 $9,206 $384

TotalCost/yr $568 $15,138 $22,708 $22,708 $1,074

NetCost $32 $1,888 ($20,109) ($57,369) $619

ICFInternational 314 September2015

Wells Gathering Processing Transmission LDC

WithGasCredit50 $0.45 $1.09 $(3.58) $(4.76) $9.05

ICFInternational 315 September2015

$9,900 31% 438 3 $9.09/Mcf

ICFInternational 316 September2015

ICFInternational 317 September2015

ICFInternational 318 September2015

ICFInternational 319 September2015

Design Population Installation

ICFInternational 320 September2015

ICFInternational 321 September2015

ICFInternational 322 September2015

ICFInternational 323 September2015

ICFInternational 324 September2015

ICFInternational 325 September2015

ReplacementofReciprocatingCompressorRodPackingSystems $9,900 $0 30.7% $1.47 $9.09

InstallFlaresStrandedGasVenting $94,050 $9,000 98.0% $3.17 $3.17

InstallFlaresPortable $45,000 $0 98% $0.17 $0.17

InstallPlungerLiftSystemsinGasWells $30,000 $3,600 95% $0.07 $7.54

InstallVaporRecoveryUnits $75,955 $13,750 95% $4.79 $2.83

LDARWells $257,997 $292,500 60% $1.25 $8.87

LDARGathering $257,997 $292,500 60% $1.95 $9.56

LDARLDCMRR $257,997 $292,500 60% $9.63 $17.24

LDARProcessing $257,997 $292,500 60% $3.18 $4.44

LDARTransmission $257,997 $292,500 60% $5.54 $2.07

ReplacePneumaticChemicalInjectionPumpswithSolarElectricPumps $7,500 $113 100% $0.33 $7.28

ReplaceKimrayPumpswithElectricPumps $15,000 $3,000 100% $6.25 $1.36

PipelinePumpDownBeforeMaintenance $0 $591,468 80% $5.55 $2.06

WetSealDegassingRecoverySystemforCentrifugalCompressors $105,000 $0 95% $7.13 $0.48

WetSealRetrofittoDrySealCompressor $675,000 $75,000 95% $7.13 $0.48

BlowdownCaptureandRoutetoFuelSystem(perCompressor) $30,000 $0 95% $6.81 $0.81

BlowdownCaptureandRoutetoFuelSystem(perPlant) $75,000 $0 95% $5.99 $1.62

ReplacewithInstrumentAirSystemsIntermittent $90,000 $26,655 100% $5.75 $1.86