Airborne methane surveys pay for themselves: An economic case study of increased revenue from emissions control

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Authors

Forrest Johnson, Andrew Wlazlo, Ryan Keys, Viren Desai, Erin B. Wetherley, Ryan Calvert, Elena S.F. Berman

Abstract

We present an economic analysis of an emissions monitoring and capture program for a mid-sized Permian Basin operator, Triple Crown Resources (“Triple Crown”). Data from this campaign was gathered using repeat airborne surveys provided by Kairos Aerospace (“Kairos”). Key findings include:
- The total volume of detected emissions from Triple Crown operations decreased by 70% from the first to the second survey.
- Captured gas revenue in the first month was approximately $139,000 and paid for the full cost of the first campaign (including survey, follow-up inspection, and repair) within 5 days.
-Analysis of emissions detected from a range of anonymized Permian Basin operators show that a mid-sized operator with a median emissions profile could expect a campaign to pay back in 16.8 days.
-Gas samples collected from various points across Triple Crown’s operation showed significant variation in gas value, with tank vapor gas priced as high as $22/MCF.
- Kairos survey technology was found to be an effective and highly competitive option for carbon reduction relative to wind, solar, and LED lighting, achieving a cost of $0.54 for every one tonne of CO2e eliminated.

DOI

https://doi.org/10.31223/X5RP7S

Subjects

Environmental Monitoring, Natural Resource Economics, Oil, Gas, and Energy, Remote Sensing

Keywords

Emissions reduction, Payback, Airborne survey, ESG, Carbon liability

Dates

Published: 2021-07-15 00:23

License

CC0 1.0 Universal - Public Domain Dedication