Comprehensive Summary of Methane Airborne Quantification Results

Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas and several organizations in multiple countries are taking significant steps toward sharply reducing emissions from the oil and gas sector [1] [2]. A large portion of such emissions come from a small fraction of “super-emitting” sources. Airborne infrared hyperspectral imaging can visualize and quantify these emissions and gas leaks under various environmental conditions and industrial contexts. The capabilities of the Telops airborne-based methane emission detection system was demonstrated in multiple controlled releases with methane flow rates varying from 3 to 55 m³/h. Results show that the system is able to detect methane emission rates as low as 3 m³/h (1968 g/h or 2543 ft3/day). This is in good agreement with performance simulations. The system's detection limit depends on atmospheric parameters such as wind speed, humidity and thermal contrast. Emission rate quantification accuracy depends on the wind measurement accuracy, the fit of the results show a parity slope of 0.99 (R2 = 0.89), thus very good agreement between commanded leak rate and retrieved leak rate.