Quantifying Methane Emissions from Industrial Activities using a Helicopter-borne System: Results from Measurement Campaigns in Poland and the Arabian Peninsula

Abstract

As one of the second most important greenhouse gases after carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) is in the focus of worldwide initiatives to combat global warming. Since methane has a higher short-term global warming potential (GWP) than CO2, mitigation actions take effect sooner. UNEPs International Methane Emissions Observatory (IMEO) aims to improve the accuracy of emissions data from the Oil and Gas (O&G), coal and waste sectors to support mitigation activities. For the first time, the unique helicopter-towed probe HELiPOD was used to estimate CH4 mass fluxes from selected emission sources in the Upper Silesian Coal Basin in southern Poland in 2022 and from the O&G and waste sector in Oman in 2023.

In this presentation, top-down mass flux estimates based on measurements from the two airborne CH4 instruments will be compared and mass flux uncertainties will be discussed with respect to the flight strategies and meteorological conditions. Depending on the surveyed emission source (origin of point or cluster source), the calculated CH4 mass fluxes span over a wide range from ~50 to 3000 kg/h.

By comparing our collected data (top-down approach) with CH4 mass flux estimates provided by the industry (bottom-up approach), we aim to assist the involved companies and related governments in prioritizing their CH4 emission mitigation actions and policies for future endeavours. This research has been funded in the framework of UNEP's International Methane Emissions Observatory and is part of a series of METHANE-To-Go (MTG) projects, which so far have investigated CH4 emissions in Europe and Central Africa (MTG-Europe and MTG-Africa).