Methane emission rate is a measure of how much methane gas is being released over a given period of time. It’s often expressed in kilograms per hour (kg/hr) and is a core metric in emissions monitoring, reporting, and mitigation programs.
Bridger Photonics’ Gas Mapping LiDAR™ (GML) system quantifies methane emission rates using data from aerial scans, allowing operators to prioritize leak repairs and confidently track, compare, and reduce methane emissions.
A methane emission rate refers to the size of a methane leak. Knowing the emission rate, or leak size, allows oil and gas operators to understand the size of each leak and prioritize repairs. Understanding emission rates across an asset base allows operators, regulators, and investors to understand methane impact. It's the difference between saying “there’s a leak” and knowing how big the problem really is.
Methane emission rates are essential for:
Knowing methane emissions rates lets operators make smarter, faster, more impactful decisions.
Methane emission rates can be determined using various techniques, such as through direct gas sampling, engineering calculations, mass balance tracking, and other methods.
Bridger quantifies methane emission rates by integrating methane gas concentration data with gas flow speed data in up to three spatial dimensions.
Our team of analysts quantifies emission rates using protocols that involve selecting gas plume regions with minimal disturbance, to ensure the most accurate quantification estimates possible. Emission rate results are then georeferenced to the leak’s location and included in final data deliverables.
Related: Methane Quantification, Gas Mapping LiDAR, Methane Detection Sensitivity, Probability of Detection