(173n) Seasonal Measurement of Greenhouse Gas Emissions from the Energy Capital of California

Oil and gas industries are the core stone of the economy in the Central Valley of California. Kern County produces about 70% of the state’s oil and more than 90% of its natural gas, making it the energy capital of California. In the meantime, a considerable amount of greenhouse gas emissions such as CH₄ is generated during oil and gas drilling activities and from idle oil and gas wells, which significantly contributes to the bad air quality and worsen the climate change. In particular, many idle oil and gas wells in the county were leaking explosive levels of CH₄, which poses threats to nearby residential communities and aggravates greenhouse effect. Due to the increasing pressures on the environment and California’s ambitious goal of going carbon neutral by 2045, this study was aimed to obtain the preliminary emission data (i.e., CH₄ and CO₂ trace concentrations) and make emissions visible on the map to arouse the public awareness of both air quality and climate change in the energy capital of California. The first objective of this study was to determine the regions of oil and gas wells for the emission measurement. According to San Joaquin Geological Society, some productive oil fields in the county were chosen such as the Kern River oil field. The second objective of this study was to measure the trace CH₄ and CO₂ concentrations in different seasons from a selected oil field. A vehicle equipped with a CH₄/CO₂ trace gas analyzer was used to measure the real-time concentrations of CH₄ and CO₂. The vehicle moved on the roads within the predetermined route at a stable speed for data collection including the GPS data. The third objective was to integrate emission data and geographic data to visualize emissions on the map. The preliminary study showed that the CH₄ concentrations around the selected oil field were 2,500 ppb on average, which was slightly higher compared to the CH₄ concentration in the atmosphere of ~2,000 ppb. In some areas of the selected oil field, the CH₄ concentration was very high (e.g., 17,000 ppb) but still way below the explosion limit of 50,000 ppm in the air. A more frequent monitoring is needed in higher-concentration emission areas. Also, the measurement of greenhouse gas emissions from other oil fields in Kern County needs to be conducted in the future for comparison.