Techno-Economic Assessment of Emissions Reduction Opportunities from Canada’s LNG Production System

Lead Proponent

Patro Research Ltd.

Project Background

The main objective of this project was to identify the most cost effective, high-impact methane emission reduction opportunities across the life cycle of an integrated natural gas system, and to help limit any increases in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) projects in Canada. The project planned to identify technology gaps and inform the development of measures to advance technology deployment and uptake for improving upstream environmental performance.

This project aimed to enable facility level methane emissions quantification reporting and verification for oil and gas facilities in Western Canada and identify new methane emission reduction opportunities for Canadian integrated natural gas systems.

Results

The project defined potential LNG export scenarios and associated emission profiles including emission factors for gas well drilling, production and processing, and transmission. Nine emissions reduction technologies were then evaluated based on their impacts on reducing emissions from gas venting, combustion of natural gas, formation CO₂, and fugitive leaks. The final output from this study was the quantification of the potential GHG reductions from each technology, along with a technology abatement cost ($/tonne CO_2e reduced or avoided). This study will allow users to understand the relative applicability of each technology, and the impact that each could have on overall GHG emissions.