The Uintah Basin Greenhouse Gas Study: Understanding Emissions of CO2 and CH4 from Oil and Gas Fields

Utah�??s Uintah Basin is the locus of intense extraction of oil and gas. This Basin is unique in the rapid expansion of development, the connection of its reserves to the Green River Formation, where the largest oil shale deposits in the world are thought to reside, and the contribution of oil and gas emissions to wintertime ozone exceedances. The objectives of this project are to: �?� Establish continuous measurements of CO2 and CH4 in the Uintah Basin �?� Estimate emissions of CO2 and CH4 over multiple years �?� Determine leakage rates of CH4 over the entire Uintah Basin �?� Detect potential changes in GHG emissions due to shifts in production, regulations, or technology GHG emissions from oil/gas development will be estimated by carrying out the following: �?� Continuous, year-round measurements of CO2 and CH4 at multiple sites in the Uintah Basin �?� Analysis of existing NOAA airborne data from flights carried out in the Uintah Basin �?� Mobile observations to characterize spatial variability of GHG concentrations, both close to and away from oil and gas fields �?� Meteorological measurements to critically evaluate the simulated atmospheric transport �?� Flask-based stable isotope measurements of CO2 and CH4 that would distinguish biogenic from industrial sources �?� Atmospheric modeling to relate observed enhancements CO2 and CH4 to emissions from the oil and gas developments