A more direct assessment of emissions from offshore oil and gas industries

The reporting of offshore atmospheric emissions of air pollutants forms a key part of the UK’s commitments to international agreements that limit both greenhouse gases and trans-boundary air pollution. The UK regulatory bodies and operators are known worldwide for their “Gold standard regulation” in the field of offshore oil & gas. The initial emission estimates from oil and gas facilities are assessed before permits are issued and then reported as a regulatory requirement when in operation using EEMS (Environmental Emissions Monitoring System). The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), and other government departments, regard EEMS as a key source of evidence for environmental policy and data reported in EEMS is used to confirm regulatory compliance, to meet government’s national and international reporting requirements and to inform policy development and implementation. Emissions are based on ‘bottom-up’ estimates and supported by periodic stack monitoring as directed BEIS. Crucially however there is no independent methodology for confirming whether the industry-reported emissions of air pollutants from any given installation are correct. This makes the modelling the dispersion of emissions difficult and does not confirm whether the emission estimates detailed in the permit applications or reported emissions into EEMS are reliable or need to be reviewed.

Techniques developed by NCAS for monitoring gas plumes during the Elgin gas release, and subsequently more widely across the North Sea, have demonstrated that airborne monitoring, coupled with innovative atmospheric modelling, can comprehensively survey large areas and many individual installations for their emissions within a few hours (800 nautical miles covered in 4 hours at one altitude). This ‘top-down’ approach to emissions assessment estimates the total released loads calculated from the elevation of various gases in the downwind plume. This approach has the potential to provide the regulator, BEIS, with an innovative new tool to validate emissions in practice, and has the potential to provide a monitoring method that is lower cost to the industry than regular stack monitoring surveys and more relevant to impact assessment.

The PhD will use a combination of existing observations of offshore measurements from the North Sea, alongside new data collection, to determine a links between atmospheric emissions and installation operations. The PhD will evaluate emissions of species including nitrogen oxides (NOx), methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2) and non-methane hydrocarbons and use modelling techniques to calculate emissions estimates.

The PhD has a CASE award with BEIS Offshore Inspectorate in Aberdeen and will involve a placement at their offices, This will give direct experience of working with the regulators and understanding of how research can feed into policy.

3.5-year fully funded PhD studentships are available on this Leeds York NERC SPHERES Doctoral Training Partnership for entry in October 2018. Although the PhD will be based at the University of York, to be considered you need to submit an application through the University of Leeds online application system selecting the programme ‘PhD Leeds/York NERC DTP’ and stating which project you are applying for. Please note that you can only apply for 1 project within the DTP.

Students with, or expecting to gain, at least an upper second class honours degree, or equivalent, are invited to apply. The interdisciplinary nature of this programme means that we welcome applications from students with backgrounds in any chemical, physical or environmental science, or students with mathematical backgrounds who are interested in using their skills in addressing chemical questions.

Shortlisting will take place as soon as possible after the closing date and successful applicants will be notified promptly.
Shortlisted applicants will be invited for an interview to take place at the University of Leeds between 19 and 22 February 2018. Candidates will be interviewed by an academic panel.

The Department of Chemistry holds an Athena SWAN Gold Award and is committed to supporting equality and diversity for all staff and students. This PhD project is available to study full-time or part-time (50%).