Tribal Air Quality Initiatives (2023)
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Tribal Air Quality Initiatives
Southern Ute Indian Tribe / State of Colorado
Environmental Commission Meeting
November 29, 2023
Presenter: Graham Stahnke, PE
Southern Ute Department of Energy
Exploration and Regulatory Manager
11/29/2023
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Agenda
• Introduction
• Tribal Air Quality Initiatives
• Methane Seepage and Vent Well Project
• Methane Detection and Quantification
• Questions
11/29/2023
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DOE Mission and Goals
MISSION
The mission of the Southern Ute Indian Tribe’s
Department of Energy is to ensure that the members of
the Southern Ute Indian Tribe receive maximum benefit
from the energy and mineral resources located on their
Reservation while at the same time minimizing the
impact of extraction of the resources on the natural and
cultural environment
Related Goal
Further support the development of energy transition
projects that provide economic synergies for the Tribe’s
energy companies
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Agenda
• Introduction
• Tribal Air Quality Initiatives
• Methane Seepage and Vent Well Project
• Methane Detection and Quantification
• Questions
11/29/2023
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Voluntary Operational Initiatives
• Reduce carbon intensity of oil and gas production
– Certification of produced natural gas and midstream
operations by 3rd party verifier
– Voluntary continuous emissions
monitoring at new facilities
• Embrace carbon capture
– Arkansas Loop CO2 capture and pipeline
11/29/2023
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Academic Initiatives
• National Petroleum Council Study on GHG
Emissions from the Natural Gas Supply Chain
• Collaborations with The Payne Institute and
Energy Emissions Modeling and Data Lab
(EEMDL)
11/29/2023
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Energy Transition Initiatives
• Embrace new technology to support carbon
neutral energy development
Coyote Clean Power
Project Rendering
– Coyote Clean Power Project
– Enhanced Geothermal
– Hydrogen
• Electrification and grid resiliency
work with LPEA
11/29/2023
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Agenda
• Introduction
• Tribal Air Quality Initiatives
• Methane Seepage and Vent Well Project
• Methane Detection and Quantification
• Questions
11/29/2023
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Fruitland Outcrop, Methane Hotspot
and the Reservation
4‐Corners Methane Hotspot
2014 Geophysical Research Letters and subsequent November 2020 Elementa Publication
https://www.methanesat.org/satellite/
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Fruitland Formation Outcrop Seeps
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Vent Well Project
•
•
Over a 10‐year period (2008‐2018) Tribe
intercepted 2.5 bcf of methane through
vent wells prior to the methane venting
along the Fruitland Outcrop
Successfully sold carbon credits equating
to over 420,000 metric tons of CO2
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•
•
The Enhanced Outcrop Methane Capture
project aims to increase methane capture by
drilling two shallow horizontal pilot wells into
the Fruitland Formation
Utilize advanced methane sensing for
quantification of impacts
Enhanced Outcrop Methane Capture
Utilize modern horizontal drilling technology
and subsurface modeling to enhance
interception of methane/CO2 downdip of
outcrop reducing greenhouse gas emissions
Link methane capture to potential power
projects to increase value of electricity sold
Expand footprint to encompass additional
portions of the Outcrop located on the
Reservation
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Enhanced Outcrop Methane Capture
Project Team and Funding
Partners
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Agenda
• Introduction
• Tribal Air Quality Initiatives
• Methane Seepage and Vent Well Project
• Methane Detection and Quantification
• Questions
11/29/2023
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Methane Detection and Quantification
• Ground‐based Detection
• Flyover/Aerial Detection
• Satellite Detection
https://www.bridgerphotonics.com/
https://www.trellisense.com/
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Ground‐based Methane Detection
• Pedestrian Surveys
– Completed on an annual basis since 2008
– Working with Colorado School of Mines to analyze
historic and new survey data
• Laser‐based Sensors
• Metal Oxide Sensors
• Optical Gas Imaging
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Flyover/Aerial Detection
• Completed flyover of Outcrop in September
2023 with Bridger Photonics
• Data currently undergoing analysis and
quantification
– Challenging due to local topography and
meteorology
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Satellite Detection
MethaneSAT
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Thank You!
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This is a copy of a public record, reproduced as it was published. It is not legal advice, and it may not be the version a court would rely on. Check the official source before you cite it.