Air Quality and Health Impacts of Onshore Oil and Gas Flaring and Venting Activities Estimated Using Refined Satellite-Based Emissions

Abstract

Emissions from flaring and venting (FV) in oil and gas (O&G) production are difficult to quantify due to their intermittent activities and lack of adequate monitoring and reporting. Given their potentially significant contribution to total emissions from the O&G sector in the United States, we estimate emissions from FV using Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite satellite observations and state/local reported data on flared gas volume. These refined estimates are higher than those reported in the National Emission Inventory: by up to 15 times for fine particulate matter (PM_2.5), two times for sulfur dioxides, and 22% higher for nitrogen oxides (NO_x). Annual average contributions of FV to ozone (O₃), NO₂, and PM_2.5 in the conterminous U.S. (CONUS) are less than 0.15%, but significant contributions of up to 60% are found in O&G fields with FV. FV contributions are higher in winter than in summer months for O₃ and PM_2.5; an inverse behavior is found for NO₂. Nitrate aerosol contributions to PM_2.5 are highest in the Denver basin whereas in the Permian and Bakken basins, sulfate and elemental carbon aerosols are the major contributors. Over four simulated months in 2016 for the entire CONUS, FV contributes 210 additional instances of exceedances to the daily maximum 8-hr average O₃ and has negligible contributions to exceedance of NO₂ and PM_2.5, given the current form of the national ambient air quality standards. FV emissions are found to cause over $7.4 billion in health damages, 710 premature deaths, and 73,000 asthma exacerbations among children annually.