Systems and methods for continuous monitoring of wells using a single sensor system

Abstract

A system includes a gas leak instrument configured to monitor for gas leaks from an emission source, wherein the gas leak instrument includes a gas sensor, a wind sensor, and a controller coupled to the gas sensor and the least one wind sensor. The controller has a processor, a memory, and instructions stored on the memory and executable by the processor to cause operations including determining a baseline gas concentration in an environment based on first gas measurements from the gas sensor and first wind measurements from the wind sensor and determining an emission gas rate based on the baseline gas concentration, second gas measurements from the gas sensor second wind measurements from the wind sensor, and the Gaussian plume model.

Description

IS24.1219-WO-PCTSYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR CONTINUOUS MONITORING OF WELLS USING A SINGLE SENSOR SYSTEMCROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

[0001] This application claims benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 695,560, filed on September 17, 2024, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety for all purposes.BACKGROUND

[0002] The present disclosure relates generally to a system and method for continuous monitoring of wells using a single sensor system.

[0003] To monitor fugitive emissions or leaks of greenhouse gases (e.g., methane) from an active production facility, a sensor system including multiple gas leak sensors may be employed. An abandoned or “orphaned” well may also be susceptible to fugitive emissions or leaks of greenhouse gases (e.g., methane). Often, a sensor system including multiple gas leak sensors similar to ones used for detecting leaks from facilities may be employed to detect leaks from the abandoned well. However, monitoring for leaks from a facility is different from monitoring for leaks from an abandoned well. For example, the facility may include multiple potential emission sources (e.g., compressors, storage tanks, flares, vents, gas-lift engines, etc.), so the sensor system may determine a location of leak. In contrast, the potential emission source of the abandoned well is typically a wellhead, which has a known or easily identifiable location. As another example, the facility may develop sudden, intermittent leaks with relatively higher flow rates while the abandoned well may develop steady, gradually increasing leaks with relatively lower flow rates (e.g., tens to hundreds of grams / hour). As such, monitoring the facility may include detecting a high flow rate leak of greenhouse gases and its location through multiple sensors to maximize the chances of timely detection. In contrast, monitoring the abandoned well may include detecting a low flow rate leak of greenhouse gases over a longer period of time at a known location. As such, the typical practice of adapting the sensor system of a facilityIS24.1219-WO-PCT for use in monitoring an abandoned well may increase costs and resource consumption and be incompatible for detecting the low flow rate leak over a longer period of time.BRIEF DESCRIPTION

[0004] A summary of certain embodiments described herein is set forth below. It should be noted that these aspects are presented merely to provide the reader with a brief summary of these certain embodiments and that these aspects are not intended to limit the scope of this disclosure.

[0005] In certain embodiments, a system includes a gas leak instrument configured to monitor for gas leaks from an emission source, wherein the gas leak instrument includes a gas sensor, a wind sensor, a controller coupled to the gas sensor and the wind sensor. The controller has a processor, a memory, and instructions stored on the memory and executable by the processor to cause operations including determining a baseline gas concentration in an environment based on first gas measurements from the gas sensor and first wind measurements from the wind sensor and determining an emission gas rate based on the baseline gas concentration, second gas measurement from the gas sensor, second wind measurements from the wind sensor, and the Gaussian plume model.

[0006] In certain embodiments, a method includes determining a baseline gas concentration in an environment based on first gas measurements from a gas sensor and first wind measurements from a wind sensor of a gas leak instrument, wherein the gas leak instrument is configured to monitor for gas leaks from an emission source, and determining an emission gas rate based on the baseline gas concentration, second gas measurements from the gas sensor, second wind measurements from the wind sensor, and a Gaussian plume model.

[0007] In certain embodiments, a tangible and non-transitory machine readable medium includes instructions, executable by one or more processors, to cause operations including determining a baseline gas concentration in an environment based on first gas measurements from a gas sensor and first wind measurements from a wind sensor of a gas leak instrument, wherein the gas leak instrument is configured to monitor for gas leaks from an emission source, determining an emission gas rate basedIS24.1219-WO-PCT on the baseline gas concentration, second gas measurements from the gas sensor, second wind measurements from the wind sensor, and a Gaussian plume model.

[0008] Various refinements of the features noted above may be undertaken in relation to various aspects of the present disclosure. Further features may also be incorporated in these various aspects as well. These refinements and additional features may exist individually or in any combination. For instance, various features discussed below in relation to one or more of the illustrated embodiments may be incorporated into any of the above-described aspects of the present disclosure alone or in any combination. The brief summary presented above is intended to familiarize the reader with certain aspects and contexts of embodiments of the present disclosure without limitation to the claimed subject matter.DRAWINGS

[0009] These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present disclosure will become better understood when the following detailed description is read with reference to the accompanying drawings in which like characters represent like parts throughout the drawings, wherein:

[0010] FIG. 1 A is a side view of an example placement of a sensor system relative to an emission source, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure;

[0011] FIG. IB is a top view of an example placement of a sensor system relative to an emission source of FIG. 1A, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure;

[0012] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a sensor system of FIGS. 1A-B, further illustrating the sensor system having a monitoring tool coupled to an installation pole, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure;

[0013] FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an embodiment of the sensor system of FIG. 2, further illustrating components within a body of the monitoring tool, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure;

[0014] FIG. 4 is a flow chart of an embodiment of a process for monitoring an emission source for a gas leak using a single sensor system, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure;IS24.1219-WO-PCT

[0015] FIG. 5 is an example of a graph of measured gas concentration of a leak plotted against wind angle relative to the emission source, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure; and

[0016] FIG. 6 is an example of a graph of measured gas concentration of a leak plotted against wind speed, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0017] One or more specific embodiments of the present disclosure will be described below. In an effort to provide a concise description of these embodiments, all features of an actual implementation may not be described in the specification. It should be appreciated that in the development of any such actual implementation, as in any engineering or design project, numerous implementation-specific decisions must be made to achieve the developers’ specific goals, such as compliance with system- related and business-related constraints, which may vary from one implementation to another. Moreover, it should be appreciated that such a development effort might be complex and time consuming, but would nevertheless be a routine undertaking of design, fabrication, and manufacture for those of ordinary skill having the benefit of this disclosure.

[0018] When introducing elements of various embodiments of the present disclosure, the articles “a,” “an,” “the,” and “said” are intended to mean that there are one or more of the elements. The terms “comprising,” “including,” and “having” are intended to be inclusive and mean that there may be additional elements other than the listed elements. Any examples of operating parameters and / or environmental conditions are not exclusive of other parameters / conditions of the disclosed embodiments.

[0019] As used herein, the terms “connect,” “connection,” “connected,” “in connection with,” and “connecting” are used to mean “in direct connection with” or “in connection with via one or more elements”; and the term “set” is used to mean “one element” or “more than one element.” Further, the terms “couple,” “coupling,” “coupled,” “coupled together,” and “coupled with” are used to mean “directly coupled together” or “coupled together via one or more elements.”IS24.1219-WO-PCT

[0020] In addition, as used herein, the terms “real time,” ’’real-time,” or “substantially real time” may be used interchangeably and are intended to described operations (e.g., computing operations) that are performed without any human- perceivable interruption between operations. For example, data relating to the systems described herein may be collected, transmitted, and / or used in control computations in “substantially real time,” such that data readings, data transfers, and / or data processing steps may occur once every second, once every 0.1 second, once every 0.01 second, or even more frequent, during operations of the systems (e.g., while the systems are operating). In addition, as used herein, the terms “automatic” and “automated” are intended to describe operations that are performed are caused to be performed, for example, by a greenhouse gas emission analysis system (i.e., solely by the greenhouse gas emission analysis system, without human intervention).

[0021] The present disclosure relates to a method for using a single sensor system (e.g., autonomous sensor system at a single location) to monitor gas emissions, as well as wind and solar radiation, from abandoned wells, marginal wells, or other similar sites (e.g., emission sources). The single sensor system includes various improvements to the technology of sensor systems to enable gas concentration measurements from a single location, particularly by incorporating baseline measurements and gas concentration adjustments based on wind direction and wind speed. As discussed in detail below, the computing system may determine a location of the sensor system based on a direction of the most prevalent winds relative to the emission source and a location of a likely leak from the emission source. Once the sensor system is placed in accordance with the location determined by the computing system, the computing system may measure a gas concentration and wind parameters to determine a baseline for the gas sensor of the sensor system. The baseline accounts for the background concentration of the gas in the atmosphere absent a leak from the emission source. For example, the computing system may set a gas concentration measured when the wind is blowing away from the sensor system (e.g., when a potential leak from the emission source is blowing away from sensor system) as the baseline. As another example, the computing system may set a gas concentration measured when the wind speed is high (e.g., over 10 m / s) (e.g., when a potential leak is diluted by the high winds) as the baseline. The computing system may also generate a model (e.g., a computer model, machine learning model, etc.) of the measured gas concentration based on the windIS24.1219-WO-PCT parameters, thereby allowing the computing system to determine an actual gas concentration across various wind directions and wind speeds.

[0022] The computing system may determine an emission rate of a potential leak from the emission source based on the measured gas concentration, the baseline, wind parameters, and the model. The computing system may then determine whether the emission rate indicates a leak. For example, the computing system may determine that there is a leak if the emission rate consistently exceeds an emission threshold. As another example, the computing system may determine there is a leak if the emission rate increases as the direction of the wind blows from the emission source toward the sensor system, the emission rate decreases as the direction of the wind blows away from the sensor system (e.g., from the sensor system toward the emission source), and the emission rate decreases at higher wind speeds. If the computing system determines there is a leak, then the computing system may output a notification of the leak to responsible parties. For example, the computing system may output the notification to a computer display, wherein the notification may include the emission rate, the location of the leak (e.g., well location, GPS coordinates, etc.), historical data about the well location, a graph of the emissions rate over time, recommended actions (e.g., inspections, maintenance, etc.), and an urgency of the recommended actions (e.g., low, medium, or high urgency).

[0023] FIG. 1 A is a side view of a placement 10 of a sensor system 12 relative to an emission source 14. The fugitive emissions or leaks may originate at the emission source 14. The emission source 14 may include one or more low emission components (< 20 kg / hr, < 10 kg / hr, < 5 kg / hr, < 1 kg / hr, etc.) in a small area (< 25 m2, < 20 m2, < 15 m2, <10 m2, etc.). The emission source 14 may include a hydrocarbon well of various states or conditions. For example, the emission source 14 may include orphaned wells that have been plugged, orphaned wells that have not been plugged, marginal conventional wells (e.g., wells producing less than 15 barrels of oil equivalent per day), marginal unconventional wells (e.g., wells producing less than 15 barrels of oil equivalent per day), wells that are anticipated to become marginal wells in the near future (e.g., wells producing 15-40 barrels of oil equivalent per day), and any other site with a single emission source with a known location where it is acceptable to quantify fluctuations in the emission rate on the timescale of hours, days, weeks, or longer. ForIS24.1219-WO-PCT example, the emission source 14 may be any site with a likely emission rate of less than 1 kg / hr. In some embodiments, the emission source 14 may include other hydrocarbon equipment, such as a storage tank, a valve, turbomachinery (e.g., pump, compressor, turbine, etc.), or any combination thereof, suitable for a single point of leak detection via the sensor system 12. In certain embodiments, the emission source 14 may be defined by a location of a central axis of a wellbore at a well, a supporting pad (e.g., concrete pad) extending around the well and / or a defined area (e.g., fenced in area) around the well, within a radius relative to the central axis of the wellbore at the well, and the like.

[0024] The sensor system 12 may include any number of sensors packaged into a monitoring tool 100 (see FIGS. 2 and 3) for monitoring various parameters at a single location. In the illustrated embodiment, the sensor system 12 may include fluid leak sensors (e.g., gas leak sensors such as methane leak sensors), gas composition sensors, gas specific sensors (e.g., methane sensors), noise or acoustic sensors, flow rate sensors, pressure sensors, wind sensors or anemometers, temperature sensors, light sensors, flame sensors, or any combination thereof. In addition, the sensor system 12 may include a magnetometer, communication circuitry, local energy storage (e.g., batteries), local energy generation (e.g., solar panels), and a controller (e.g., a processor-based controller). For example, the magnetometer is configured to measure a direction, a strength, and a change in magnetic field at an installation location during the placement of the sensor system 12. The communication circuitry may include wired communication circuitry and / or wireless communication circuitry for communicating data with various computing systems during operation of the sensor system 12. For example, the communication circuitry may include WiFi circuitry (e.g., IEEE 802 protocol), Bluetooth circuitry (e.g., Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE)), wireless broadband circuitry (e.g., long-term evolution (LTE)), long-term evolution machine type communication (LTE-M) circuitry, low-rank adaptation (LoRA) circuitry, or any combination thereof. The controller is configured to execute the normal operation of the sensor system 12 via local operations and / or interaction with one or more computing systems.

[0025] In some embodiments, certain computing systems may be used to facilitate data collection, processing, and / or transmission. For instance, an edge device may beIS24.1219-WO-PCT used collect a variety of data (e.g., gas sensor data, image data, location data, time data, and weather data) from different type of data sources that may produce respective data in different data formats. In some embodiments, the edge device may organize (e.g., filter, sort, combine, transform) collected data into a common data pipeline to facilitate data processing and analysis associated with the greenhouse gas emissions that may be used to facilitate gas leak detections.

[0026] The sensor system 12 may most commonly be used to monitor methane emitted from the emission source. However, the sensor system 12 may also be used to monitor other types of gases or fluids (e.g., carbon oxides, nitrogen oxides, ozone, and water vapor) emitted from other types of sites. Collectively, the sensor system 12 may provide continuous and / or periodic measurements of fugitive and vented greenhouse gas emissions with respect to the emission source. For example, the sensors of the sensor system 12 may acquire sensor measurements for processing by one or more computing devices in real-time, at various prescheduled times or intervals, in response to user requests for sensor measurements, in response to various events at the emission source, or any combination thereof.

[0027] As illustrated, the sensor system 12 may be placed at an offset position relative to the emission source 14. In particular, the computing system may determine a height and / or location of components likely to leak (e.g., seals, joints, valves, connections, etc.) at the emission source 14. If the computing system determines the there are multiple components likely to leak, the computing system may determine a height of each of the multiple components, average the heights, and place the sensor system 12 at the averaged height. In some embodiments, for example if the component likely to leak and / or its height is unknown, the default placement of the sensor system 12 is about half of the height of the emission source 14. As such, the sensor system 12 may be placed such that the sensor system 12 is within a gas plume 16 emitted by a leaking emission source 14.

[0028] FIG. IB is a top view of the placement 10 of the sensor system 12 relative to the emission source 14 of FIG. 1 A. The sensor system 12 may be placed near the emission source 14. For example, the sensor system 12 may be placed one to ten meters from the emission source 14. In some embodiments, the sensor system 12 may be placed five meters from the emission source 14. If the sensor system 12 is placed tooIS24.1219-WO-PCT far from the emission source (e.g., more than ten meters away from the emission source 14), then the methane or other gas issuing from the emission source 14 may dilute prior to reaching the sensor such that the gas concentration may fall below the sensor system’s detection threshold due to the low gas concentrations being measured by the sensor system 12. If the sensor system 12 is placed too close to the emission source (e.g., less than one meter from the emission source 14), then it may be difficult to detect sensor drift (e.g., the gradual increase or decrease of sensor measurements due to corrosion of sensor elements) and distinguish sensor drift from the gradual increase in the gas concentration due to leaks from the emission source. Additionally, the gas concentration close to the emission source 14 may be heavily affected by leak morphology (e.g., whether leak is a pinhole, whether leak is a ring, which direction the leak faces, etc.), thereby making it difficult to develop a predictive model of gas dispersion to relate the measured concentration to the emission rate.

[0029] The sensor system 12 may be placed downwind of the direction of the most prevalent winds 18 relative to the emission source 14. As discussed in more detail below, the computing system may determine a direction of the most prevalent winds 18 relative to the emission source 14. The sensor system 12 may be placed in the direction of the most prevalent winds 18 relative to the emission source 14. For example, if the most prevalent winds blow from southwest to northeast across the emission source 14, then the sensor system 12 may be placed northeast of the emission source 14. In some embodiments, for example if there are no clearly prevalent winds, then the sensor system 12 may be placed without regard to the wind direction. Once the sensor system 12 is placed, the computing system may define a wind angle relative to the emission source 14 based on the placement of the sensor system 12 and a direction of the wind. At a wind angle of zero degrees, the wind blows in a direction away from sensor system 12. That is, if the sensor system 12 faces the northeast corner of the emission source 14, then the wind blows from northeast to southwest across the emission source 14 at a wind angle of 180 degrees. At a wind angle of zero degrees, the wind blows in a direction toward the sensor system 12. That is, if the sensor system faces the northeast comer of the emission source 14, then the wind blows from southwest to northeast across the emission source 14 at a wind angle of zero degrees. At a wind angle of 90 degrees or 270 degrees, the wind blows in a direction perpendicular to the sensor system 12. That is, if the sensor system 12 faces the northeast corner of the emission sourceIS24.1219-WO-PCT14, then the wind either blows from northwest to southeast or from southeast to northwest. As illustrated, there may be a set of wind angles 20 at which the sensor system 12 cannot detect a leak from the emission source 14. The set of wind angles 20 may correspond to wind angle at which the wind blows away from sensor system 12. For example, the set of wind angles 20 include at least the wind angle of 180 degrees. In some embodiments, the set of wind angles 20 may be fixed at a width of 30 degrees, 60 degrees, 90 degrees, 120 degrees, or any suitable number. In some embodiments, the set of wind angles 20 may include an equal number of degrees on either side of zero degrees. As such, the set of wind angles 20 may range from 165 degrees to 195 degrees, 150 degrees to 210 degrees, 135 degrees to 225 degrees, 120 degrees to 240 degrees, or any other suitable range.

[0030] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the sensor system 12 of FIGS. 1A-B, further illustrating the sensor system 12 having a monitoring tool 100 (e.g., a sensor portion, gas leak monitoring tool) coupled to an installation pole 102 (e.g., a sensor mount). The sensor system 12 may include all aspects of the sensor system 12 as discussed above with reference to FIG. 1 A-B. The sensor system 12 (e.g., monitoring tool 100) may be described relative to a legend of axes 104, which are used to describe movement and positioning of the monitoring tool 100. As discussed in detail below, the monitoring tool 100 of the sensor system 12 is configured to determine a baseline for gas concentration measurements based on wind speed and / or wind direction measurements, and also adjust for any subsequent gas concentration measurements to account for variations in the gas concentration measurements caused by variations in the wind speed and / or wind direction. Advantageously, the monitoring tool 100 of the sensor system 12 does not rely on external gas concentration measurements from other locations.

[0031] The installation pole 102 is coupled to a mount 110 (e.g., pole receptacle, opening, or bore in the monitoring tool 100), which enables the rotation 108 of the monitoring tool 100. The mount 110 may be configured to enable rotation of the monitoring tool 100 relative to the installation pole 102 and secure or fix the position of the monitoring tool 100 after confirming a correct rotational position of the monitoring tool 100. Accordingly, the mount 110 may include an annular bearing to enable the rotation 108 and one or more fasteners (e.g., bolts, screws, clamps, etc.) toIS24.1219-WO-PCT fix the rotational position of the monitoring tool 100 to the installation pole 102. The pole 102 may be coupled to the ground, a concrete foundation, a framework, an equipment, or any combination thereof, at an elevated position. In general, the pole 102 may be oriented in a vertical position, although certain embodiments may provide other orientations of the pole 102.

[0032] The axes 104 include an x axis 112 (e.g., first horizontal axis), a y axis 114 (e.g., second horizontal axis), and a z axis 116 (e.g., a vertical axis). The x axis 112 and y axis 114 may reside on the same horizontal plane, such as parallel to a ground surface. Conversely, the y axis 114 may be perpendicular to the ground and run approximately along a longitudinal axis 115 of the monitoring tool 100. The monitoring tool 100 may undergo rotation 108 about the z axis 116. The tilt 106 is an angular offset of the longitudinal axis 115 of the monitoring tool 100 relative to the z axis 116. The tilt 106 may be associated with an orientation and mounting of the pole 102 on the ground (or other structure) and / or an orientation and mounting of the monitoring tool 100 on the pole 102 at the mount 110.

[0033] The monitoring tool 100 may include any number of sensors packaged together for monitoring various parameters at a single location. In the illustrated embodiment, the monitoring tool 100 includes a wind sensor 150 (e.g., anemometer) coupled to a body 154 (e.g., housing or enclosure) via a neck 152 (e.g., shaft, arm, or extension). The wind sensor 150 is configured to sense a wind direction and a wind speed of wind around the monitoring tool 100. The wind direction and the wind speed may be used by the monitoring tool 100 to help locate a source of sensed parameters, such as a sensed gas leak. As discussed in further detail below with reference to FIG. 3, the monitoring tool 100 includes a controller 156, a sensing system 158 having a plurality of sensors, a power supply 160, and a user interface 162 coupled to and / or partially housed within the body 154. For example, the sensors may be disposed within the body 154 and in fluid communication with a surrounding environment via an annular vent section 153 (e.g., a plurality of angled annular louvers) of the body 154. By further example, the power supply 160 may be coupled to an annular section 155 (e.g., lower annular section) of the body 154, wherein the power supply 160 includes a plurality of solar panels 176 coupled to the annular section 155. The power supply 160 also may be coupled to a solar sensor (e.g., a pyranometer) 157 on the body 154. InIS24.1219-WO-PCT some embodiments, the user interface 162 may be coupled to the body 154 at one or more locations, such as a lower annular section 159 of the body 154. For example, the user interface 162 may include visual indicators 192 (e.g., LEDs, display screen, etc.), an audio device 194 (e.g., a speaker), and one or more input devices 196 (e.g., power button or switch, a setup button, selection buttons, etc.) as discussed in further detail below.

[0034] FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an embodiment of the sensor system 12 of FIG. 2, further illustrating components within the body 154 of the monitoring tool 100. The sensor system 12 and the monitoring tool 100 have all aspects as described in detail above with respect to FIGS. 1 A-B and 2. In the illustrated embodiment, the wind sensor 150 is coupled to the body 154 via the neck 152, wherein the wind sensor 150 is configured to monitor wind conditions (e.g., wind direction and wind speed) around the monitoring tool 100. The monitoring tool 100 uses the wind conditions in combination with other sensor feedback (e.g., gas leak feedback) to help identify a source of a gas leak. The monitoring tool 100 further includes the controller 156, the sensing system 158 having a plurality of sensors, the power supply 160, the user interface 162, and the mount 110, each of which is described in further detail below. The monitoring tool 100 is also configured to communicate with one or more computing devices, such as a local computing device 198 and a remote computing device 140 during operations.

[0035] The controller 156 is configured to control operation of the monitoring tool 100. The controller 156 includes one or more processors 164, memory 166, instructions 168, and communication circuitry 170. The communication circuitry 170 is configured to enable wired or wireless communication between the controller 156 one or more computing devices, such as the local computing device 198 and the remote computing device 140. For example, the communication circuitry may include WiFi circuitry (e.g., IEEE 802 protocol), Bluetooth circuitry (e.g., Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE)), wireless broadband circuitry (e.g., long-term evolution (LTE)), long-term evolution machine type communication (LTE-M) circuitry, low-rank adaptation (LoRA) circuitry, or any combination thereof. The processor(s) 164 may be any suitable type of computer processor or microprocessor capable of executing computer-executable code. Moreover, the processor(s) 164 may include multiple microprocessors, one or more “general-purpose” microprocessors, one or more special-purpose microprocessors,IS24.1219-WO-PCT and / or one or more application specific integrated circuits (ASICS), or some combination thereof. For example, the processor(s) 120 may include one or more than one reduced instruction set (RISC) or complex instruction set (CISC) processors. The memory 166 may also be used to store instructions 168 executed by the processor(s) 164, setup data of the field setup mode, sensor data acquired by the sensing system 158, computer models, and other software applications. The memory 166 may represent non-transitory computer-readable media (e.g., any suitable form of memory 166 or storage) that may store the processor-executable code used by the processor(s) 164 to perform various techniques described herein. As illustrated, the monitoring tool 100 includes one or more controllers 156 that communicate with and / or control data acquisition from the sensing system 158.

[0036] In certain embodiments, the sensing system 158 includes a plurality of sensors, transducers, and / or instruments configured to measure parameters useful for the field setup mode and the normal operational mode of the monitoring tool 100. For example, the sensing system 158 may include a temperature sensor 172 (e.g., thermometer), a pressure sensor 174, a humidity sensor 190, a gas sensor 178, an accelerometer 180, a magnetometer 182, and a satellite-based navigation system (e.g., a global positioning system (GPS) 184). The gas sensor 178 may be configured to monitor one or more gas compositions associated with gas leaks. For example, the gas sensor 178 may include a variety of sensors configured to detect various greenhouse gases, such as a methane (CPU) sensor, a carbon dioxide (CO2) sensor, a nitrous oxide (N2O) sensor, and so forth. It should be noted that the sensors in the sensing system 158 may include any configuration of the above listed sensors. Further, it should be noted that other sensors not listed may be included in the sensing system 158 in addition to, or in place of other sensors. The sensing system 158 and the foregoing sensors enable a computer-aided operation. For example, the temperature sensor 172, the pressure sensor 174, the humidity sensor 190, the gas sensor 178, and the GPS 184 may enable the monitoring tool 100, the local computing device 198, and / or the remote computing device 140 to perform monitoring of the emission source, identification of gas leaks, and identification of source locations and / or equipment associated with the gas leaks.IS24.1219-WO-PCT

[0037] The monitoring tool 100 also includes the power supply 160 configured to provide power to the controller 156, the sensing system 158, and the user interface 162. The power supply 160 includes power electronics 186, power storage 188, and solar panels 176. The power electronics 186 may include semiconductor devices, AC / DC converters, circuitry, wiring, and the like. The power storage 188 may include batteries, capacitors, or any combination thereof. The solar panels 176 may be arranged about an exterior of the body 154 and configured to generate electricity for storage in the power storage 188 and use to power the monitoring tool 100.

[0038] The monitoring tool 100 also includes the user interface 162 to facilitate operations. The user interface 162 may include one or more visual indicators 192, one or more audio devices 194, and one or more input devices 196. The one or more visual indicators 192 may be one or more lights (e.g., LEDs), an electronic display screen, or any combination thereof. For example, the lights (e.g., LEDs) may be configured to display different colors, different steady or pulsing flashes of light, or any combination thereof, to indicate, for example, whether a leak is detected. The one or more audio devices 194 may include a speaker or any other device capable of outputting sound. The one or more input devices 196 may include a touchscreen, a button or switch, a keypad, or any combination thereof. For example, the input devices 196 may include a power button or switch, a setup button or switch, a reset button or switch, and user selection inputs. The input devices 196 also may include a wired communication port to enable connection with the local computing device 198.

[0039] The monitoring tool 100 may also connect to one or more local computing devices 198, one or more remote computing devices 140, or both. The local computing devices 198 and remote computing devices 140 may include processors 164, memory 166, instructions 168, and communication circuitry 170, similar to those described above with reference to the controller 156. The local and remote computing devices 198 and 140 may include portable computers (e.g., laptops, tablets, smart phones, etc.), servers, cloud-based computing devices, edge devices, or any combination thereof. The local and remote computing devices 198 and 140 may provide additional computing resources to facilitate the operation of the monitoring tool 100.

[0040] FIG. 4 is a flow chart of an embodiment of a process 210 for monitoring an emission source for a leak using a single sensor system, such as the sensor system 12IS24.1219-WO-PCT having the monitoring tool 100 as described above with reference to FIGS. 1-3. The process 210 may be implemented via the controller 156 in the present embodiment. However, the process 210 may be implemented on the remote computing device 140, the local computing device 198, or any suitable computing system and / or processor. Although the process 210 is described in a particular order, it should be understood that the process 210 may be implemented in any suitable order.

[0041] In process block 212, the controller 156 may determine a location of a likely leak. In some embodiments, the controller 156 may receive a type of emission source and a location of the emission source. The type of emission source may include plugged or unplugged orphaned wells, marginal conventional wells, marginal unconventional wells, anticipated marginal wells, or any other emission source that is likely to emit a low concentration of gas. For the type of emission source, the controller 156 may determine certain components likely to leak associated with the emission source. For example, the components likely to leak may include valves, flange connections, threaded connections, and the like. The controller 156 may determine a location and a height of the components likely to leak. In some embodiments, the controller 156 may determine the height of a middle of the emission source as the location of a likely leak. In some embodiments, the controller 156 may determine the average height of all possible leak locations of the emission source as the location of a likely leak.

[0042] In process block 214, the controller 156 may determine a direction of the most prevalent winds relative to the emission source. For example, the controller 156 may receive a wind rose or wind data from a nearby weather station. In some embodiments, the controller 156 may measure wind direction via the sensor system over a period of time. Based on the wind rose, the wind data, the measurements, or any combination thereof, the controller 156 may determine a direction of the most prevalent winds (e.g., a direction the wind blows most often).

[0043] In process block 216, the controller 156 may determine a location of the sensor system based on the direction of the most prevalent winds and the location of the likely leak. The controller 156 may determine a location of the sensor system such that the sensor system is downwind of the emission according to the direction of the most prevalent winds. That is, if the most prevalent wind blows from north to south across the emission source, then the controller 156 may determine the location of theIS24.1219-WO-PCT sensor system should be south of the emission source. In some embodiments, it may be difficult to determine a direction of the most prevalent winds. In such embodiments, the controller 156 may determine a location of the sensor system without reference to the winds.

[0044] The controller 156 may also determine a distance from the emission source for the sensor system to be placed. In some embodiments, the controller 156 may determine the location of the sensor system should be between one and ten meters from the emission source. In some embodiments, the controller 156 may default to a distance of five meters from the emission source. In some embodiments, the controller 156 may receive information regarding a layout of the site surrounding the emission source and determine the location of the sensor system based on the information and the direction of the most prevalent winds. For example, if the downwind location of the sensor system is obstructed as indicated by the layout, the controller 156 may determine a closer or farther away position or determine a slightly less downwind location.

[0045] The controller 156 may also determine a height at which to mount the sensor system based on the height of the likely leak. For example, if the components likely to leak are positioned near the top of the emission source, then the controller 156 may determine the height of the sensor system (e.g., at center of the monitoring tool 100) should be near the top of the emission source. In some embodiments, the controller 156 may default to a height equal to the middle of a wellhead of the emission source. Once the controller has determined a position of the sensor system relative to the emission source based on the direction of the most prevalent winds, a distance of the sensor system from the emission source based on layout of the site, and a height of the sensor system relative to the emission source based on the likely leak, then the controller may output the determined location of the sensor system to a user interface of the sensor system, a client device, or both.

[0046] Once the sensor system is placed in accordance with the location determined in process block 216, then the controller 156 may measure a gas concentration and wind parameters (e.g., wind direction, wind speed) via the sensor system in block 218. For example, the controller 156 may measure a concentration of methane, carbon oxides, nitrogen oxides, ozone, water vapor, and the like via a gas sensor of the sensor system.IS24.1219-WO-PCTThe controller 156 may measure the wind direction and the wind speed via a wind sensor of the sensor system.

[0047] In process block 220, the controller 156 may obtain sensor data (e.g., sensor specifications, drift data). Sensor specifications may refer to characteristics of a sensor, such as a model of sensor, a lifespan of the sensor, materials used to make the sensor, and the like. Sensor drift is the gradual change (e.g., increase or decrease) of sensor measurements over time causing inaccurate measurements, such as due to component aging and exposure to the environment (e.g., temperature, humidity, contamination, corrosion, etc.) of sensor elements. Sensor drift may be common in low-cost gas sensing (e.g., methane sensing) technologies, such as those using metal -oxide surfaces. Drift data may refer to data from a manufacturer of the sensor describing a relationship between time and sensor drift. In some embodiments, the controller 156 receives sensor data for the gas sensor of the sensor system.

[0048] In process block 222, the controller 156 may set a baseline for the gas sensor based on the gas concentration, the wind parameters, the sensor data, or any combination thereof. The baseline accounts for the background concentration of the gas in the atmosphere absent a leak from the emission source. As discussed with reference to FIG. IB, the controller 156 may determine a set of wind angles at which the wind is blowing away from the sensor system. Because the wind is blowing any leaks from the emission source away from the sensor system at the set of wind angles, any leaks from the emission source are not contributing to the gas concentration measured by the sensor system. Therefore, in some embodiments, the controller 156 may set an average of the gas concentration measurements taken at the wind angles corresponding to the set of wind angles as the baseline. For example, FIG. 5 is an example of a graph 250 of measured gas concentration of a leak plotted against wind angle relative to the emission source. As illustrated, when the wind is blowing away from the sensor system (e.g., around 90 to 360 degrees), the measured gas concentrated roughly aligns with a linear line 252. As such, the linear line 252 may correspond to a baseline. In some embodiments, the controller 156 may recursively reset the baseline when the measurements correspond to the set of wind angles at which the wind is blowing away from the sensor system, thereby accounting for and offsetting the effect of sensor drift.IS24.1219-WO-PCT

[0049] However, if the sensor system is placed too close to the emission source (e.g., less than one meter away), the sensor system may detect a leak from the emission source regardless of the wind direction. Therefore, the baseline may not be set based on the wind angle. Instead of using wind direction to set the baseline, in some embodiments, the controller 156 may estimate the baseline by comparing high wind data and low wind data. For example, high winds (e.g., winds with speeds greater than 10 meters per second) will dilute the effect of the leak on measured methane concentration but will not affect the background concentration of the gas or the effect of sensor drift on the measured gas concentration. As such, in some embodiments, the baseline may be estimated by selecting the gas concentration measurements corresponding to high winds and computing an average. For example, FIG. 6 is an example of a graph 260 of measured gas concentration of a leak plotted against wind speed. As illustrated, when there is a high wind speed (e.g., over 10 m / s), the measured gas concentrated roughly aligns with a linear line 262. As such, the linear line 262 may correspond to a baseline. In some embodiments, the baseline may be estimated by fitting a trend line with increasing wind speed to the following equation.

[0050] In equation (1), x is the wind speed, y is the gas concentration, and a and b are fitting coefficients. Based on this equation, the a value may be used as the baseline. In some embodiments, once the controller 156 sets the baseline, the controller 156 may adjust the baseline according to the drift data associated with the gas sensor. For example, the controller 156 may apply the relationship between time and sensor drift to the measurements of the gas sensor to correct for sensor drift.

[0051] In process block 224, the controller 156 may generate a model (e.g., computer model) of gas concentration as a function of the wind parameters, the sensor data, and the like. In some embodiments, the controller 156 may determine a correlation or functional relationship between a measured gas concentration and a wind angle relative to the emission source. When there is a leak from the emission source, the measured gas concentration may increase as the wind angle approaches zero or 360 degrees (e.g., as the wind blows towards the sensor system, the wind direction is moving toward a downwind position of the sensor system relative to the emission source) andIS24.1219-WO-PCT decrease as the wind angle moves away from zero degrees (e.g., approaches 180 degrees, the wind direction is moving toward an upwind position of the sensor system relative to the emission source). At the set of angles at which the wind is blowing away from the sensor system, the measured gas concentration may be roughly equivalent to the baseline. In some embodiments, the relationship between measured gas concentration and wind angle may be a normal distribution with a peak value corresponding to the actual gas concentration at zero degrees (e.g., direction at which the wind blows towards the sensor system). For example, the controller 156 may develop a model based on this relationship. As such, the controller 156 may be able to calculate an actual gas concentration from the measured gas concentration for any wind angle that returns a measured gas concentration higher than the baseline. For example, the controller 156 may convert a measured gas concentration at a wind angle of 30 degrees to the actual gas concentration.

[0052] For example, FIG. 5 is an example of a graph 250 of measured gas concentration of a leak plotted against wind angle relative to the emission source. As illustrated, the measured gas concentration reaches a peak 254 when the wind blows towards the sensor system (e.g., around zero degrees), such that the sensor system is disposed in a downwind position relative to the emission source. For example, as a gas leaks from the emission source, a gas plume forms in a direction of the wind (e.g., wind angle). If the wind angle is directly aligned from the emission source to the sensor, then the gas plume may be generally centered around the sensor. As a result, the peak 254 of the measured gas concentration may reflect the gas concentration in a central portion of the gas plume for a more accurate indication of the gas leak from the emission source. However, as the wind blows the gas plume away from the sensor, then any gas leaking from the emission source may not reach the sensor. Therefore, the measured gas concentration roughly aligns with the baseline 252, represented by a dashed line, when the wind is blowing away from the sensor system (e.g., around 90 to 360 degrees), such that the sensor system is disposed in an upwind position relative to the emission source. As such, the presence of a leak may be indicated by an increasing gas concentration as the wind direction blows from the emission source toward the sensor system (e.g., downwind position of the sensor system) and a decreasing gas concentration as wind direction blows away from the sensor system (e.g., upwindIS24.1219-WO-PCT position of the sensor system). Based on this example, the controller 156 may develop a model (e.g., computer model) based on the following equation.

[0053] In equation (2), c is the measured gas concentration, 0 is the wind angle with respect to the direction of the sensor system relative to the emission source, a is a fitting parameter corresponding to the baseline concentration, and 0 is a width of the Gaussian bell curve, which is dependent on atmospheric conditions (e.g., wind speed, solar radiation). As illustrated in FIG. 5 and accounted for in equation (2), the model (e.g., computer model) can adjust gas concentration measurements based on wind direction (e.g., wind angle) measurements. For example, a gas concentration measurement may appear to decrease with angles further away from zero degrees (e.g., wind angle alignment in direction from emission source to sensor system), but the model based on equation (2) can adjust the gas concentration measurement upward to an accurate gas concentration measurement based on the wind direction (e.g., wind angle) measurement. For example, at some wind directions, the gas concentration measurement may be only a percentage (e.g., 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, or 90 percent) of the accurate gas concentration measurement, and thus the gas concentration measurement is adjusted accordingly by the model based on FIG. 5 and equation (2). In some embodiments, the controller 156 may apply the relationship between time and drift data to the models to account for sensor drift in the gas sensor of the sensor system.

[0054] Returning to process block 224 of FIG. 4, in some embodiments, the controller 156 may determine a correlation or functional relationship between a measured gas concentration and a wind speed. In general, as the wind speed increases, the measured gas concentration decreases due to dilution. In some embodiments, the functional relationship between the measured gas concentration and wind speed may be an inverse relationship. The controller 156 may develop a model (e.g., computer model) based on this relationship. As such, the controller 156 may be able to calculate an actual gas concentration from the measured gas concentration for any wind speed that returns a measured gas concentration higher than the baseline.IS24.1219-WO-PCT

[0055] For example, FIG. 6 is an example of a graph 260 of measured gas concentration of a leak plotted against wind speed. As illustrated, the measured gas concentration reaches a peak 264 when there is a low wind speed. The peak 264 may correspond to an actual gas concentration (e.g., the gas concentration absent the effects of wind speed) of the leak from the emission source. The measured gas concentrated roughly aligns with the baseline 262, represented by a dashed line, when there is a high wind speed (e.g., over 10 m / s). Based on this example, the controller 156 may develop a model (e.g., computer model) based on the following equation.

[0056] In equation (3), c is the measured gas concentration and u is the wind speed. As illustrated in FIG. 6 and accounted for in equation (3), the model (e.g., computer model) can adjust gas concentration measurements based on wind speed measurements. For example, a gas concentration measurement may appear to decrease with increasing wind speed, but the model based on equation (3) can adjust the gas concentration measurement upward to an accurate gas concentration measurement based on the wind speed measurement. For example, at some wind speeds, the gas concentration measurement may be only a percentage (e.g., 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, or 90 percent) of the accurate gas concentration measurement, and thus the gas concentration measurement is adjusted accordingly by the model based on FIG. 6 and equation (3). In some embodiments, the controller 156 may apply the relationship between time and drift data to the models to account for sensor drift in the gas sensor of the sensor system.

[0057] In process block 226, the controller 156 may measure a gas concentration and wind parameters via the sensor system. Additionally, in some embodiments, the controller 156 may use the sensor system to obtain solar radiation measurements via a solar sensor of the sensor system.

[0058] In process block 228, the controller 156 may analyze the gas concentration based on the baseline, wind parameters, and the model. Initially, the controller 156 may subtract the baseline from the measured gas concentration, yielding a clean measurement of the gas concentration levels issuing from the emission source. The controller 156 may determine whether the measured gas concentration exceeds the baseline sufficiently to constitute a signal. This threshold may be fixed as a hardIS24.1219-WO-PCT number such as, for example, 1 ppm or 0.5 ppm, or the threshold may be linked to a standard deviation (G) of the measured gas concentration over the previous several hours or days. In particular, the threshold may be fixed to some multiple of the standard deviations, for example 2G or 3G. In some embodiments, the controller 156 may use the models developed in process block 224 to develop a threshold at various wind angles and wind speeds. For example, a threshold for a wind angle of 320 degrees may be lower than a threshold for a wind angle of zero degrees to account for the change in measured gas concentration due to the different wind angles.

[0059] Measurements exceeding baseline may be used to calculate an emission rate associated with the leak. The controller 156 may use a simple dispersion model, for example a Gaussian plume model to convert the gas concentration measurements exceeding the baseline into an emission rate. The simple dispersion model such as the Gaussian plume model may account for and correct for the effect of wind direction and wind speed on the measured concentration. As such, the controller 156 may not apply the models to the measured concentration before applying the Gaussian plume model. For example, the controller 156 may use the Gaussian plume model as a forward model for a simple regression analysis to compute the emission rate that best fits the input data of measured gas concentration, the wind speed, the wind direction, and the corresponding atmospheric stability class. The controller 156 may determine an atmospheric stability class based on the wind speed and the solar radiation measured in process block 226. The atmospheric stability class may refer a method of categorizing the amount of atmospheric turbulence. In some embodiments, the atmospheric stability class may be a Pasquill atmospheric stability class. In such embodiments, conditions including lower wind speeds and higher solar radiation correspond to a more unstable class and conditions including higher wind speeds and lower solar radiation correspond to a more stable class. The controller 156 may input the distance from the potential emission location and the gas concentration sensor of the sensor system as determined in process block 216, the gas concentration above the baseline, the wind speed as measured by the sensor system, and the atmospheric stability class. The controller 156 may then receive, as an output of the model, a quantitative measurement of the mass emission rate of the leak (e.g., leak flow rate, gas composition, etc.). Using the Gaussian plume model in such a way is much simpler compared to using the corresponding inversion model for an active production facility where the controllerIS24.1219-WO-PCT156 may search multiple potential emission locations in addition to the accounting for the variable emission rate.

[0060] In decision block 230, the controller 156 may determine whether the analysis indicates a leak. In some embodiments, the controller 156 may determine the emission rate consistently exceeds a certain agreed upon emission threshold (e.g., exceeds the threshold a certain percent of time over a time period). The emission threshold may be an emission rate (e.g., 50 g / hr, 100 g / hr, 200 g / hr, etc.), an emission duration (e.g., emission continues for a day, a week, ten days, etc.), or a combination thereof, such as a rolling window average emission rate. In some embodiments, the controller 156 may analyze the wind parameters to determine whether there is a potential leak. For example, the controller 156 may determine there is a potential leak if the following conditions occur: (1) the emission rate increases as the wind angle approaches zero degrees (e.g., direction of wind blows from the emission source toward the sensor system), (2) the emission rate decreases as the wind angle moves away from zero degrees (direction of wind blows away from the sensor system), and (3) the emission rate decreases at higher wind speeds. This approach may be more sensitive in detecting the presence of the leak. If the wind parameters are not used to confirm the presence of the leak in accordance with these conditions, small changes in the gas concentration may instead be interpreted as sensor drift. Additionally, analyzing the wind parameters to detect leaks allows for the detection of smaller leaks compared to what would be achieved by evaluating only the gas concentration.

[0061] If the controller 156 determines the analysis does not indicate a leak, then the controller 156 may return to process block 226 and continue to measure the gas concentration and wind parameters.

[0062] If the controller 156 determines the analysis indicates a leak, then the controller 156 may output a flow rate and / or a duration of the leak at process block 232. For example, the controller 156 may output the flow rate and / or the duration of the leak to a remote device (e.g., the remote computing device 130 of FIG. 3), a user interface of the sensor system, a memory of the sensor system, an external database, and the like. The controller 156 also may include a gas composition of the leak, such as methane, carbon oxides, nitrogen oxides, ozone, water vapor, and the like.IS24.1219-WO-PCT

[0063] In process block 234, the controller 156 may generate a notification of the leak at one or more computer systems and / or electronic displays. The notification may include the location of the emission source (e.g., wellsite identification, GPS coordinates, etc.), an identification of components that are likely leaking, the flow rate of the leak, the duration of the leak, the gas composition of the leak, and the like. In certain embodiments, the notification may include one or more graphs showing trends of sensor measurements over time, such as wind speed, wind direction, gas concentration, gas composition, or any combination thereof, over time. The controller may automatically output the notification to an electronic device associated with one or more parties responsible for the site (e.g., a site manager, a maintenance staff, an operator, etc.). In some embodiments, the controller 156 may share the measurements from the sensor system and the calculated emission rates via online platform or any other method with the responsible parties. In some embodiments, the notification may further include one or more recommended actions, such as recommended inspections, service, and / or maintenance. The notification also may include an urgency level (e.g., low, medium, or high urgency) associated with the leak and any recommended actions. In some embodiments, the process 210 may automatically initiate one or more remedial actions, such as by controlling (e.g., via a controller) a drone to automatically inspect the emission source, install a warning sign at the emissions source, and / or operate equipment to reduce the leak at the emission source.

[0064] Technical effects of the disclosed embodiments enable the use of a single sensor system (e.g., autonomous sensor system at a single location) to monitor gas emissions from abandoned wells, marginal wells, or other similar sites (e.g., emission sources). The single sensor system, and the various techniques described herein, improve the efficiency, performance, and capabilities in the technology of sensor systems. As discussed in detail below, the computing system may determine a location of the sensor system based on a direction of the most prevalent winds relative to the emission source and a location of a likely leak from the emission source. Placing the sensor system relative to the most prevalent winds and the location of a likely leak enables the use of a single sensor system by increasing the probability that the sensor system will detect a leak, thereby eliminating the need for additional sensor systems.IS24.1219-WO-PCT

[0065] The computing system may establish a baseline gas concentration (e.g., a measurement of the background concentration of gas in the atmosphere) measured by a gas sensor of the sensor system. The baseline may be recursively set to account for sensor drift in the gas sensor. The computing system may also generate a model of the measured gas concentration based on the wind parameters, thereby allowing the computing system to determine an actual gas concentration across various wind directions and wind speeds.

[0066] The computing system may determine an emission rate of a potential leak from the emission source based on the measured gas concentration, the baseline, the wind parameters, and the model. The computing system may then determine whether the emission rate indicates a leak. For example, the computing system may determine that there is a leak if the emission rate consistently exceeds an emission threshold. As another example, the computing system may determine there is a leak if the measured gas concentration increases as the direction of the wind blows from the emission source toward the sensor system, the measured gas concentration decreases as the direction of the wind blows away from the sensor system, and the measured gas concentration decreases at higher wind speeds. This approach may be more sensitive in detecting the presence of the leak as it can differentiate between changes in the emission rate due to sensor drift from changes in the emission rate due to a leak. Additionally, analyzing the wind parameters to detect leaks allows for the detection of smaller leaks compared to what would be achieved by evaluating only the emission rate. If the computing system determines there is a leak, the computing system may output a notification of the leak to responsible parties. The foregoing techniques enable a single sensor system to monitor for leaks without separate sensors (e.g., gas concentration sensors) at other locations.

[0067] The subject matter described in detail above may be defined by one or more clauses, as set forth below.

[0068] A system includes a gas leak instrument configured to monitor for gas leaks from an emission source, wherein the gas leak instrument includes a gas sensor, a wind sensor, and a controller coupled to the gas sensor and the wind sensor, wherein the controller has a processor, a memory, and instructions stored on the memory and executable by the processor to cause operations including determining a baseline gasIS24.1219-WO-PCT concentration in an environment based on first gas measurements from the gas sensor and first wind measurements from the wind sensor and determining an emission gas rate based on the baseline gas concentration, second gas measurements from the gas sensor, second wind measurements from the wind sensor, and a Gaussian plume model.

[0069] The system of the preceding clause, wherein the instructions are executable by the processor to cause operations including determining the baseline gas concentration based on a known location of the emission source and one or more functional relationships between a gas concentration measured by the gas sensor and one or more wind parameters measured by the wind sensor.

[0070] The system of any preceding clause, wherein the wind parameters include a wind speed and a wind direction.

[0071] The system of any preceding clause, wherein the one or more functional relationships include a first functional relationship between the gas concentration and wind speed and a second functional relationship between the gas concentration and the wind direction.

[0072] The system of any preceding clause, wherein the first functional relationship includes a first model, wherein the gas concentration decreases toward the baseline gas concentration with increasing wind speed, and the gas concentration increases away from the baseline gas concentration with decreasing wind speed, and the second functional relationship includes a second model, wherein the gas concentration decreases toward the baseline gas concentration with the wind direction moving away from a downwind position of the gas leak instrument relative to the emission source and toward an upwind position of the gas leak instrument relative to the emission source, and the gas concentration increases away from the baseline gas concentration with the wind direction moving away from the upwind position of the gas leak instrument relative to the emission source and toward the downwind position of the gas leak instrument relative to the emission source.

[0073] The system of any preceding clause, wherein the instructions are executable by the processor to cause operations including determining the baseline gas concentration includes averaging a plurality of first gas measurements while a pluralityIS24.1219-WO-PCT of first wind measurements indicate a wind speed above a threshold wind speed, a wind direction from the gas leak instrument toward the emission source, or a combination thereof.

[0074] The system of any preceding clause, wherein the instructions are executable by the processor to cause operations including subtracting the baseline gas concentration from the second gas measurements to obtain an adjusted gas measurement and determining the emission rate based on the adjusted gas measurement and the second wind measurements via the Gaussian plume model.

[0075] The system of any preceding clause, wherein the instructions are executable by the processor to cause operations including comparing the emission rate to a threshold over a time period and determining presence of a leak in response to the emission rate exceeding the threshold for a percentage of time over the time period.

[0076] The system of any preceding clause, wherein the instructions are executable by the processor to cause operations including determining a presence of a leak, including determining the emission rate increases as a wind blows from the emission source toward the gas leak instrument as indicated by a wind direction measured by the wind sensor, determining the emission rate decreases as the wind blows from the gas leak instrument toward the emission source as indicated by the wind direction measured by the wind sensor, and determining the emission rate decreases as the wind speed increases.

[0077] The system of any preceding clause, wherein the gas leak instrument is an only instrument measuring for gas leaks at the emission source and wherein the emission source is an only emission source being monitored by the gas leak instrument.

[0078] A method includes determining a baseline gas concentration in an environment based on first gas measurements from a gas sensor and first wind measurements from a wind sensor of a gas leak instrument, wherein the gas leak instrument is configured to monitor for gas leaks from an emission source and determining an emission gas rate based on the baseline gas concentration, second gas measurements from the gas sensor, second wind measurements from the wind sensor, and the Gaussian plume model.IS24.1219-WO-PCT

[0079] The method of the preceding clause, including obtaining solar radiation measurements from a pyranometer of the gas sensor, subtracting the baseline gas concentration from the second gas measurements to obtain an adjusted gas measurement, and determining the emission rate based on the solar radiation measurements, the adjusted gas measurements, and the second wind measurements via the Gaussian plume model.

[0080] The method of any preceding clause, wherein determining the baseline gas concentration includes averaging a plurality of first gas measurements while a plurality of first wind measurements indicate a wind speed above a threshold wind speed, a wind direction from the gas leak instrument toward the emission source, or a combination thereof.

[0081] The method of any preceding clause, including determining a presence of a leak including determining the emission rate increases as a wind blows from the emission source toward the gas leak instrument as indicated by a wind direction measured by the wind sensor, determining the emission rate decreases as the wind blows from the gas leak instrument toward the emission source as indicated by the wind direction measured by the wind sensor, and determining the emission rate decreases as the wind speed increases.

[0082] The method of any preceding clause, including developing a first model of a first functional relationship between a gas concentration measured by the gas sensor and a wind speed measured by the wind sensor, developing a second model of a second functional relationship between the gas concentration measured by the gas sensor and a wind direction measured by the wind sensor, and determining the baseline gas concentration for the first gas measurements based on the first model, the second model, and the first wind measurements comprising wind speed and wind direction.

[0083] The method of any preceding clause, wherein the gas leak instrument is an only instrument measuring for gas leaks at the emission source and wherein the emission source is an only emission source being monitored by the gas leak instrument.

[0084] A tangible and non-transitory machine readable medium including instructions, executable by one or more processors, to cause operations includingIS24.1219-WO-PCT determining a baseline gas concentration in an environment based on first gas measurements from a gas sensor and first wind measurements from a wind sensor of a gas leak instrument, wherein the gas leak instrument is configured to monitor for gas leaks from an emission source, and determining an emission gas rate based on the baseline gas concentration, second gas measurements from the gas sensor, second wind measurements from the wind sensor, and the Gaussian plume model.

[0085] The medium of the preceding clause, wherein determining the baseline gas concentration includes averaging a plurality of first gas measurements while a plurality of first wind measurements indicate a wind speed above a threshold wind speed and wherein the instructions, executable by the one or more processors, cause operations including subtracting the baseline gas concentration from the second gas measurements to obtain an adjusted gas measurement and determining the emission rate based on the adjusted gas measurements and the second wind measurements via the Gaussian plume model.

[0086] The medium of any preceding clause, wherein determining the baseline gas concentration includes averaging a plurality of first gas measurements while a plurality of first wind measurements indicate a wind direction from the gas leak instrument toward the emission source.

[0087] The medium of any preceding clause, the instructions, executable by the one or more processors, cause operations including developing a first model of a first functional relationship between a gas concentration measured by the gas sensor and a wind speed measured by the wind sensor, developing a second model of a second functional relationship between the gas concentration measured by the gas sensor and a wind direction measured by the wind sensor, and determining the baseline gas concentration for the first gas measurements based on the first model, the second model, and the first wind measurements comprising wind speed and wind direction.

[0088] A method for continuously monitoring gas emissions of wells including placing a sensor in close proximity to a gas emission source, computing a sensor baseline, collecting data via the sensor, and comparing the collected data with the sensor baseline.IS24.1219-WO-PCT

[0089] The method of the preceding clause, wherein the sensor is placed between 1 meter to 10 meter to the gas emission source.

[0090] The method of any preceding clause, wherein the sensor baseline is determined based on wind direction and emission concentration, emission duration, or a combination thereof.

[0091] The method of any preceding clause, further including in the event the collected data exceeds the sensor baseline, sending out a notification to a personal.

[0092] The method of any preceding clause, wherein the collected data exceeding the sensor data is used to compute an emission rate.

[0093] A system continuously monitoring gas emissions of wells, the system including: a processor, memory accessible to the processor, processor-executable instructions stored in the memory and executable by the processor to instruct the system to compute a sensor baseline via a sensor placed in close proximity to a gas emission source, and compare data collected via the sensor with the sensor baseline.

[0094] The system of the preceding clause, wherein the sensor is placed between 1 meter to 10 meter to the gas emission source.

[0095] The system of any preceding clause, wherein the sensor baseline is determined based on wind direction and emission concentration, emission duration, or a combination thereof.

[0096] The system of any preceding clause, further including in the event the collected data exceeds the sensor baseline, send out a notification to a personal.

[0097] The system of any preceding clause, wherein the collected data exceeding the sensor data is used to compute an emission rate.

[0098] While only certain features have been illustrated and described herein, many modifications and changes will occur to those skilled in the art. It is, therefore, to be understood that the appended claims are intended to cover all such modifications and changes as fall within the true spirit of the disclosure.IS24.1219-WO-PCT

[0099] The techniques presented and claimed herein are referenced and applied to material objects and concrete examples of a practical nature that demonstrably improve the present technical field and, as such, are not abstract, intangible or purely theoretical.

Claims

IS24.1219-WO-PCTCLAIMS1. A system, comprising: a gas leak instrument configured to monitor for gas leaks from an emission source, wherein the gas leak instrument comprises: a gas sensor; a wind sensor; and a controller coupled to the gas sensor and the wind sensor, wherein the controller has a processor, a memory, and instructions stored on the memory and executable by the processor to cause operations comprising: determining a baseline gas concentration in an environment based on first gas measurements from the gas sensor and first wind measurements from the wind sensor; and determining an emission rate from the emission source based on the baseline gas concentration, second gas measurements from the gas sensor, second wind measurements from the wind sensor, and a Gaussian plume model.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the instructions are executable by the processor to cause operations comprising: determining the baseline gas concentration based on a known location of the emission source and one or more functional relationships between a gas concentration measured by the gas sensor and one or more wind parameters measured by the wind sensor.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the wind parameters comprise a wind speed and a wind direction.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the one or more functional relationships comprise: a first functional relationship between the gas concentration and the wind speed; and a second functional relationship between the gas concentration and the wind direction.IS24.1219-WO-PCT5. The system of claim 4, wherein: the first functional relationship comprises a first model, wherein the gas concentration decreases toward the baseline gas concentration with increasing wind speed, and the gas concentration increases away from the baseline gas concentration with decreasing wind speed; and the second functional relationship comprises a second model, wherein the gas concentration decreases toward the baseline gas concentration with the wind direction moving away from a downwind position of the gas leak instrument relative to the emission source and toward an upwind position of the gas leak instrument relative to the emission source, and the gas concentration increases away from the baseline gas concentration with the wind direction moving away from the upwind position of the gas leak instrument relative to the emission source and toward the downwind position of the gas leak instrument relative to the emission source.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the instructions are executable by the processor to cause operations comprising: determining the baseline gas concentration comprises averaging a plurality of first gas measurements while a plurality of first wind measurements indicate a wind speed above a threshold wind speed, a wind direction from the gas leak instrument toward the emission source, or a combination thereof.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the instructions are executable by the processor to cause operations comprising: subtracting the baseline gas concentration from the second gas measurements to obtain an adjusted gas measurement; and determining the emission rate based on the adjusted gas measurement and the second wind measurements via the Gaussian plume model.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the instructions are executable by the processor to cause operations comprising: comparing the emission rate to a threshold over a time period; andIS24.1219-WO-PCT determining presence of a leak in response to the emission rate exceeding the threshold for a percentage of time over the time period.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the instructions are executable by the processor to cause operations comprising determining a presence of a leak, comprising: determining the second gas measurements increase as a wind blows from the emission source toward the gas leak instrument as indicated by a wind direction measured by the wind sensor; determining the second gas measurements decrease as the wind blows from the gas leak instrument toward the emission source as indicated by the wind direction measured by the wind sensor; and determining the second gas measurements decrease as the wind speed increases.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the gas leak instrument is an only instrument measuring for gas leaks at the emission source and wherein the emission source is an only emission source being monitored by the gas leak instrument.

11. A method, comprising: determining a baseline gas concentration in an environment based on first gas measurements from a gas sensor and first wind measurements from a wind sensor of a gas leak instrument, wherein the gas leak instrument is configured to monitor for gas leaks from an emission source; and determining an emission rate based on the baseline gas concentration, second gas measurements from the gas sensor, second wind measurements from the wind sensor, and a Gaussian plume model.

12. The method of claim 11, comprising: obtaining solar radiation measurements from a pyranometer of the gas sensor; subtracting the baseline gas concentration from the second gas measurements to obtain an adjusted gas measurement; and determining the emission rate based on the solar radiation measurements, the adjusted gas measurement, and the second wind measurements via the Gaussian plume model.IS24.1219-WO-PCT13. The method of claim 11, wherein determining the baseline gas concentration comprises averaging a plurality of first gas measurements while a plurality of first wind measurements indicate a wind speed above a threshold wind speed, a wind direction from the gas leak instrument toward the emission source, or a combination thereof.

14. The method of claim 11, comprising determining a presence of a leak, comprising: determining the second gas measurements increase as a wind blows from the emission source toward the gas leak instrument as indicated by a wind direction measured by the wind sensor; determining the second gas measurements decrease as the wind blows from the gas leak instrument toward the emission source as indicated by the wind direction measured by the wind sensor; and determining the second gas measurements decrease as the wind speed increases.

15. The method of claim 11, comprising: developing a first model of a first functional relationship between a gas concentration measured by the gas sensor and a wind speed measured by the wind sensor; developing a second model of a second functional relationship between the gas concentration measured by the gas sensor and a wind direction measured by the wind sensor; and determining the baseline gas concentration for the first gas measurements based on the first model, the second model, and the first wind measurements comprising wind speed and wind direction.

16. The method of claim 11, wherein the gas leak instrument is an only instrument measuring for gas leaks at the emission source and wherein the emission source is an only emission source being monitored by the gas leak instrument.

17. A tangible and non-transitory machine readable medium comprising instructions, executable by one or more processors, to cause operations comprising:IS24.1219-WO-PCT determining a baseline gas concentration in an environment based on a first gas measurement from a gas sensor and a first wind measurement from a wind sensor of a gas leak instrument, wherein the gas leak instrument is configured to monitor for gas leaks from an emission source; and determining an emission rate based on the baseline gas concentration, second gas measurements from the gas sensor, second wind measurements from the wind sensor, and a Gaussian plume model.

18. The medium of claim 17, wherein determining the baseline gas concentration comprises averaging a plurality of first gas measurements while a plurality of first wind measurements indicate a wind speed above a threshold wind speed and wherein the instructions, executable by the one or more processors, cause operations comprising: subtracting the baseline gas concentration from the second gas measurements to obtain an adjusted gas measurement; and determining the emission rate based on the adjusted gas measurement and the second wind measurements via the Gaussian plume model.

19. The medium of claim 17, wherein determining the baseline gas concentration comprises averaging a plurality of first gas measurements while a plurality of first wind measurements indicate a wind direction from the gas leak instrument toward the emission source.

20. The medium of claim 17, wherein the instructions, executable by the one or more processors, cause operations comprising: developing a first model of a first functional relationship between a gas concentration measured by the gas sensor and a wind speed measured by the wind sensor; developing a second model of a second functional relationship between the gas concentration measured by the gas sensor and a wind direction measured by the wind sensor; and determining the baseline gas concentration for the first gas measurements based on the first model, the second model, and the first wind measurements comprising wind speed and wind direction.

Images