Characterization of Gas Flaring in North Dakota using the Satellite Data Product, VIIRS Nightfire

Abstract:

Oil production in the North Dakota, USA Bakken Formation has increased dramatically over the last decade. The natural gas associated with this oil production is typically burned off, or flared, if there does not exist infrastructure to transport the natural gas to market. This flaring activity can be characterized using the satellite Nightfire data product, generated at NOAA NCEI. Nightfire uses nighttime data from the infrared bands of the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) instrument, onboard the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (NPP) platform, and identifies hotspots at the time of overpass. In addition, Nightfire gives estimates of the temperature, size, and radiant heat of the hotspots. This presentation will show the spatial and temporal distribution of gas flaring in North Dakota from 2012-2015. In addition, a summary of calibration work to estimate flared gas volumes from Nightfire detections will be presented.