Methane abatement projects to get $341.6 million

Flaring is focus of some of the federal research money arriving in Colorado

Colorado State University was awarded $324.6 million for three projects and Lakewood-based Pioneer Energy another $17 million for three other projects by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy.

The projects in common seek to reduce methane emissions from oil and gas operations.

Pioneer Energy, in two of its three projects, intends to address elimination of flaring and related emissions from oil and gas production through deployment of equipment that achieves better separation between gas and oil while eliminating nearly all emission sources. A third project similarly seeks to better separate gas and oil with better well pad processing technology. It is getting $17 million.

In Fort Collins, CSU has one project that is designed for small operators of what is called marginal conventional wells. Those sites will be given high priority for assessment of methane leaks. Another project has CSU developing an ultra-low methane emissions retrofit for gas compression engines used in the transmission and gathering of the methane. A third project for which CSU will get money intends to create consistent, accurate, granular and transparent multi-scale methane emission measurements on a regional scale. CSU is getting 324.7 million altogether.

In Wyoming, Blue Mountain Operations also received $3.8 million for scaling solar compressors deployment for methane-free pneumatic solutions.