Mapping fugitive sulfur emissions from Texas oil and natural gas production fields

Hydrogen sulfide and other reduced sulfur gases are released into the atmosphere during oil recovery operations, however, little is quantitatively known concerning total sulfur flux due to these fugitive emissions. A mobile atmospheric research laboratory (MARL) was constructed to furnish facile, self contained access to oil field sources of reduced sulfur gases. An instrument able to continuously detect pptv levels of hydrogen sulfide at near real time rates was developed and subsequently deployed on the mobile platform. Instrumentation to collect data on other gas and aerosol species along with information on meteorological conditions was also installed on the MARL.; The MARL was used to collect and log quantitative data in the vicinity of various oil field operations. Atmospheric sulfur data was collected in the oil producing regions of several Texas counties including, Lubbock, Hockley, Terry, and Garza counties. The fugitive emission of hydrogen sulfide was found to be the major source of atmospheric sulfur, and a strong diurnal pattern was observed in the ambient hydrogen sulfide concentration. Work was done in the named regions to classify hydrogen sulfide in terms of source, quantity, and fate. Crude oil storage tanks and natural gas processing plants were found to be the major sources of sulfur gas emissions. Estimations of the atmospheric flux of hydrogen sulfide based upon the atmospheric concentrations recorded indicate that fugitive emissions of sulfur into the atmosphere are 10 to 30 times higher than that reported by the oil field operators to the Texas Railroad Commission.; To elucidate the local fate of the fugitive emissions, soil sulfate levels in the proximity of crude oil storage tanks were determined. Soil sulfate levels upwind from crude oil tank farms were discovered to be 20 to 200 times higher than in non oil producing regions, and the soil sulfate levels directly downwind from storage tank vents were observed to exceed the upwind levels by a factor of {dollar}ge{dollar}100.