Title: Seep Tents Masters Project
1Seep Tents Masters Project
2Group Members
- Group Project ManagerErin Mayberry
- Secretary/RecorderWendy Stanford
- TreasurerFarah Shamszadeh
- Data ManagerAli Ger
- Client ContactMisty Gonzales
3Advisors
- Faculty Advisors
- Christopher Costello
- Natalie Mahowald
- Project Advisor
- Mel Willis
4Background
- Natural gas and oil seep from the ocean floor in
the Santa Barbara Channel - In 1982, ARCO installed 2 concrete and steel
pyramids to capture the gas - These are the only tents in the world
- The tents are currently operated by Venoco, Inc.
5Background
- Gas emitted is mostly methane
- The seeps are considered a natural source of air
pollution in the county - The Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control
District is exploring additional seep tents as a
method to reduce methane emissions
6Problem Statement
- Is it environmentally advantageous to install
additional seep tents to capture naturally
released hydrocarbons? - Further, is it economically and legally feasible
to install additional seep tents?
7Critical Assumptions study area
Maps courtesy of the UCSB Hydrocarbon Seeps
Project http//seeps.geol.ucsb.edu/
Area studied by the UCSB Hydrocarbon Seeps
Research Group
8Critical Assumptions study area
- Water quality impact area
- Same area as geologic study
- Air quality and health impact area
- Santa Barbara County, CA
- Both will have specific section in final document
on potential impacts outside of study area
9Critical Assumptions study area
- Terrestrial impact area
- Scenario 1 Assume project will use Venocos
existing facilities - Assessment of impact of increased production
levels at Venoco - Scenario 2 Engineering data from APCD include
separate processing or co-generation facilities - Evaluate impacts in addition to Scenario 1
10Critical Assumptions geology
- UCSB Hydrocarbon Seeps Project
- Reservoir (?)
- Flux (?)
- Natural variation (?)
- Final analysis will include low, medium, and high
estimates
11Critical Assumptions seep tents
- Size, number, materials and structure, placement
- Scenario 1 Determined by the results of the A.D.
Little engineering estimate ordered by the APCD - Scenario 2 These data are not available. We
assume that the project will duplicate the 1982
ARCO project. Design will be updated if possible.
12Critical Assumptions use of the gas
- Who will use the captured gas?
- Scenario 1 Gas will be sold openly on the market
- Scenario 2 Venoco will contract to sell the gas
exclusively to UCSB
13Critical Assumptions use of the gas
- How will the captured gas be used?
- Scenario 1 Gas is sold on the market, used for
either heat or electricity - Scenario 2 Gas is sold to UCSB
- To eliminate the need for an additional
electricity generation facility, we assume the
gas will be used for heating only - Scenario 3 Gas is sold to UCSB
- Engineering report includes co-generation
facility, gas used for heating and electricity
14Critical Assumptions use of the gas
- How will the gas be processed?
- Assume it is not feasible to construct a new
facility to process the gas - Assume the gas will be cleaned using the
processing facilities available at Venoco, Inc.s
Ellwood Onshore Facility
15Critical Assumptions use of the gas
- Which pipelines will be used?
- Existing pipelines from ARCO tents will be used
- New tents will tap into the existing pipelines
- (?) Can existing pipelines accept the increased
capacity of the new tents? If not, will
pipelines need to be built?
16Critical Assumptions use of the gas
- How will the gas be transported to the user?
- Gas will be transported via existing
infrastructure
17Critical Assumptions ownership
- Who legally owns the captured gas?
- The gas is not fugitive gas
- Owned by lessee
18Critical Assumptions planning period
- When would the tents be implemented?
- How long would it take to finance, get permits
for, engineer, build and implement the tents? - Plan to get data from engineering study or
original ARCO seep tents Environmental Impact
Statement
19Critical Assumptions planning period
- What is the useful life of the seep tents?
- What is the life of the seeps?
- Data from UCSB Hydrocarbon Seeps research group
- What is the life of the tents?
- Data from engineering study or original ARCO EIS
20Areas of Research
- Four areas of research
- Economic feasibility study (Wendy)
- Legal feasibility study (Farah)
- Water quality ecologic impact study (Ali)
- Air quality climate impact study (Misty)
21Research II economic feasibility
- Calculate the Net Present Value of future gas
sales for the next 20 years - Discover the processing sequence of the gas
- Determine at what point gas is sold
- Discover who has been gaining revenue from gas
sales - Construct time series of past revenues
- Determine the potential amount of gas captured by
seep tents - Calculate potential future sales revenues of gas
for the next 20 years - Perform Monte Carlo Sensitivity Analysis
22Research II economic feasibility
- Technology Costs
- Determine what the existing infrastructure is
that supports the collection and processing of
seep gases - Determine whether new tents will tie into
existing infrastructure or will require
additional supporting construction - Estimate engineering costs of construction of
seep tents - Estimate fixed costs of installation of seep
tents - Discover past maintenance costs of seep tents and
infrastructure - Estimate future costs of maintenance of seep
tents - Estimate future costs of potential new
infrastructure
23Research II economic feasibility
- Legal and Permitting Costs
- Determine permitting fees
- Estimate potential fines
- Determine the value of potential emissions
reduction credits
24Research III legal feasibility
- Objective recommendations for the project to be
consistent with applicable regulations - In the lifetime of the project there will be 4
phases - Phase 1 Construction
- Phase 2 Operation
- Phase 3 Maintenance
- Phase 4 Abandonment
25Research III legal feasibility
- Data collection
- What are the federal, state and local agencies
that regulate each phase of the project? - Source Santa Barbara County Clerks Office
- For each agency, what are the applicable policies
and regulations? - Source Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe/ Legal
Research Database
26Research III legal feasibility
- Analysis
- Is each phase of the project consistent with
these policies and regulations? - If inconsistent, what are the policy and
regulatory constraints on - 1. The site
- 2. The design
- 3. The operation
27Research IV marine impacts
- Goal To develop a qualitative model that will
- predict the water quality and related marine
ecology impacts of possible seep tent
installation - Objectives
- Determine the fate and transport of the seep
hydrocarbons - Determine present state of the seep ecology
- Gather data about the measured impacts of the
ARCO tents - Use the information above as inputs to predict
likely impacts of new seep tent installations
using the selected scenario
28Research IV marine impacts
- Ecology and environmental nature of the seeps
- What are the surface, long shore and subsurface
currents? - How do these currents affect the fate and
transport of the seep hydrocarbons in the water
column? - How do the hydrocarbons biodegrade?
- What is the seep ecology?
- What is the species composition and abundance
- compared to non-seep sites?
29Research IV marine impacts
- Impacts of seep tents on the marine ecology and
water quality - Impacts of the ARCO tents?
- Most likely ways that the seeps tents alter
benthic ecology? - Links between the benthos and pelagic ecology?
- What are the likely water quality impacts of
additional seep tents? - Will there be a detectable impact of the tents on
selected hydrocarbons concentrations? - How much will the tents reduce the total seep gas
emissions into the atmosphere?
30Research V air quality climate
- Quantify total volume of VOCs and compare them to
other natural sources by obtaining information
from the SBCAPCD and UCSB - What types of gas are released?
- What is the area of the seepage at the surface?
- What is the flux of gas from the surface?
- What are other natural sources of VOCs?
- What is the total quantity of other natural
sources?
31Research V air quality climate
- Review ozone concentrations in the county
- What are the processes of ozone production?
- What are typical ozone concentrations in SB
throughout the seasons? - What environmental factors contribute to ozone
production?
32Research V air quality climate
- Determine the overall contribution of methane to
global greenhouse gases emitted from the seeps
using data from UCSB Geology Department - How much methane is emitted from the surface?
- What is the global balance for methane?
- Global Warming Potential
- IPCC (impact on radiation)
33Research V air quality climate
- Compare current ozone levels with estimated new
levels from reduced geogenic emissions due to
capture by the seep tents - Urban Airshed Model (from EPA)
- Install model
- Run model
- Confirm that model accounts for mobile sources
34Research V air quality climate
- Calculate potential impacts of VOC reductions due
to tenting of geogenic sources - How much will VOCs be reduced by tenting?
- How will this effect ozone production?
- How will this effect county ozone levels?
35Research V air quality climate
- Estimate amount of air toxics released from the
seeps - What is the flux of toluene and benzene?
- What are the health risks associated with these
air toxics? - What are the relative sources of these toxics in
the county emissions inventory? - Determine ARCO's calculations of emissions from
the seeps
36Final Project Report
- We will deliver a final document detailing our
findings by April, 2002 - The report could be used for public review of the
possible seeps tents development project
37- Questions?
- Thank you for your feedback