Adam R Brandt
Biographic Data
| ID | 6820466 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Adam R Brandt |
| GIVEN NAMES | Adam R |
| FAMILY NAME | Brandt |
| SIGNATURE | BRANDT A R |
| AFFILIATIONS | Stanford University |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-2528-1473 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 17 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 1 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 17 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2006 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2024 |
| H-INDEX | 1 |
Measurement-based carbon intensity of US offshore oil and gas production
The United States (US) produces oil and gas from six offshore regions: the North Slope of Alaska, Cook Inlet in Alaska, offshore California, and three Gulf of Mexico (GOM) sub-regions: state shallow, federal shallow, and deep waters. Measurement-based assessment of direct greenhouse gas emissions from this production can provide real-world information on carbon emissions to inform decisions on current and future production. In evaluating the clim…
Single-blind determination of methane detection limits and quantification accuracy using aircraft-based LiDAR
Methane detection limits, emission rate quantification accuracy, and potential cross-species interference are assessed for Bridger Photonics’ Gas Mapping LiDAR (GML) system utilizing data collected during laboratory testing and single-blind controlled release testing. Laboratory testing identified no significant interference in the path-integrated methane measurement from the gas species tested (ethylene, ethane, propane, n-butane, i-butane, and …
Functionality‐based life cycle assessment framework
Life cycle assessment (LCA) has been widely applied to assessing the environmental impacts of information and communication technologies (ICT) products throughout their lifetime. Building upon LCA methodology, this study proposes a user‐oriented, functionality‐based LCA (FLCA) framework that evaluates the environmental impact of multifunctional ICT products such as smartphones. Incorporating the quality function deployment and LCA literature, we …
Single-blind test of airplane-based hyperspectral methane detection via controlled releases
Methane leakage from point sources in the oil and gas industry is a major contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions. The majority of such emissions come from a small fraction of “super-emitting” sources. We evaluate the emission detection and quantification capabilities of Kairos Aerospace’s airplane-based hyperspectral imaging methane emission detection system for methane fluxes of 18–1,025 kg per hour of methane (kgh(CH4)). In blinded cont…
Orphaned oil and gas well stimulus—Maximizing economic and environmental benefits
Orphaned oil and gas wells are abandoned wells for which the cost of environmental impacts usually falls on governments and the general public. Government agencies responsible for well plugging often face funding shortfalls and many orphaned wells remain unplugged. To address this and support the oil and natural gas industry, federal governments are already spending, or considering spending, billions of dollars to plug orphaned oil and gas wells.…
Estimating global oilfield-specific flaring with uncertainty using a detailed geographic database of oil and gas fields
Associated gas flaring during crude oil production is an important contributor to global warming. Satellite technology has made global flaring monitoring possible with high spatial resolution. In this study, we construct a granular database to geographically match global oil and gas fields with remote sensing flaring data from the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite from 2012 to 2019. The geographic information system database contains over…
Displacing fishmeal with protein derived from stranded methane
Life cycle assessment of emerging technologies
Life cycle assessment (LCA) analysts are increasingly being asked to conduct life cycle‐based systems level analysis at the earliest stages of technology development. While early assessments provide the greatest opportunity to influence design and ultimately environmental performance, it is the stage with the least available data, greatest uncertainty, and a paucity of analytic tools for addressing these challenges. While the fundamental approach…
Repeated leak detection and repair surveys reduce methane emissions over scale of years
Reducing methane emissions from the oil and gas industry is a critical climate action policy tool in Canada and the US. Optical gas imaging-based leak detection and repair (LDAR) surveys are commonly used to address fugitive methane emissions or leaks. Despite widespread use, there is little empirical measurement of the effectiveness of LDAR programs at reducing long-term leakage, especially over the scale of months to years. In this study, we me…
Single-blind inter-comparison of methane detection technologies – results from the Stanford/EDF Mobile Monitoring Challenge
Methane leakage regulations in the US and Canada have spurred the development of new technologies that promise faster and cheaper leak detection for the oil and natural gas industry. Here, we report results from the Stanford/EDF Mobile Monitoring Challenge – the first independent assessment of 10 vehicle-, drone-, and plane-based mobile leak detection technologies. Using single-blind controlled release tests at two locations, we analyze the abili…
Assessment of methane emissions from the U.S. oil and gas supply chain
A leaky endeavor Considerable amounts of the greenhouse gas methane leak from the U.S. oil and natural gas supply chain. Alvarez et al. reassessed the magnitude of this leakage and found that in 2015, supply chain emissions were ∼60% higher than the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency inventory estimate. They suggest that this discrepancy exists because current inventory methods miss emissions that occur during abnormal operating conditions. The…
Climate-wise choices in a world of oil abundance
Constrained oil supply has given way to abundance at a time when strong action on climate change is wavering. Recent innovation has pushed US oil production to all-time heights and driven oil prices lower. At the same time, attention to climate policy is wavering due to geopolitical upheaval. Nevertheless, climate-wise choices in the oil sector remain a priority, given oil’s large role in modern economies. Here we use a set of open-source models …
When Comparing Alternative Fuel‐Vehicle Systems, Life Cycle Assessment Studies Should Consider Trends in Oil Production
Petroleum from unconventional reserves is making an increasingly important contribution to the transportation fuel supply, but is generally more expensive and has greater environmental burdens than petroleum from conventional sources. Life cycle assessments (LCAs) of alternative fuel‐vehicle technologies typically consider conventional internal combustion engine vehicles fueled by gasoline produced from the average petroleum slate used in refiner…
Designing better methane mitigation policies
Methane—a short-lived and potent greenhouse gas—presents a unique challenge: it is emitted from a large number of highly distributed and diffuse sources. In this regard, the United States’ Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has recommended periodic leak detection and repair surveys at oil and gas facilities using optical gas imaging technology. This regulation requires an operator to fix all detected leaks within a set time period. Whether suc…
Methane Leaks from North American Natural Gas Systems
Methane emissions from U.S. and Canadian natural gas systems appear larger than official estimates.
Historical trends in greenhouse gas emissions of the Alberta oil sands (1970–2010)
There has been increased scrutiny of the Alberta oil sands due to their high carbon intensity (CI) relative to conventional crude oil. Relying entirely on public and peer-reviewed data sources, we examine historical trends in the CI of oil sands extraction, upgrading, and refining. Monthly data were collected and interpolated from 1970 to 2010 (inclusive) for each oil sands project. Results show a reduction in oil sands CI over time, with industr…
Risks of the oil transition
The energy system is in the early stages of a transition from conventionally produced oil to a variety of substitutes, bringing economic, strategic, and environmental risks. We argue that these three challenges are inherently interconnected, and that as we act to manage one we cannot avoid affecting our prospects in dealing with the others. We further argue that without appropriate policies, tradeoffs between these risks are likely to be made so …
Risks of the oil transition
The energy system is in the early stages of a transition from conventionally produced oil to a variety of substitutes, bringing economic, strategic, and environmental risks. We argue that these three challenges are inherently interconnected, and that as we act to manage one we cannot avoid affecting our prospects in dealing with the others. We further argue that without appropriate policies, tradeoffs between these risks are likely to be made so …
Historical trends in greenhouse gas emissions of the Alberta oil sands (1970–2010)
There has been increased scrutiny of the Alberta oil sands due to their high carbon intensity (CI) relative to conventional crude oil. Relying entirely on public and peer-reviewed data sources, we examine historical trends in the CI of oil sands extraction, upgrading, and refining. Monthly data were collected and interpolated from 1970 to 2010 (inclusive) for each oil sands project. Results show a reduction in oil sands CI over time, with industr…
Methane Leaks from North American Natural Gas Systems
Methane emissions from U.S. and Canadian natural gas systems appear larger than official estimates.
When Comparing Alternative Fuel‐Vehicle Systems, Life Cycle Assessment Studies Should Consider Trends in Oil Production
Petroleum from unconventional reserves is making an increasingly important contribution to the transportation fuel supply, but is generally more expensive and has greater environmental burdens than petroleum from conventional sources. Life cycle assessments (LCAs) of alternative fuel‐vehicle technologies typically consider conventional internal combustion engine vehicles fueled by gasoline produced from the average petroleum slate used in refiner…
Designing better methane mitigation policies
Methane—a short-lived and potent greenhouse gas—presents a unique challenge: it is emitted from a large number of highly distributed and diffuse sources. In this regard, the United States’ Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has recommended periodic leak detection and repair surveys at oil and gas facilities using optical gas imaging technology. This regulation requires an operator to fix all detected leaks within a set time period. Whether suc…
Assessment of methane emissions from the U.S. oil and gas supply chain
A leaky endeavor Considerable amounts of the greenhouse gas methane leak from the U.S. oil and natural gas supply chain. Alvarez et al. reassessed the magnitude of this leakage and found that in 2015, supply chain emissions were ∼60% higher than the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency inventory estimate. They suggest that this discrepancy exists because current inventory methods miss emissions that occur during abnormal operating conditions. The…
Climate-wise choices in a world of oil abundance
Constrained oil supply has given way to abundance at a time when strong action on climate change is wavering. Recent innovation has pushed US oil production to all-time heights and driven oil prices lower. At the same time, attention to climate policy is wavering due to geopolitical upheaval. Nevertheless, climate-wise choices in the oil sector remain a priority, given oil’s large role in modern economies. Here we use a set of open-source models …
Single-blind inter-comparison of methane detection technologies – results from the Stanford/EDF Mobile Monitoring Challenge
Methane leakage regulations in the US and Canada have spurred the development of new technologies that promise faster and cheaper leak detection for the oil and natural gas industry. Here, we report results from the Stanford/EDF Mobile Monitoring Challenge – the first independent assessment of 10 vehicle-, drone-, and plane-based mobile leak detection technologies. Using single-blind controlled release tests at two locations, we analyze the abili…
Life cycle assessment of emerging technologies
Life cycle assessment (LCA) analysts are increasingly being asked to conduct life cycle‐based systems level analysis at the earliest stages of technology development. While early assessments provide the greatest opportunity to influence design and ultimately environmental performance, it is the stage with the least available data, greatest uncertainty, and a paucity of analytic tools for addressing these challenges. While the fundamental approach…
Repeated leak detection and repair surveys reduce methane emissions over scale of years
Reducing methane emissions from the oil and gas industry is a critical climate action policy tool in Canada and the US. Optical gas imaging-based leak detection and repair (LDAR) surveys are commonly used to address fugitive methane emissions or leaks. Despite widespread use, there is little empirical measurement of the effectiveness of LDAR programs at reducing long-term leakage, especially over the scale of months to years. In this study, we me…
Single-blind test of airplane-based hyperspectral methane detection via controlled releases
Methane leakage from point sources in the oil and gas industry is a major contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions. The majority of such emissions come from a small fraction of “super-emitting” sources. We evaluate the emission detection and quantification capabilities of Kairos Aerospace’s airplane-based hyperspectral imaging methane emission detection system for methane fluxes of 18–1,025 kg per hour of methane (kgh(CH4)). In blinded cont…
Orphaned oil and gas well stimulus—Maximizing economic and environmental benefits
Orphaned oil and gas wells are abandoned wells for which the cost of environmental impacts usually falls on governments and the general public. Government agencies responsible for well plugging often face funding shortfalls and many orphaned wells remain unplugged. To address this and support the oil and natural gas industry, federal governments are already spending, or considering spending, billions of dollars to plug orphaned oil and gas wells.…
Estimating global oilfield-specific flaring with uncertainty using a detailed geographic database of oil and gas fields
Associated gas flaring during crude oil production is an important contributor to global warming. Satellite technology has made global flaring monitoring possible with high spatial resolution. In this study, we construct a granular database to geographically match global oil and gas fields with remote sensing flaring data from the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite from 2012 to 2019. The geographic information system database contains over…
Displacing fishmeal with protein derived from stranded methane
Single-blind determination of methane detection limits and quantification accuracy using aircraft-based LiDAR
Methane detection limits, emission rate quantification accuracy, and potential cross-species interference are assessed for Bridger Photonics’ Gas Mapping LiDAR (GML) system utilizing data collected during laboratory testing and single-blind controlled release testing. Laboratory testing identified no significant interference in the path-integrated methane measurement from the gas species tested (ethylene, ethane, propane, n-butane, i-butane, and …
Functionality‐based life cycle assessment framework
Life cycle assessment (LCA) has been widely applied to assessing the environmental impacts of information and communication technologies (ICT) products throughout their lifetime. Building upon LCA methodology, this study proposes a user‐oriented, functionality‐based LCA (FLCA) framework that evaluates the environmental impact of multifunctional ICT products such as smartphones. Incorporating the quality function deployment and LCA literature, we …
Measurement-based carbon intensity of US offshore oil and gas production
The United States (US) produces oil and gas from six offshore regions: the North Slope of Alaska, Cook Inlet in Alaska, offshore California, and three Gulf of Mexico (GOM) sub-regions: state shallow, federal shallow, and deep waters. Measurement-based assessment of direct greenhouse gas emissions from this production can provide real-world information on carbon emissions to inform decisions on current and future production. In evaluating the clim…
Engineering (13 works) · Environmental Science (12 works) · Atmospheric and Environmental Gas Dynamics (11 works) · Fossil fuel (8 works) · Global Energy and Sustainability Research (8 works) · Greenhouse gas (8 works) · Waste management (8 works) · Economics (7 works) · Methane (7 works) · Business (6 works)