Methane Emissions Quantification from the Oil and Gas Sector

The National Energy Technology Laboratory's (NETL's) record of success has been built on understanding the future of energy and the technologies required to make that future possible. We’ve long touted our success in developing the technologies that took on acid rain in the 1970s and mercury in the early 2000s. More recently, NETL has a leading role in President Biden’s ambitious climate goals, including a carbon emission-free power sector by 2035 and a net-zero economy by 2050.

Program Goals

The NETL Postgraduate Research Program (PGRP) is a high-intensity program designed to identify recent Master’s and Doctoral graduates of high promise and to foster advanced skill development. It allows the postgraduate to systematically outline career goals and helps provide the means of achieving these goals. NETL principal investigators and leads serve as mentors to PGRP participants during the program. This interaction affords the postgraduate a unique opportunity to develop critical skills needed to become an independent professional.

The program goals include providing the opportunity to participants to:

• Develop skills and knowledge in their field of study
• Engage with new areas of basic and applied research
• Network with world-class scientists
• Exchange ideas and skills with the Laboratory community
• Use state-of-the-art equipment
• Contribute to answers for today's pressing scientific questions
• Collaborate with the broader scientific and technical communities

Project Details

Through the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE), this posting seeks a post-Doctoral or post-Master's researcher to engage in projects with the Research Innovation Center (RIC) at the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) in the area of Methane Mitigation Technologies MYRP under the mentorship of Natalie Pekney. This project will be hosted at the NETL Pittsburgh, PA campus.

The participant will be part of a team of researchers focused on several related projects. The objective of the projects include providing technical assistance to international regulatory agencies and oil and gas operators aiming to quantify and reduce methane emissions from oil and gas infrastructure, conducting field-based assessments of greenhouse gas emissions from components and processes in the oil and gas sector, testing and demonstrating methane detection and quantification technologies at oil and gas sites, and quantifying and characterizing emissions of methane and other gases from orphaned and abandoned oil and gas wells. The results of these efforts will inform emissions mitigation strategies and optimize reductions of greenhouse gas emissions.

Learning Objectives:

• Sharpening/developing laboratory and field research skills by conducting comparative measurements with various emissions quantification technologies, visiting well sites and pipelines in regions across the U.S., and planning and executing field campaigns. 
• Conducting statistical analysis and modeling of environmental data to complement field experiments.
• Contributing to publications and presentations that are developed from research results.
• Specific objectives will be determined between the mentor and participant based on the learning goals of the participant.

Stipend: The selected participant will receive a monthly stipend commensurate with educational level and experience.

• Post-Master's stipend is $6393 per month.
• Post-Doctoral stipend is $7735 per month.

Deliverables: To document the effectiveness of the program, participants are required to submit a pre-appointment and post-appointment survey, as well as a reflection on their appointment experience when they renew or end their appointment. The reflection should summarize their project(s), additional activities, and overall experience. Details are provided as the appointment end date approaches.
Participants may also have the opportunity to contribute to manuscripts, journal articles, book chapters, conference presentations, posters, patents, and other publications as a part of their appointment. Such achievements should also be reported to ORISE; additional details are provided after an offer has been accepted.

The National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), part of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) national laboratory system, is owned and operated by the DOE. NETL supports the DOE mission to advance the energy security of the United States. This is an educational opportunity offered by NETL and administered by the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education. Participants in the program are not considered employees of NETL, DOE, the program administrator, or any other office or agency.

Qualifications

To be eligible, you must have received a Master's degree within the last three years or a Doctoral degree within the last five years; or be planning to receive a Master's degree or doctoral degree prior to the appointment start date.

The ideal candidate would have some, but not necessarily all, of the following:

• Background in engineering preferred; physical science background considered.
• Field-based data collection experience (field campaign planning and execution)
• Statistics and mathematical modeling of environmental data.
• Analytical instrument operation and maintenance.