Re-imagining how methane emissions from the oil and gas industry are tracked and analyzed to drive large-scale emission reductions

Project Astra is a collaborative effort at the forefront of methane detection aimed at reducing methane releases into the atmosphere. The team is developing an innovative sensor network that will harness advances in methane-sensing technologies, data sharing, and data analytics to provide near-continuous emissions monitoring across oil and gas facilities in the Permian Basin and feed information into decision tools.

A sensor inter-comparison has been completed to determine which existing technologies are suitable for this application under real world operating conditions; development of a digital twin and network design is preparing to launch, to be followed by a pilot project in 2022.

The project is led by The University of Texas at Austin, and includes Chevron, the Environmental Defense Fund, ExxonMobil, GTI, Microsoft, Pioneer Natural Resources Company, and Schlumberger.