Sealing the breach

The oil and gas industry remains central to sustaining our modern way of life, providing the primary sources of energy that power everything from homes and industry to transportation, as well as contributing significantly to job creation and overall economic prosperity. However, companies are under ever-increasing pressure to maintain environmentally-friendly operations, especially by limiting the quantities of toxic vapours released from fugitive emissions. This continues to be a problem for many pipelines, posing a serious threat to the environment, staff working in the industry and the wider population. Although leaks can be minuscule, they can potentially be scattered across the vast territory where oil and gas pipelines are found – making identification especially challenging – often adding up to thousands or millions of dollars of loss and un-accounted for (LAUF) product each year. This article discusses the challenges of identifying fugitive emissions, and highlights some novel technologies to improve leak detection and repair (LDAR) strategies, helping companies minimise waste, increase efficiency and enhance eco-friendly operations.

The transport of oil and gas via pipelines revolutionised the industry back in the 1860s, lowering costs and delivering product ‘on tap’ where needed. Today, several million kilometres of pipeline traverse the globe and, unsurprisingly, the US boasts the largest network. Their convenience, however, also holds great potential to reduce profits, erode the already ebbing public support for the sec-tor, and devastate the local environment: as seen by the catastrophic California pipeline leak in 2021, which spilt over 126 000 gal. of oil into the Pacific Ocean. Although renewable energy sources are touted to largely replace fossil fuels in the future, natural gas will likely continue to play a central role in supporting this transition.

One of the primary constituents of natural gas is methane, which is often an overlooked contributor to global warming. Although only making up 12% of total greenhouse gas emissions,1 it is significantly more efficient at trapping heat compared to carbon dioxide, making it just as damaging.2 Methane is also extremely toxic to human health when inhaled, and safety concerns are further intensified by its high flammability. Given that the energy sector is responsible for nearly a third of all methane emissions,1 it is vital that pipeline operations take all the necessary steps to ensure they identify and repair leaks along their networks.

Fugitive emissions

Fugitive emissions are unintended leaks of gases or vapours from oil and gas operations, and represent an extremely hazardous threat to workers, the community and the environment. Faulty pieces of equipment – commonly valves and connectors – are typically to blame, but pipe corrosion, earthquakes and unintentional pipe ex-cavation can lead to unintended gas release. Unfortunately, natural gas can be extremely difficult to detect – even in cases of large leaks – and small discharges can amass to large volumes over time if left undetected, resulting in ongoing environmental damage.

The impact of fugitive emissions has not gone unnoticed by regulatory bodies around the world, with many governments consequently enforcing more stringent regulations. In the European Union, for example, the European Standard EN 15446:2008 mandates the measurement of fugitive emissions of VOCs from process equipment. If a leak is detected, it states that a portable instrument must be used to calculate a mass emission rate at the interface of a leak. In the US, the industry is overseen by a myriad of regulatory bodies – including the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission – which are enforcing increasingly stringent fugitive emission standards. The Clean Air Act was introduced by the EPA in 1970 to protect the environment and the public from VOCs and, in 1983, it mandated compulsory LDAR programmes throughout the industry. These regulations have been continuously updated since, with the agency introducing the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants, the New Source Performance Standards, and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. All of these standards involve the application of LDAR to reduce emissions, prompting the industry to adopt better programmes to systematically monitor, analyse and mitigate the release of harmful gases into the environment…

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Read the article online at: https://www.worldpipelines.com/special-reports/15022024/sealing-the-breach/