Area Methane Detection Using Work Trucks

Lead Proponent:   Petroleum Technology Alliance Canada (PTAC)
Location:  Alberta
CEI Contribution: $ 300,000
Project Total: $ 640,030
Strategic Area:  Methane and VOC Emissions

Project Objectives:

This project includes a demonstration, field testing and validation of an advanced proprietary methane detection technology mounted on work trucks to cost-effectively identify and measure methane emissions spanning wide areas in oil and gas facilities in Alberta. Data from the trucks will be fed to a cloud computing platform for processing and identification of leaks. It is anticipated that truck-based sensors will provide a low cost, efficient solution to manage field wide ambient air monitoring that reduces methane emissions from unplanned emissions and removes the need for interval based leak inspections.

Expected Results:

The sensor, following successful demonstration, is substantially smaller, lighter weight and is anticipated to use less energy than current high sensitivity sensors. The ability to simultaneously detect methane also provides the advantage of petrochemical fingerprinting to differentiate thermogenic from biogenic sources (agriculture and landfills). The demonstration project would build partnerships among industry players to accelerate the adoption of the sensor system to commercial use.

Project Partners:

Encana 
mAIRSure (Sensit Technologies)