Pneumatic Vent Gas Measurement

Brian Van Vliet, Spartan Controls

17-ARPC-06

Air emission inventories are becoming an increasingly important method of monitoring and reporting on industry emissions, for the public, governments and individual companies. Governments are using emission inventories to negotiate international treaties, establish air emissions policy measures and targets and develop emission forecasts. It is important that upstream oil and gas operators have access to effective emission monitoring technologies and, more importantly, emissions factors obtained from adequate quantity and duration field measurements. Reported facility emission reductions are more realistic when tracked using standardized methodologies and accurate emission factors with low uncertainty. Inaccurate emission factors can result in an imprecise portrayal of the emission profile of pneumatic devices used in the oil and gas industry. Pneumatic efficiency is a key focus area specific to chemical injection pumps and instruments used at upstream oil and gas sites. Clear targets and means of de?risking expected emission reductions with equipment retrofits are key to enabling vented methane reductions in the field.