How do you report emission figures to your stakeholders? After nearly 30 years in the industry and meeting many oil & gas operators globally, we have seen different approaches on how operators collect, report and manage emission data. So what are the best practices? In this article, we share 4 tips on how you can report accurate emission figures to your stakeholders.
Tip 1: a high quality and detailed inventory is the baseline
If you want to achieve your environmental targets and to manage your reporting requirements, a high quality and detailed inventory of all potential leaking sources is a must.
The inventory forms a credible baseline and is the starting point for a successful emission management program. Once you have a high quality inventory, you can create a plan for further improvements.
Tip 2: combine measurement techniques
There are many measurement devices and techniques available to measure emissions to the atmosphere. However, each situation is different and requires a fit-for-purpose approach. Which measurement equipment will give the most accurate results? What about inaccessible sources? Which techniques should you use if they have not been predefined by the environmental regulator? Or what if there is no environmental regulation at all?
The measurement technique used depends on the ambitions of the company. If the ambition of the company is to only identify and repair large leaks, screening with an Optical Gas Imaging camera could be used. If the company wants a complete emission picture and identify both small and large leaks, a combination of FID / PID and screening with the infrared camera would be recommended.
The detection limit of the equipment should also be considered. FID / PID devices are able to detect leaks way below the repair treshold of 1.000 PPM or 10.000 PPM while OGI cameras are limited in the detection of small leaks.
What about the repair treshold? Has your company set the repair treshold at 1.000 PPM or do you comply with the 10.000 PPM repair treshold set by EPA? Depending on the ambition of your company, the detection limits of the equipment used and the repair tresholds, you can decide which equipment works best. From our experience, combining measurement techniques gives the best results.
Monitoring with FID / PID device 
Screening with infrared camera 
High Flow Sampling to quantify a leak
Tip 3: detailed and accurate emission data comes with time
An emission management program such as Leak Detection And Repair, a program to quantify methane emissions or a program to manage emissions on storage tanks evolves over time and does not have to be perfect from the beginning. Your emission data and database becomes richer with time and it will evolve gradually.
But how can you manage all that data? An accredited professional service provider will help you collect, manage and interpret the data so you report correct and accurate figures to your stakeholders.
Tip 4: use emission management software
Once you have a detailed inventory of all potential leaking sources and used the appropriate measurement techniques, you are left with a lot of data. How do you structure and manage all that data?
Emission management software could be a possible solution. Software can fully support you from planning measurement campaigns, define annual scopes, capture different emission types, generate reports and benchmark your emission data.
Ready to report emission figures to your stakeholders?
Ready to identify, manage and reduce emissions? Contact us and see how The Sniffers helps oil & gas companies with achieving accurate emission data through implementing and executing best-in-class emission monitoring programs.
