Methane leaks: overlooked offender faces a regulatory crackdown

Greenhouse gases have long been known to contribute to global warming, and carbon dioxide alone accounts for over three quarters of all global emissions.However, an often-overlooked offender is methane which – despite making up a relatively meagre 11 % of total emissions – is orders of magnitude more efficient at trapping atmospheric heat than CO₂, making it just as damaging.  

In addition to fuelling climate change, methane is also toxic to humans when inhaled, and safety concerns are further compounded by the gas’s flammability, posing a risk of fire or violent explosion if ignited. The energy sector is responsible for approximately a third of all methane emissions; governing bodies worldwide are becoming increasingly aware of methane’s devastating potential, and are taking steps to ensure that such industrial emissions are not left unchecked.

New regulation

In the US, the oil and gas sector is overseen by a host of regulatory bodies, such as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which enforce stringent methane emission guidelines. In 1983, the EPA introduced regulations to tackle fugitive emissions – the unintended leaks of gases and vapours from pressurised equipment – by mandating compulsory leak detection and repair (LDAR) programs throughout the industry.

Likewise, the European Commission appears to be following suit by proposing legislation to decarbonise gas markets and reduce methane emissions. If adopted into law, these regulations will require European oil, gas and coal producers to measure and report their fugitive methane emissions via the implementation of similarly compulsory LDAR programs.

If the European Commission’s legislative proposal to decarbonise gas markets and reduce methane emissions becomes law, LDAR will be compulsory in all natural gas processing plants

An LDAR program is a work practice designed to identify and overhaul leaking equipment, in order to reduce fugitive emissions. Any equipment covered under the regulations must be monitored at regular intervals to determine whether it is leaking and – if faulty – offending components must be repaired or replaced within a certain period. 

There are three principal areas that benefit from the implementation of LDAR, the first being the refinery interior, to protect workers from the toxic effects of methane inhalation in enclosed areas. The second application is known as ‘fenceline’ monitoring, and requires detectors to be installed around the perimeter of the site to identify and track hazardous emissions which have the potential to drift towards local communities.

The final piece of the LDAR puzzle is to protect the local ecosystem and wider environment, via continuous monitoring of the thousands of miles of European gas pipelines. The standard practice within the oil and gas industry is to sniff-out fugitive methane emissions using flame ionisation detectors. These use ions formed by the combustion of a sample gas to identify the presence of methane via the concentration of various organic species.

To ascertain whether a leak is present, the detector is moved slowly around areas of potential leakage – the interface between adjacent pipe flanges, for example – while observing the gauge readout. If the leak definition value – as set out in the guidelines – is breached, then the faulty component must be repaired or replaced as instructed. Specialised software packages can be used to record and report the results, and the vast amount of data accumulated through an LDAR program can also be used to predict potential leaks before they occur, allowing preventative maintenance to be scheduled.

Countdown to action

If the European Commission’s legislative proposal to decarbonise gas markets and reduce methane emissions becomes law, LDAR will be compulsory in all natural gas processing plants. This will require refineries to use of state-of-the-art detection technologies to regularly monitor, record and report emission readings for each of the thousands of refinery components that are susceptible to methane leaks. In addition to protecting the environment, robust LDAR programs will safeguard refinery workers by both minimising the inhalation of hazardous emissions in enclosed areas, and by reducing the risk of fire and explosion from accidental ignition. The anticipated implementation of mandatory LDAR will help to make Europe a cleaner and safer place to live, proving that the protection of refinery workers, local communities and the environment via meaningful reduction of methane emissions is not just a pipe dream. 

Bob Gallagher is product line manager industrial hygiene segment at Thermo Fisher Scientific

Sources:

US Environmental Protection Agency, Overview of greenhouse gases, 

Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MIT climate portal, Why do we compare methane to carbon dioxide over a 100-year timeframe? Are we underrating the importance of methane emissions?