The first European Union rules to curb methane emissions from the energy sector have become legislation. The new EU Methane Emissions Reduction 2019\/942 Ruling means gas, oil and coal industries in Europe must measure, monitor, report and verify their methane emissions and take action to reduce them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to the EU\u00b4s Green House Gas (GHG) Inventory Report, more than 50% of all direct methane emissions from Europe\u00b4s energy sector result from unintentional release into the atmosphere. EU authorities believe this legislation and its focus on LDAR (leak detection and repair) will have a substantial impact on emissions mitigation and contribute towards climate goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Who does it affect?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The new announcement sets out a number of stipulations, such as the requirement for methane leak detection capabilities in: <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2022 Upstream oil exploration and production, including all well types<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2022 Fossil gas gathering, processing, transmission, distribution and underground storage, including liquefied natural gas terminals<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2022 Underground and surface coal mines, including those that are closed or abandoned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n How to comply with the legislation<\/p>\n\n\n\n A number of timelines are now in place for different types of leak tests as part of a comprehensive LDAR programme. <\/p>\n\n\n\n With the exception of transmission and distribution networks, the ruling expects compressor stations, underground storage facilities, LNG terminals and regulating and metering stations to undertake a Type 1 LDAR survey every four months and a Type 2 survey every eight months. For valve stations the frequency is nine months (Type 1 LDAR) and 18 months (Type 2).<\/p>\n\n\n\n In transmission and distribution networks, compressor stations and regulating and metering stations must complete a Type 1 LDAR survey (>16 bar pressure) every four months and a Type 2 survey (>16 bar pressure) every eight months. For valve stations the frequency is nine months (Type 1 LDAR) and 18 months (Type 2). In addition, regulating and metering stations must perform a Type 2 LDAR (\u226416 bar pressure) every nine months, while valve stations must do the same every 21 months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Type 1 LDAR surveys seek out larger leaks that have the greatest influence on the environment and generally require more frequent inspection. To help the oil, gas and coal industries undertake Type 1 LDAR surveys and comply with the new legislation, OGI (optical gas imaging) cameras from Teledyne FLIR provide the optimal way for owners, operators and service providers to detect fugitive gas emissions and quantitively measure the size of leaks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n