The Environmental Partnership’s relationship with Colorado State University’s Methane Emissions Technology Evaluation Center (METEC) has led to better research into emissions-reducing technologies like Optical Gas Imaging (OGI) cameras, and has helped raise awareness of METEC within the oil and natural gas production industry. The Partnership hosted a site visit and tour of the METEC facility for its participating companies. This tour helped its participants learn more about the research that could be done there, and led to more companies utilizing the facility to help improve the use of their own leak-detection technologies.

Dan Zimmerle, Senior Associate at CSU, providing a guided tour to representatives of The Environmental Partnership.

METEC has been a critical partner in helping the industry to collaborate on the best ways to reduce emissions. At METEC, researchers work to create conditions similar to what oil and natural gas producers face at their production sites. They then intentionally create small methane leaks and test methane sensing technologies to ensure they are working properly, and discover which methods and equipment work best. Beyond OGI cameras, METEC’s research has looked at a variety of methane sensing methods, including sensors, drones, helicopters, airplanes and satellite.

Shell’s Paul Tupper and Brad Morello testing an OGI camera at the METEC facility.

Optical Gas Imaging (OGI) cameras use thermal imagining technology to detect fugitive emissions at oil and natural gas production sites. Unfortunately, more testing has been needed to understand how to optimize the use of these cameras under a variety of different conditions. The Environmental Partnership stepped up with a grant to METEC to help perform this needed research. The grant made it possible for the site to do additional testing of OGI equipment, and many participants in the Partnership assisted by bringing their own equipment for testing and by sharing the data they collected. This data now is being analyzed so that better protocols can be developed that will enhance the use of this equipment.