Cover news GERG Methane project

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Bureau Veritas coordinated and participated in GERG’s site level methane emissions quantification tests at an Enagás facility in Spain

Nov. 10 2021

Climate change is one of the main challenges of our era, with regulators, businesses and society as a whole increasingly calling for a swift energy transition. To achieve this, carbon-intense industries are adopting ambitious net zero targets that will steer them toward reduced emissions and greener operations.

As part of the European Green Deal, the European Commission adopted a strategy in 2020 to reduce methane emissions. Methane is the second-biggest contributor to greenhouse gases (GHG) after carbon dioxide. Tackling methane emissions is therefore essential to reaching 2030 climate targets and the 2050 climate neutrality goal.

In collaboration with the Spanish Transmission System Operator Enagás and with Bureau Veritas as field coordinator, the European Gas Research Group (GERG) has set up a first-of-its-kind research project with participation from 13 other European Gas Infrastructure Operators and Gas Associations.

The objective of the research project, called 'Technology Benchmark for site level methane emissions quantification,' is to analyze the accuracy and repeatability of the most promising site level technologies to quantify methane emissions from midstream assets.

In October 2021, phase II.A of the project was successfully deployed with a series of blind tests with above-ground controlled releases at an Enagás facility in Spain. A total of 17 tests were carried out over five days. 12 technologies have been tested: 9 top-down and 3 bottom-up.

The gas industry typically uses the bottom-up approach to detect and quantify methane emissions, focusing on individual sources and equipment. Therefore, the project’s purpose is to provide further insight into how to use new site level technologies for greater accuracy. The top-down approach can provide comprehensive information about emissions at a site or in a region.

Bureau Veritas’ Field Coordination operations consisted of first supporting Enagás’ organization of the tests. Then, it involved ensuring the smooth succession of experiments while collecting all necessary data and observations, and finally animating the organizational briefing and final debriefing.

Jonathan MartinezOil & Gas Global Service Line OPEX Solution Manager at Bureau Veritas

As a second project, alongside technology partner Aeromon, Bureau Veritas actively participated in the site experiments. Here, we used a drone equipped with multiple sensors to quantify methane emissions.

Andrea Di-LilloOPEX Business Development Global Director, Oil & Gas Global Service Line at Bureau Veritas

This innovative approach is part of Bureau Veritas’ five-step solution to take practical steps toward achieving net zero by developing and implementing a clearly defined roadmap. The solution offers support for monitoring assets and value chain activities, improving emission data reliability, and effectively quantifying emissions based on industry best practices. It adds value by identifying a company’s emission hotspots in order to help clients implement clear actions that will steadily and sustainably reduce their environmental impact. It also accounts for long-term asset and system monitoring to verify progress, and helps clients understand and assess emissions offsetting and removal options, such as geological sequestration.

This initiative is fully aligned with Bureau Veritas’ mission to contribute to the protection of the planet, notably through the BV Green Line of solutions and services. Bureau Veritas supports organizations, such as gas operators, in their efforts to reduce their carbon footprint, and advocates all approaches that lead to net zero emissions, supporting them through verification, measurement and certification.

Read our White Paper on Net Zero