Tackling the Methane Quandary: Curbing Emissions from Control Valves

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Pacini ◽  
Stefano Rossini

Abstract In the wake of Eni's strategy to curb fugitive emissions - in particular methane – an innovative control valve (Clarke Shutter Valve) has been deployed and tested in an Italian Eni facility. This shutter type valve is capable of reducing the fugitive emissions by more than 90%, as well as greatly curbing purchase costs, thanks to an innovative design in bonnet and regulating mechanism. In order to assess the real potentiality of the innovation, four Fisher globe valves and one Fisher V-ball were substituted with the Shutter Valves on different hydrocarbon streams of the Trecate facility (Piedmont), in particular on streams containing oil, gas and corrosive fluids. The valves were monitored for more than a year and fugitive emissions tests have been performed to detect and estimate methane leak rates. Since this represented a first deployment of this technology in Europe, a thorough analysis and technology validation of the valves has been performed. A successful installation and start-up were performed in 3 days by Eni's staff at in February of 2020. The valves were fully operational after the installation and to date no issues have been reported. In order to monitor the valves performances of flow control, continuous data collection on each valve has been implemented, and the analysis performed showed that all valves behave correctly as to Eni's standards. A fugitive emission test that has been performed at the end of 2020 with a certified portable FID/PID analyzer displayed that no methane emissions were detected from the valves. Lastly the one year and half long technology validation concluded that the Shutter Valves are a valid technology for curbing methane emissions from the Oil and Gas plants, and that suggested to qualify the company as Eni partner for control valves. This deployment and field tests, as well as the technological assessment performed by Eni's professionals showed the potentiality of this new type of valves in reducing the methane emissions from the petroleum industry. Understanding the potentiality of intrinsically carbon neutral technology is a crucial step for the mitigation of greenhouse gases emissions and towards the creation of a more environmentally friendly industry.

2013 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 8023-8064
Author(s):  
C. Cressot ◽  
F. Chevallier ◽  
P. Bousquet ◽  
C. Crevoisier ◽  
E. J. Dlugokencky ◽  
...  

Abstract. Satellite retrievals of methane weighted atmospheric columns are studied within a Bayesian inversion system to infer the global and regional methane emissions and sinks. 19-month inversions from June 2009 to December 2010 are independently computed from three different space-borne observing systems under various hypotheses for prior-flux and observation errors. Posterior methane emissions are inter-compared and evaluated with surface mole fraction measurements, via a chemistry-transport model. Sensitivity tests show that refining the assigned error statistics has a larger impact on the quality of the inverted fluxes than correcting for residual airmass-factor-dependent biases in the satellite retrievals. Improved configurations using TANSO-FTS, SCIAMACHY, IASI and surface measurements induce posterior methane global budgets of respectively, 568 ± 17 Tg yr−1, 603 ± 28 yr−1, 524 ± 16 yr−1 and 538 ± 20 yr−1 over the one-year period August 2009–July 2010. This consistency between some of these satellite retrievals and surface measurements is promising for future improvement of CH4 emission estimates by inversions.


1984 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 132 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. J. Doucet, Q.C.

The Canada Nova Scotia Agreement on Offshore Oil and Gas Resource Management and Revenue Sharing has been in effect since March 1, 1982. After one year of operation, the Agreement has been renewed to consider whether the legal and regulatory framework is onductive to propert offshore managemen and also to determine the Agreement's general impact on the petroleum industry on the Scotian Shelf.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dieter Franke ◽  
Andreas Bahr ◽  
Johannes Gütschow ◽  
Martin Blumenberg ◽  
Stefan Ladage ◽  
...  

<p>The worldwide operating petroleum industry is considered as one of the major contributors to global anthropogenic methane emissions. However, not only absolute numbers of methane emissions from oil and natural gas production and distribution vary greatly in different global inventories, also the relative contribution of the oil and the gas sector is under discussion. In different studies, the majority of methane emissions are assigned either to natural gas or to the oil sector. For the climate emission origins are of course irrelevant, however, for the climate budget of natural gas usage it is important to know which emissions are attributable to natural gas and what number is related to oil production with its associated natural gas.</p><p>Here we use the Federal Institute of Geosciences and Natural Resources’ (BGR) worldwide database on natural oil and gas production and consumption, dating back to 1900, and compare it to global bottom-up methane emission inventories. We will present and discuss several regression approaches that fit the global data reasonably well. In addition, methane emissions of country groups are compared to natural oil and gas production and consumption data. This study finds that the emission factors that relate to gas production released during oil and gas extraction likely vary over the time and across different production areas in the world.</p>


2014 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 577-592 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Cressot ◽  
F. Chevallier ◽  
P. Bousquet ◽  
C. Crevoisier ◽  
E. J. Dlugokencky ◽  
...  

Abstract. Satellite retrievals of methane weighted atmospheric columns are assimilated within a Bayesian inversion system to infer the global and regional methane emissions and sinks for the period August 2009 to July 2010. Inversions are independently computed from three different space-borne observing systems and one surface observing system under several hypotheses for prior-flux and observation errors. Posterior methane emissions are compared and evaluated against surface mole fraction observations via a chemistry-transport model. Apart from SCIAMACHY (SCanning Imaging Absorption spectroMeter for Atmospheric CartograpHY), the simulations agree fairly well with the surface mole fractions. The most consistent configurations of this study using TANSO-FTS (Thermal And Near infrared Sensor for carbon Observation – Fourier Transform Spectrometer), IASI (Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer) or surface measurements induce posterior methane global emissions of, respectively, 565 ± 21 Tg yr−1, 549 ± 36 Tg yr−1 and 538 ± 15 Tg yr−1 over the one-year period August 2009–July 2010. This consistency between the satellite retrievals (apart from SCIAMACHY) and independent surface measurements is promising for future improvement of CH4 emission estimates by atmospheric inversions.


2007 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 4-7
Author(s):  
Christopher R. Brigham ◽  
Jenny Walker

Abstract Rating patients with head trauma and multiple neurological injuries can be challenging. The AMA Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment (AMA Guides), Fifth Edition, Section 13.2, Criteria for Rating Impairment Due to Central Nervous System Disorders, outlines the process to rate impairment due to head trauma. This article summarizes the case of a 57-year-old male security guard who presents with headache, decreased sensation on the left cheek, loss of sense of smell, and problems with memory, among other symptoms. One year ago the patient was assaulted while on the job: his Glasgow Coma Score was 14; he had left periorbital ecchymosis and a 2.5 cm laceration over the left eyelid; a small right temporoparietal acute subdural hematoma; left inferior and medial orbital wall fractures; and, four hours after admission to the hospital, he experienced a generalized tonic-clonic seizure. This patient's impairment must include the following components: single seizure, orbital fracture, infraorbital neuropathy, anosmia, headache, and memory complaints. The article shows how the ratable impairments are combined using the Combining Impairment Ratings section. Because this patient has not experienced any seizures since the first occurrence, according to the AMA Guides he is not experiencing the “episodic neurological impairments” required for disability. Complex cases such as the one presented here highlight the need to use the criteria and estimates that are located in several sections of the AMA Guides.


VASA ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 120-124 ◽  
Author(s):  
Asciutto ◽  
Lindblad

Background: The aim of this study is to report the short-term results of catheter-directed foam sclerotherapy (CDFS) in the treatment of axial saphenous vein incompetence. Patients and methods: Data of all patients undergoing CDFS for symptomatic primary incompetence of the great or small saphenous vein were prospectively collected. Treatment results in terms of occlusion rate and patients’ grade of satisfaction were analysed. All successfully treated patients underwent clinical and duplex follow-up examinations one year postoperatively. Results: Between September 2006 and September 2010, 357 limbs (337 patients) were treated with CDFS at our institution. Based on the CEAP classification, 64 were allocated to clinical class C3 , 128 to class C4, 102 to class C5 and 63 to class C6. Of the 188 patients who completed the one year follow up examination, 67 % had a complete and 14 % a near complete obliteration of the treated vessel. An ulcer-healing rate of 54 % was detected. 92 % of the patients were satisfied with the results of treatment. We registered six cases of thrombophlebitis and two cases of venous thromboembolism, all requiring treatment. Conclusions: The short-term results of CDFS in patients with axial vein incompetence are acceptable in terms of occlusion and complications rates.


2009 ◽  
pp. 18-31
Author(s):  
G. Rapoport ◽  
A. Guerts

In the article the global crisis of 2008-2009 is considered as superposition of a few regional crises that occurred simultaneously but for different reasons. However, they have something in common: developed countries tend to maintain a strong level of social security without increasing the real production output. On the one hand, this policy has resulted in trade deficit and partial destruction of market mechanisms. On the other hand, it has clashed with the desire of several oil and gas exporting countries to receive an exclusive price for their energy resources.


2020 ◽  
Vol 63 (3) ◽  
pp. 286-302
Author(s):  
Damian Mowczan ◽  

The main objective of this paper was to estimate and analyse transition-probability matrices for all 16 of Poland’s NUTS-2 level regions (voivodeship level). The analysis is conducted in terms of the transitions among six expenditure classes (per capita and per equivalent unit), focusing on poverty classes. The period of analysis was two years: 2015 and 2016. The basic aim was to identify both those regions in which the probability of staying in poverty was the highest and the general level of mobility among expenditure classes. The study uses a two-year panel sub-sample of unidentified unit data from the Central Statistical Office (CSO), specifically the data concerning household budget surveys. To account for differences in household size and demographic structure, the study used expenditures per capita and expenditures per equivalent unit simultaneously. To estimate the elements of the transition matrices, a classic maximum-likelihood estimator was used. The analysis used Shorrocks’ and Bartholomew’s mobility indices to assess the general mobility level and the Gini index to assess the inequality level. The results show that the one-year probability of staying in the same poverty class varies among regions and is lower for expenditures per equivalent units. The highest probabilities were identified in Podkarpackie (expenditures per capita) and Opolskie (expenditures per equivalent unit), and the lowest probabilities in Kujawsko-Pomorskie (expenditures per capita) and Małopolskie (expenditures per equivalent unit). The highest level of general mobility was noted in Małopolskie, for both categories of expenditures.


2011 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter P. Smith

The United States is in a bind. On the one hand, we need millions of additional citizens with at least one year of successful post-secondary experience to adapt to the knowledge economy. Both the Gates and Lumina Foundations, and our President, have championed this goal in different ways. On the other hand, we have a post-secondary system that is trapped between rising costs and stagnant effectiveness, seemingly unable to respond effectively to this challenge. This paper analyzes several aspects of this problem, describes changes in the society that create the basis for solutions, and offers several examples from Kaplan University of emerging practice that suggests what good practice might look like in a world where quality-assured mass higher education is the norm.


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