scholarly journals Large-Scale Controlled Experiment Demonstrates Effectiveness of Methane Leak Detection and Repair Programs at Oil and Gas Facilities

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiayang Wang ◽  
Brenna Barlow ◽  
Wes Funk ◽  
Cooper Robinson ◽  
Adam Brandt ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Leak Detection ◽  
Temporal Variations ◽  
Climate Action ◽  
Oil And Gas Operations ◽  
Near Term ◽  
High Degree

The importance of reducing methane emissions from oil and gas operations as a near-term climate action is widely recognized. Most jurisdictions around the globe using leak detection and repair (LDAR) programs to find and fix methane leaks. In this work, we empirically evaluate the efficacy of LDAR programs using a large-scale, bottom-up, randomized controlled field experiment across ~200 oil and gas sites in Canada. We find that tanks are the single largest source of emissions, contributing to nearly 60% of total emissions. The average number of leaks at treatment sites that underwent repair reduced by ~50% compared to control sites. Although control sites did not see a reduction in the number of leaks, emissions reduced by approximately 36% suggesting potential impact of routine maintenance activities to find and fix large leaks. By tracking tags on leaking equipment over time, we find a high degree of persistence – leaks that are repaired remain fixed in follow-up surveys, while non-repaired leaks remain emitting. We did not observe any significant growth in emission rate for non-repaired leaks, suggesting that any increase in observed leak emissions following LDAR surveys are likely from new leaks. Vent emissions reduced by 38% without a significant reduction in the average number of vents across control and treatment sites, showing the importance of both anomalous vents and temporal variations in vent emissions. Our results show that a focus on equipment and sites that are prone to high emissions such as tanks and oil sites are key to cost-effective mitigation.

scholarly journals A Review of the Canada Petroleum Resources Act and the Canada Oil and Gas Operations Act as the Legal Framework for Future Development in the Northwest Territories

2002 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 83
Author(s):  
Raymond E. Quesnel
Keyword(s):  
Northwest Territories ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
East Coast ◽  
Historical Analysis ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Tenure System ◽  
Petroleum Resources ◽  
Legislative Framework ◽  
Oil And Gas Operations

This article examines the current core legislation that governs oil and gas activity in Canada's North. While there has been increased industry interest in the Northwest Territories, there has thus far been a lack of actual oil and gas projects against which to measure the efficacy of the current regime in the context of northern development. An historical analysis of the legislative developments indicates that the northern regime formed the basis for the legislative framework now governing east coast megaprojects. The author evaluates the current basis on which rights are granted and recorded, the tenure system, the royalty regime, and the project approval process. He concludes that, while the northern regime is suitable for large scale developments, it may require certain changes to accommodate smaller, more conventional projects likely to be undertaken.

Risk reduction through advanced leak management

2010 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
pp. 593
Author(s):  
Silvio Stojic ◽  
Antoine Hanekom ◽  
Russell Colman
Keyword(s):  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Survey Design ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Leak Detection ◽  
Product Loss ◽  
Remedial Actions ◽  
Offshore Oil And Gas ◽  
Leak Management ◽  
Component Failures

Leaks of hydrocarbon to the atmosphere can be a major facility safety risk and personnel occupational health and safety (OHS) risk for oil and gas producing and processing facilities. Normally closed valves that pass or leak in-line are also a major contributor to product loss and facility risk. Component failures of these types have two common and challenging features: they are hard to find among the tens of thousands of potential leak sources, and the leakage rates either to the atmosphere or in-line can vary from minor to potentially catastrophic. In the past seven to eight years, advanced methods for finding and managing leaks resulting from poor component integrity have been developed. This paper covers some of ATMECO’s accumulated knowledge developed over many leak surveys of both onshore and offshore oil and gas facilities. Typical statistical profiles of leaks from uncontrolled facilities are presented. The types of component failure that lead to leaks are discussed along with probabilistic analyses relating to the next likely failure. Technologies of leak detection are reviewed, highlighting benefits and problems. Also discussed are the prerequisite data capture and management systems needed for a competent, robust and auditable system to manage component integrity. Gas imaging technology is becoming one of the core hydrocarbon leak detection tools and also assists greatly in the analyses of leaks and in providing valuable input to remedial actions. Survey design requirements for continuing and cost-effective component leak risk management are reviewed. Recommendations are provided about the preferred methods and management structures for programs designed to minimise component integrity risks.

Crystal balls and current affairs: the financial challenge of a changing climate to the oil and gas industry

2015 ◽  
Vol 55 (2) ◽  
pp. 490
Author(s):  
Adam Davis
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Ad Hoc ◽  
Climate Models ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Insurance Industry ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Oil And Gas Industry ◽  
Capital Allocation ◽  
Risk Transfer ◽  
Changing Climate

Despite debate, the fact remains that the climate is changing. When considering the factors that determine potential financial impacts and losses that upstream oil and gas business could suffer due to a changing climate, the issues may primarily appear to be related to weather and geography. On closer examination, the factors that determine the severity of the impacts and losses are largely determined by the design and interdependencies of the financial and economic mechanisms of risk management. There is an increasing consensus in the insurance industry that the challenge presented by climate change, along with the increasing power of climate models, will result in far-reaching changes to the presently accepted practices of risk transfer. This extended abstract describes the increased power of climate models and the improved understanding of the present levels of under-adaptation when viewed from the position of investors in large-scale and long-lived oil and gas assets in Australia. It then looks at risk transfer models and examines potential limitations that have been identified due to the focus on ad-hoc post-disaster recovery when compared to a cost-effective pre-disaster resilience approach. The extended abstract then discusses how changes in the risk transfer approach could affect the financial aspects of an oil and gas business, such as the cost of borrowing, self-insurance, capital allocation and planning.

Quantitative and Objective Evaluation of Vocal Cord Function

1983 ◽  
Vol 92 (5) ◽  
pp. 421-423 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eugene Rontal ◽  
H. John Jacob ◽  
Michael Rontal ◽  
Michael I. Rolnick
Keyword(s):  
Vocal Cord ◽  
Screening Tool ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Objective Evaluation ◽  
Vocal Cord Dysfunction ◽  
Vocal Cords ◽  
Vocal Cord Function ◽  
Objective Basis ◽  
High Degree

Objective and quantitative evaluation of vocal cord function is a goal that has been difficult for voice clinicians to obtain. To be useful as a clinical screening tool it must be easy to perform, it must produce numerical storable data, it must have a high degree of accuracy, and it must be cost-effective. The results of this study have shown that using the perturbation factor and the equipment described, a successful rate of greater than 93% can be obtained in evaluating vocal cord dysfunction. The results further indicate that this equipment can be used much in the same way as an audiogram to follow-up and clinically evaluate on an objective basis the function of the vocal cords.

scholarly journals Drafting Canadian Oilfield Master Service Agreements: An Overview of Key Clauses and Market Trends

10.29173/alr2 ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 52 (2) ◽  
pp. 245
Author(s):  
Trent Mercier ◽  
Josh Kane ◽  
Sharbil Nammour
Keyword(s):  
Hydraulic Fracturing ◽  
Service Provider ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Relevant Market ◽  
Fundamental Component ◽  
Oil And Gas Operations ◽  
Market Trends ◽  
Service Agreement

A cohesive master service agreement is a fundamental component of the operator–service provider relationship for the provision of oilfield services for upstream oil and gas operations. This article: explores the sometimes unique contract relationships found in the Canadian marketplace; provides an overview of key contentious issues and potential solutions, which are examined and contrasted with those seen in American and international contracts; and identifies recent relevant market trends, including special considerations for large-scale hydraulic fracturing operations and the perspectives of new international operators entering the Canadian marketplace.

Planning for Unknown in The New Age of Digital: A Paradigm for Offshore Oil and Gas Risk Assessment and Management

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hamed Hamedifar ◽  
Herve Wilczynski
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Risk Assessment ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Cost Savings ◽  
Service Companies ◽  
Digital Work ◽  
Oil And Gas Operations ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Risk Assessment And Management

Abstract Major Oil and Gas operators and service companies look to undertake large scale digital transformations aimed at producing integrated, connected, and intelligent enterprises. These transformations require accelerating the journey to the cloud to modernize the entire application portfolio. By transitioning to the cloud, firms enjoy improved data analytics which allow for evolution to next generation digital work environment. This shift, however, comes with workforce challenges. Employees in all categories and at most levels will require significant cross- and up-skilling to take full advantage of the digital transformation. As vendors, suppliers, service companies, and operators move products and equipment around an expanding ecosystem of assets, security threats are likely to increase due to further geopolitical instability. Data based decision making, which enables the optimization of assets and automation of operations to minimize workforce risk exposure must be implemented with consideration of enterprise risk reduction (across the asset and workforce operational risk life cycle). As Oil and Gas operations become more geographically dispersed and diverse, they are exposed to new and evolving risk factors which can directly impact value. These risk factors make asset acquisition, development, management, and maintenance all more challenging. Analyses of risk in a digital foundation risk-based platform is most valuable at the earliest stages of asset development in determining whether to proceed with the planned development through to end-of-life decommissioning. Successful firms must create an end-to-end digital roadmap which delineates between technical and transactional activities and outlines effective stakeholder engagement at each project stage. The fundamental thesis of this paper is that although risk can be mitigated and reduced through the introduction of digital tools into oil and gas operations, it can never be completely removed. Furthermore, while industry research on the impact of digitalization usually rely heavily on cost savings, optimization, and health, safety, and environment (HSE) related cases, they typically fail to consider the contribution of digitalization on risk assessment and management. This paper argues that we need to move away from the focus on cost savings, process optimization, and HSE metrics improvement metrics. This paper sets up a mechanism for developing risk-based strategies for implementation of digital solutions.

Methane Leak Detection and Localization Using Wireless Sensor Networks for Remote Oil and Gas Operations

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Theodore G. van Kessel ◽  
Muralidhar Ramachandran ◽  
Levente J. Klein ◽  
Dhruv Nair ◽  
Nigel Hinds ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Wireless Sensor Networks ◽  
Sensor Networks ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Leak Detection ◽  
Wireless Sensor ◽  
Oil And Gas Operations ◽  
Detection And Localization

scholarly journals A Single Surgeon, 10 Year Experience with the Oxford Partial Knee System: What a Difference Experience, Instruments, Implants, and Technique Can Make

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
David Mauerhan ◽  
Nigel L Rozario
Keyword(s):  
Mobile Bearing ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
History Of ◽  
Total Knee ◽  
One Year ◽  
High Degree ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Partial Knee Replacement ◽  
Lower Morbidity

Partial knee (unicompartmental) arthroplasty (PKA) for medial compartment disease of the knee has a long and well documented history of successful results over long periods of follow up. The Oxford Partial Knee Replacement has been available in the U.S. since 2004. After completing an FDA required instructional course, surgeons may use the device. Both the implant and the instruments have evolved since its introduction in 2004. This paper outlines the authors continuous cohort of 249 patients, 286 knees from 2004 to 2014 with minimum 2 year follow up, and reports the results while discussing the impact of experience, instruments and implants, and technique on the outcome of patients in this series. For the aggregate group of 286 knees, there were 17(5.9%) all-cause revisions to TKA, including 2(0.7%) dislocations, resulting in a (83%) survivorship at ten years. The survivorship at ten years for retained implants was 97% if non-implant related causes are not included. At one year, there were 89% excellent and good results, 5% fair, and 6% poor. At two years, there were 93% excellent and good, 1 % fair, and 5.5% poor.  The causes for the poor results at one and two years were tibial sided failure or persistent pain. Three (12%) of patients with a poor result at one year had converted to good and excellent at two years. The use of the Oxford Mobile Bearing™ PKA has been shown to be a useful part of the surgeon’s surgical armamentarium when dealing with anteromedial osteoarthritis or osteonecrosis of the knee. PKA has been shown to have a lower morbidity and mortality and is cost effective when compared to total knee arthroplasty. The author’s experience, as demonstrated in this study, adds validity to the concept that understanding the pathoanatomy of anteromedial osteoarthritis and gaining surgical experience through increased surgical volume, adherence to well documented technique, and the use of a time proven implant, can be accomplished with a high degree of successful outcomes for patients with the appropriate indications.

Efficient and cost effective power and temperature control is critical to oil and gas operations

2017 ◽  
Vol 57 (2) ◽  
pp. 680
Author(s):  
Christopher John Wheeler
Keyword(s):  
Temperature Control ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Oil And Gas Industry ◽  
Liquefied Natural Gas ◽  
Gas Industry ◽  
Effective Power ◽  
Oil And Gas Producers ◽  
Oil And Gas Operations

The availability of reliable, cost effective power and temperature control is critical to all facets of oil and gas operations around the globe. Dropping of global oil prices has had significant effects on long-term liquefied natural gas contracts. Oil and gas producers have experienced a decline in profits, and unprecedented pressure has been put on these companies to remain viable. Many marginal operators have experienced freezing of exploration budgets, delays on future planned expansions and the wind down of non-essential operations. Herein are four case studies from the oil and gas industry, which highlight several business solutions that assisted companies to stabilise their profits by starting production early, reducing operational down time and assisting process efficiencies.

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