Technological Solutions for Oil and Gas Methane Emissions Reduction

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Never before has there been this level of regulatory liability on the energy industry to reduce its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. With more and more governments setting emission targets, many have pledged to reduce their country’s methane emissions by 40 to 45% by 2030 and/or to achieve net zero by 2050.

The industry must find new and innovative ways to achieve these benchmarks economically. Canadian company, Ventbuster Instruments Inc. is making it their mission to create solutions for the energy industry.

Methane (CH4) is the most prevalent and one of the most harmful GHG released into the atmosphere from oil and gas operations. It is a highly potent GHG, trapping as high as 80 times as much atmospheric heat as carbon dioxide (CO₂) over a 20-year period.

In 2021, the United States, Canada, and over 100 other countries worldwide took the Global Methane Pledge to take positive action to reduce methane emissions into the atmosphere. Such legislative action poses a challenging burden on the energy industry to reduce its CH4 emissions. It also provides opportunities for innovation within the energy sector and new opportunities for technological growth.

Ventbuster Instruments has established itself in a niche role in this changing emissions landscape within the energy industry. Their patented flow channel technology is a significant advancement in CH4 point-source emissions quantification. The Ventbuster® can detect emissions at the source and precisely monitor and report venting hydrocarbon gas emissions.

Point-source quantification is the critical first step in reducing emissions by establishing a baseline. Once precise data has been collected, companies can recognize and plan where emissions mitigation work needs to be undertaken. Such accurate quantification can continue to monitor emissions throughout the mitigation process.

The Ventbuster® records the smallest of flows, from an equivalent of “one bubble in ten minutes” (0.102 cfd) to over 16,000 cfd. Their systems are user-friendly, intuitive, cost-effective, highly accurate, and digitally report and display real-time point-source emissions.

The Ventbuster® is currently deployed in the oil and gas fields of Canada and the USA. Ventbuster Instruments rents their technology for various applications, detecting, monitoring and reporting emissions for: surface casing vent flows (SCVF); leaking orphan and abandoned oil and gas wells; abandoned coal mines; casing-head gas emissions; and more. With the company realizing a significant increase in demand from industry and regulators, they have increased manufacturing. They are rapidly scaling up their fleet of Ventbuster® Units to be deployed in both countries.

Read more on the Ventbuster® here. To learn more about Ventbuster Instruments technology, visit their website at www.ventbusters.com or [email protected].

If you are interested in deploying Ventbuster® technology into your operations, contact Well Done Foundation, Inc. at 1 (406) 460-0903.