A FUGITIVE HUNT

The video image shows the wispy dark gas vapours swirling like ghosts from an old black and white horror movie. These are fugitive gas emissions from faulty seals, loose valves and tank vents. Each leak may be small by itself, but taken together they are the bane of gas producers everywhere-impossible to see with the naked eye, a danger to workers, an environmental problem and a costly product loss for producers like ConocoPhillips, Canada's second largest natural gas producer.

The challenge was to find and fix something that couldn't be seen. ConocoPhillips took up the challenge with a pilot project in 2006 to find, measure and reduce or eliminate the fugitive gases at 22 of their processing plants.

ConocoPhillips used newly developed infrared video technology and a highly sensitive measurement tool. With an infrared camera, facility personnel simply pan across suspect operating equipment to detect leaks. Any escaping hydrocarbons and volatile organic compounds are visible through the camera as grey images.

The program was a breathtaking success. ConocoPhillips found 144 fugitive emission sources that had eluded traditional gas detectors. Ninety-two per cent of the leaks were easily repaired, sometimes by just tightening a bolt or replacing a seal. The projected impact could mean $10 million a year in recovered product and an 18 per cent reduction in ConocoPhillips' greenhouse gas emissions as they implement the program at their facilities across Canada.

ConocoPhillips' innovative approach is likely to change the way the whole industry deals with the issue, according to Terence Trefiak, the engineer who spearheaded the program. "The camera is the most efficient way to find these emissions," says Terence. "It will probably be the norm and set a new level of management best practices."

This cost-effective method to identify, measure and fix invisible leaks holds the promise of significantly reducing the total inventory of greenhouse gases emitted by the oil and gas industry, in addition to improving safety and increasing production. That's quite a hat trick for ConocoPhillips.