Events

On April we were invited to participate as speakers at the Methane Leadership Summit 2023 organized by PTAC and CRIN in Banff on April 26 and 27.

On Thursday, James Holoboff,  our Managing Partner, participated as a speaker at Session 7: Pathways to Reduction - Closing the Gap. He delivered an outstanding presentation talking about our learning journey with methane mitigation.

Read the full session report in our LinkedIn newsletter 'Go Beyond Compliance'. You will find the recap of our team's experience and participation as speakers and exhibitors. Gain insights into the key challenges and solutions discussed at the Session 7.
https://lnkd.in/gCv_k4B5

The summit featured industry speakers, sessions on methane regulations, methane detection success stories, applied research initiatives, and the role of methane detection and mitigation in improving ESG.

The speakers emphasized the importance of balance in regulation, the need for continuous monitoring, and the focus on understanding root causes for abatement.

Here are some valuable highlights from a few of the session panelists.

• Timothy Egan, the CEO of the Canadian Gas Association, spoke about the three legs of gas supply: affordability, reliability, and environmental performance, emphasizing the need to focus on all three.

Session 1: Setting the Stage – Methane in 2023 and Beyond

• Shereen D'Souza, Deputy Secretary for Climate Policy and Intergovernmental Relations from California Environmental Protection Agency talked about investing in methane satellites and the importance of idle well management and setback regulation (it is not uncommon to see oil and gas infrastructure in residential areas). 

Session 2: Effective Change - Regulatory Challenges and Opportunities

• James Diamond, from Environmental and Climate Change Canada (ECCC), discussed this year's update to methane regulations. They are keeping an eye on EPA methane regulations. There is also a focus on compressor methane slip, although solutions are limited now.

Session 3: Methane Detection Success Stories.

• Robert Ward, from Kuva Systems, talked about correlating SCADA with "time-stamped" methane for root cause analysis. He also noted that most superemitters are process problems, not leaks – with a mean duration of 21 minutes in upstream oil & gas.
• Liz O’Connell, President, and Co-Founder of Arolytics. discussed data management platforms and the large discrepancy in total detected volumes between the various monitoring technologies. 

Session 4: Advancing the Narrative – Applied Research Initiatives

• Dinu Attalage, from the University of Calgary talked about methane reduction biofilter research.

Session 5: Roles that Methane Detection and Mitigation Play in Improving ESG

• Scott Volk, from Tourmaline Oil Corp challenged operators to consider that corporate success and sustainability can go hand-in-hand.
• Craig Stenhouse, Principal and Founder of SHIFT Critical International, talked about frameworks for sustainability. He identified some best-in-class ESG reports as Cenovus, ARC and Tourmaline.

Session 6: Methane Emissions Measurement

• Mike D’Antoni, Vice President at Greenpath Energy Ltd. discussed intelligent alarm management and root cause analysis. We should try to understand and address the root problem associated with leaks.

Session 7: Pathways to Reduction - Closing the Gap

• During the session, one of our Managing Partners, James Holoboff, gave a presentation about our learning journey with methane mitigation. He emphasized the importance of the following aspects:

1. Continuously improving emissions inventories.
2. Taking advantage of information on available mitigation technologies.
3. Efficiently identifying the best pathways to reduce emissions.
4. Moving to continuous tracking of emissions and developing environmental KPI dashboards.

Session 8: Building Bridges – Global Partnership

• This session focused on international initiatives currently underway that are actively reducing methane emissions. It also explored opportunities for collaborative partnerships and integrated approaches to technology innovation, as they applied to building synergistic relationships amongst global stakeholders operating in the methane reductions space.

Session 9: CanERIC Success Stories Influencing Methane Emissions Reduction Strategies

• This session showcased how CanERIC has connected technology providers with funding and testing facilities to solve the challenge of securing lab and field testing resources. Attendees heard success stories of how CanERIC has enabled field testing of numerous technologies for mitigating methane emissions and gained insights into how these technologies can be applied in different industries.

Session 10: Establishing a Resilient Foundation

• Wayne Hillier, Vice President at Modern West Advisory Inc. highlighted gaps in methane emissions evaluation, including non-routines, understanding the temporal nature of tank venting, and engine methane slip.
• Different kinds of tank venting were discussed, including persistent, fluctuating, and cyclic patterns that are impacted by upstream behaviour from the wellbore to the tank.
• Dan Olsen, from Colorado State University discussed the two causes of methane slip: incomplete combustion and slip past rings. He also shared a fix for better mixing and combustion through a 3 nozzle design.
• Edan Prabhu, Founder and CEO at Prabhu Energy Labs, discussed the use of a heat exchanger at the tail of the engine to reduce methane slip, which does not require a catalyst.
• Jack Lewnard, from Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy, discussed various EPA programs, including the methane challenge and the Global methane initiative, emphasizing the need for collaboration.

Session 11: Looking Ahead – Exporting Canadian Technologies

• Mario Krpan, Director Europe, Trade and Export Development from the Government of Alberta, highlighted opportunities for exporting technologies and services through export.alberta.ca/events.
• Nicole Harbauer, Trade Commissioner - Energy & Clean Technologies from Global Affairs Canada, discussed the SME stream for business development and  marketing support.
• Laura Kennedy, CEO at Global Power Technologies, discussed her challenges with exporting and the importance of leveraging the available supports.

Session 12: Incentives and Economics of Reducing Methane Emissions

• Jaqueline Peterson, from Kathairos Solutions, discussed three classes of incentives: market-based, market incentives, and government grants and financing.
• Brenna Barlow, from BMO Radicle, presented the economics of pneumatic controller swaps and the need to focus on vent gas reduction and methane slip. It is important to act early.
• Jennifer Turner, Energy Director at Equitable Origin, mentioned various companies' methane emissions reduction efforts and the limited ability to trade inter-provincially.

The Methane Leadership Summit 2023 was a great success. It brought together industry experts, researchers, and government officials to discuss the latest methane detection, mitigation, and regulation advancements. The diverse range of topics covered during the sessions provided attendees with a comprehensive understanding many of the challenges and opportunities in the methane emissions reduction space.

The summit emphasized the importance of collaboration and integrated approaches to technology innovation. It highlighted the need to continuously improve emissions inventories and identify the best pathways to reduce emissions. The importance of data management and continuous tracking of emissions and other environmental KPIs was also discussed.

The event was a great opportunity for attendees to learn about the latest methane research and technologies. It showcased the success stories of various initiatives and provided attendees with insights into how these technologies can be applied in different industries. The summit was also a great platform for networking and building relationships amongst global stakeholders operating in the methane reduction space.

We look forward to attending future events to continue our journey towards a more sustainable future.