Timely. Accurate. Compliant. AIRMO's methane leak detection and repair (LDAR) service equips energy companies with high-precision data to detect, quantify, and respond to methane emissions - before they escalate into costly liabilities.
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Different instruments serve different purposes in methane monitoring. Some are designed for detection (finding leaks), others for quantification (measuring emission rates in standardized units, such as kg/h). In practice, they are combined in LDAR campaigns and to meet OGMP 2.0 Level 5 requirements.
Open-path TDLAS (Tunable Diode Laser Absorption Spectroscopy)
Role: Best for detection of plumes across large areas.
How it works? A laser beam travels over tens–hundreds of meters, giving path-average concentration.
Use cases? UAV transects, perimeter scans, flux walls.
Strengths: Wide coverage, sensitive to diffuse emissions.
Limitations: Weather-sensitive, requires wind data for quantification.
Closed-path TDLAS
Role: Best for quantification.
How it works? Air is drawn into a sealed chamber for high-sensitivity, fast-response measurements.
Use cases? UAV-based flux walls at compact, high-density facilities.
Strengths: High precision, fast response.
Limitations: Smaller spatial footprint, requires pumps and calibration.
OGI (Optical Gas Imaging, infrared camera)
Role: Visual tool for detecting and locating leaks.
Use cases? Rapid screening during LDAR campaigns.
Strengths: Quick leak localization, regulator-accepted, rough on-site quantification possible (improved via desktop software).
Limitations: Potential false positives from thermal anomalies; quantification less accurate than spectroscopic methods.
FID (Flame Ionization Detector)
Role: High-accuracy point measurement of methane concentration.
Use cases? LDAR “sniffer” campaigns for valves, connectors, and other components.
Strengths: Extremely sensitive, well-established.
Limitations: Requires close access; cannot capture plumes or facility-scale emissions.
Other techniques in use
Tracer Flux Methods – Controlled tracer release to calculate methane flux at site level; highly accurate but logistically complex.
Gas Mapping LiDAR – Airborne or UAV-based, maps methane plumes in 3D; good for rapid coverage of large areas.
Spectrometric Imaging (airborne or satellite) – Measures methane columns to detect and quantify super-emitters; excellent for wide-area monitoring, though less sensitive to small leaks.
Eddy Covariance Towers – Measure methane flux over landscapes (e.g., wetlands, agriculture), less common in oil & gas facilities.
Best practice
- For methane detection, better to use open-path TDLAS, OGI, Gas Mapping LiDAR, satellites.
- For methane quantification: closed-path TDLAS, FID (component level), tracer flux methods, spectrometers.
- Also, you could use a layered approach — detect leaks with OGI or open-path TDLAS, confirm with FID, and quantify emissions with closed-path TDLAS, LiDAR, or spectrometers.
AIRMO combines these methods into an integrated workflow aligned with OGMP 2.0 guidelines, ensuring both accurate leak detection and robust emission quantification.
Who’s in scope?
Oil & gas exploration/production, gathering & processing, transmission, distribution, underground storage and LNG facilities (plus requirements for inactive/abandoned wells and coal). Focus below is oil & gas.
What you must measure and when
Annual MRV timeline
First submission with source-level quantification (generic factors acceptable at this stage) was to be made by 5 Aug 2025.
Operated assets: submit measurement-based source-level data by 5 Feb 2026; add site-level measurements and report by 5 Feb 2027, then annually by 31 May thereafter.
Non-operated assets: provide source-level by 5 Feb 2027; include site-level by 5 Aug 2028, then report annually.
Reconciliation: compare bottom-up (source-level) totals with top-down/site-level results and investigate statistically significant gaps.
Methods: until EU standards are issued, use state-of-the-art practices; OGMP 2.0 technical guidance is explicitly acceptable.
LDAR programme setup
Existing sites: the deadline has already passed! You were to submit an LDAR programme by 5 May 2025; first Type-2 LDAR must have been performed no later than 5 Aug 2025 (and start as soon as possible from August 2024).
New sites: submit within 6 months of start-up.
LDAR delivery
Build the LDAR programme, schedule mandated Type-1/Type-2 frequencies per asset class, maintain leak/repair logs, and auto-compile the annual LDAR report.
Minimum LDAR survey frequencies
- Compressor stations, underground storage, LNG, regulating/metering: Type-1 every 4 months, Type-2 every 8 months.
- Valve stations: Type-1 every 9 months, Type-2 every 18 months.Distribution & transmission: frequency varies by design pressure/material (typical ranges Type-1 every 3–12 months, Type-2 every 6–24 months).
- Offshore: above sea level Type-1 every 12 months / Type-2 every 24 months; below sea/seabed 24–36 months.
- Other components (general rule): Type-1 every 6 months / Type-2 every 12 months.
Repair thresholds and deadlines
Trigger thresholds to repair/replace for different LDAR programs and sites vary from 1 g/h to 17 g/h.
Type-1 LDAR: ≥ 7,000 ppm or 17 g/h.
Type-2 LDAR:
- Aboveground/offshore above sea: ≥ 500 ppm or 1 g/h.
- Underground (second step): ≥ 1,000 ppm or 5 g/h.
- Offshore below sea/seabed: ≥ 7,000 ppm or 17 g/h.
Timing: attempt repair within 5 days of detection; complete within 30 days (extensions only with approved schedule).
Post-repair & records: verify fixes (typically within 45 days for above-threshold leaks); keep leak/repair records 10 years; submit an annual LDAR report.
Venting, flaring, and flares performance
Venting and routine flaring are prohibited except for narrowly defined exceptions (e.g., emergencies, safety, or specific operational cases). Certain events require notification within 48 hours and annual reporting.
Flaring performance: new/retrofitted flares must have auto-ignition/continuous pilot and ≥99% destruction and removal efficiency (DRE). All flares must comply by 5 Feb 2026.
Inspect every 15 days for operability and pilot status.
How AIRMO maps your monitoring to compliance
Source-level (Level-4 equivalent; Article 12)
Detection & localization: OGI surveys aligned to your LDAR plan (Type-1/Type-2).
Quantification: FID/sniffers and closed-path TDLAS convert ppm to kg/h with on-board wind; outputs organized by equipment group with uncertainties and thresholds for repair decisions.
Where methane satellites fit
The Regulation envisages an EU global methane monitoring tool and a rapid-reaction mechanism for super-emitting events (≥100 kg/h). Satellite detections are ideal for screening and prioritization, while on-site LDAR and site-level flux measurements remain essential for compliance and reconciliation.