EQT completes pneumatics replacement programme
SUMMARY
Replacing nearly 9,000 gas-fired pneumatics reduced methane emissions by 70%.
By Dale LunanPOSTED IN:
EQT, the largest natural gas producer in the US, said January 4 it had completed a $28mn programme to eliminate all natural gas-powered pneumatic devices from its production operations.
Swapping out nearly 9,000 gas-actuated controllers with “fit-for-purpose” technology – primarily electric actuators and compressed air controllers – has reduced EQT’s methane emissions by 70% and reduced its annual carbon footprint by 305,614 metric tons of CO2-equivalent.
EQT’s natural gas and natural gas liquids sales volumes averaged about 5.3bn ft3/day-equivalent in Q3 2022, virtually all of it from the Marcellus and Utica shale horizons in the Appalachian Basin.
The natural gas-powered pneumatic devices were the source of about 39% of EQT’s production-related Scope 1 greenhouse gas emissions in 2021, the company said.
“We told the world we were aggressively addressing methane emissions and we did what we promised,” EQT CEO Toby Rice said. “As the nation’s largest natural gas producer, EQT not only delivered on its commitment to eliminate a major source of methane emissions in our operations, we also did it in a cost-effective, expedient way.”
The conversion programme spanned 515 days and was completed a year ahead of schedule. Over the course of the initiative, 341 air compressors were installed and 451 dump assemblies and 381 motor valves were retrofitted to electric actuators.
