Tuesday, 5 November, 2024 / Edition 32

The first meaningful snowflakes are presently falling outside my house. I think this will be the storm that buries our backyard in the white stuff until spring/summer, but if not, the storm later this week should do the trick. We’ve cleared out most small items that we want access to before June, but it sure would be nice if there was a way we could keep tabs on our stuff that we can’t see…

One company is tackling such a problem for fishermen (bonus points if you caught that pun!) and has now adapted their tech to oil and gas. Another company is leveraging advancements in thermal imaging that can help companies visually monitor their fugitive gas emissions. Let’s take a look!

Sarah Compton

Editor, Enspired

An AirTag for Oil Rigs

Noomcpk/Shutterstock.com

I have an AirTag on my keys and in my wallet, because I can attest to the terror felt when those are lost, as well as the relief of knowing exactly where those items are located.

I imagine that “lost wallet” feeling would be nothing compared to the feeling experienced when an offshore rig anchor line is checked upon, only to see that it seems to have wandered off into the deep ocean blue.

Equipment to ensure that doesn’t happen is already in use, but the race for efficiencies is fierce, and smaller, lower-cost, and equally (or more so) effective tools will always get a look. Enter, MyGearTag.

• Originally designed to keep tabs on fishing equipment, the brains behind MyGearTag at Succorfish have recognized similar needs in the oil and gas industry.

• Here’s how it works: Each tag is registered to a user with a unique ID and is equipped with underwater acoustic positioning technology, so its position can be monitored via an app—a lot like an AirTag.

• The company paired with sealing provider Eastern Seals and utilized the UKAS-accredited oil and gas testing facilities at IKM in Cramlington to adapt MyGearTag for the extreme pressures found underwater near oil and gas rigs.

• The three-kilometer range has potential to be problematic, but I could see software algorithms with distance alarms being implemented to work around (or with?) this.

• For now, the company has gone into manufacturing and production and is finalizing distribution and retail relationships with potential customers and partners.

Here’s what Succorfish CEO Chad Hooper had to say: “There’s been a very positive response from potential customers across the fisheries industry over the last few months, and we’re confident that we’ll see a similar reaction from the global oil and gas sector as we begin to share the benefits of deploying MyGearTag at their offshore facilities.”

Anytime there’s acoustic technology being used for anything, I see potential for geoscientists to play a role in expanding the use of the tech!

For more information, check out this and this.

A message from AAPG

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And a Nanny Cam for Gas Emissions

Lane V Erickson/ Shutterstock.com

Us geoscientists are big fans of measuring things, and sometimes we have to get creative to do it since the objects of our attention rarely lend themselves to simple or easy measurements.

Methane emissions from our operations is one of those things that we’d love to get a quantified handle on, but those measurements can be tricky because:

• We’re unsure if, when, and where the emissions might occur.

• We’re attempting to measure something that we can neither see nor contain effectively.

Optical gas imaging (OGI) cameras aim to tackle at least the first obstacle to measuring these emissions by allowing for detection and visualization of various gases, including volatile organic compounds and methane.

A company called LightPath debuted its new technology—which leverages a non-germanium lens to improve upon current methodologies—at the CH4 conference in Fort Collins, CO a few weeks ago.

Germanium sits directly below silica in the periodic table and shares many material properties, but the unique qualities that make it optimal as an infrared lens can be found here.

Some downsides to germanium include:

• Its density, which might make sustained drone flights difficult

• A high index of refraction, which can make uncoated lenses less than ideal for transmission. I also suspect the coating on the lenses might not appreciate some of the harsh conditions the oilfield has to offer.

LightPath’s lenses offer a more effective solution that is more cost-effective with a higher sensitivity.

Learn more here.

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✉️ To get in touch with Sarah or suggest a topic for Enspired, send an email to editorial@aapg.org.