Skip to main content

Editorial comment

Kellas Midstream recently made an announcement that it has deployed continuous emissions monitoring technology at its Teeside Central Area Transmission System (CATS) terminal in the UK. North Sea pipeline and terminal owner Kellas (which is backed by BlackRock and GIC) transports 40% of the UK’s domestic gas production. It owns and operates CATS, which takes gas from the central North Sea to a terminal in Teesside. Working in partnership with Project Canary, a US-based SaaS-focused ESG data analytics company, Kellas has installed ultra-sensitive sensors to detect, monitor and measure methane emissions from the site in real-time.


Register for free »
Get started now for absolutely FREE, no credit card required.


Monitoring these emissions is a major part of Kellas’s decarbonisation programme and ESG leadership strategy. “Kellas supports the North Sea Transition deal’s commitment to decarbonisation. We must lead the way in reducing carbon intensity in our own operations,” says Andy Hessell, Managing Director of Kellas.
The partnership with Kellas is Project Canary’s first international installation, following significant growth in the US. Project Canary’s ethos is that ‘not all gas molecules are the same’: its measurement and environmental performance certification solutions identify certified or responsibly sourced gas (RSG).
RSG is natural gas that has undergone independent third party certification that the molecules were produced under specified best practices for methane mitigation (e.g. certified low methane gas) as well as other best practice for minimising environmental and community impacts. An RSG framework allows gas producers and operators to confidently characterise and refine their environmental footprint, and helps buyers make informed choices about the gas supply chains from which they draw.
In the US, reports suggest that Tenessee Gas Pipeline (TGP), a Kinder Morgan subsidiary, will be given approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to sell RSG at a premium price. TGP is looking to charge a special tariff for its producer-certified gas (PCG) or RSG, as delivered by its aggregation pooling service.
The pooling service “facilitates greater transparency and liquidity into markets for this important, lower emissions energy source,” according to Ernesto Ochoa, TGP’s Vice President of Commercial. Producers that have had their gas certified by qualified third-party organisations, including Project Canary, can supply the RSG for the pooling service.
Midstream companies are increasingly looking to partner with technology companies or academic institutions that can help them quantify and manage methane emissions, to further their ESG goals and to potentially monetise the RSG process.
This issue of World Pipelines includes an emissions capture story: on p.50, Weldfit writes about emissions recovery to avoid venting or flaring during pipeline depressurisation. The article explores the current sense of urgency among midstream operators to curtail their most frequent sources of emissions, and outlines several case studies where pipeline operators have been recapturing emissions and achieving significant environmental benefits.


View profile