Operational Excellence

Kuva enables field teams to solve methane and VOC emission problems in minimal time by automating emissions detection and analysis.

Sending trucks and personnel to the field is both expensive and highly disruptive. Kuva’s solution provides emission alarms with clear images allowing the pinpointing of the source without the need of traveling to site in order to perform an Optical Gas Inspection.
Capturing gas leak

An image is worth a thousand words, like on this image where the emission can be easily pinpointed to Tank #8.

Why visit the site? You know the reason for the emission, and that there is someone there already! Kuva gives you infrared and visual imagery plus contextual information for better decision making.
Kuva Capturing tank leaking user interface
90%
Faster Root-Cause Analysis
Our solution tackles intermittent emissions effectively by conducting over 80,000 site surveys yearly. With clear images and integrated APIs, MQTT, or EventHub, pinpointing emission sources becomes seamless. Metadata, including equipment details and human presence, aids in swift root cause analysis, ensuring comprehensive understanding and resolution.
the correlation between Kuva event reports and problems
Customer provided image that shows the correlation between Kuva event reports and problems they needed to find and fix. With this information the customer easily singled out the the cause of the problem.
Kuva’s solution enables producers and operators to reduce well lease expenses by minimizing the man hours required to look for intermittent leaks. Less man hours means a significant positive impact on budget centers given manpower is the number one cost. That positive impact goes a long way in the bonuses received by operators and management, as bonuses are determined in large part by money savings to the maintenance budget.

Positively impact your bonus by protecting your maintenance budget.

Kuva enables companies to prove the duration of events, so you are not charged for methane that did not leak!

Oil and gas companies have to pay a fee for methane emissions that exceed certain levels under a rule from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Excess methane produced in 2024 would result in a fee of US$900 per metric ton, with fees rising to US$1,500 per metric ton by 2026.
How is methane Fee calculated?
Suppose a methane event is identified at the site of an oil well, either during an inspection or an aerial flyover. Further suppose that the observed leak rate is 150 kilograms (kg) of methane per hour, but we don’t know how long the oil well has been leaking. EPA wants to assume that methane has been leaking at that rate (150 kg per hour) since the last time the well was observed. This date would be the date of the last inspection at the well that confirmed emissions under the threshold or, if no related record exists, EPA suggests using a default of 182 days (six months). That duration is the typical time between inspections, assuming the operator is properly conducting the required twice-annual inspections.

With up to 80,000 site surveys per year, a Kuva camera is ideal to detect intermittent super emitters with visual evidence, allowing oil and gas companies to prove the start of an emission event and reduce the risk of penalty from the EPA.

There was a time when ensuring the safety of a place meant sending a security guard with a flashlight to patrol the property. This approach left a window of opportunity between rounds for people with ill intentions to cause damage. It all changed when affordable security cameras came to the market. Although security guards are still needed, they can now be better utilized.

A similar shift is happening with methane emissions. Oil and gas producers need to perform regular OGI inspections to prove compliance with methane emission regulations. Until recently, this was limited to manual inspections using expensive handheld cameras. The market is changing, and now there are methane detection cameras that can continuously monitor sites for methane emissions. None are lower in cost or more reliable than the Kuva camera, which helps companies achieve regulatory compliance and frees site personnel from having to walk around looking for intermittent emissions.

Colorado Alt. AIMM Approved
Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment Emblem
Kuva solution is approved in Colorado, it replaces 12 monthly OGI inspections and that our application at EPA is pending.

It is often said that “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” Sitting in front of a judge with an EPA panel on the other side of the discussion table is not how oil and gas producers want to spend their time. It is not worth the time, the negative press, and the risk, even if a somewhat beneficial agreement is reached. Just the time invested in preparing for and negotiating with the EPA is orders of magnitude more expensive than implementing a Kuva solution. By allowing you to find and fix super emitters before they get detected and reported by EPA or by third parties, Kuva helps you keep the money in your pocket and the methane out of the environment—a true win-win situation.

If you think all that sounds expensive, you are right!

Kuva enables you to find and fix super emitters before they get detected and reported by EPA or by third parties.

The typical cost of consent decrees is millions of dollars. Contact us for a payback analysis for your assets.

Method 22 is a test method established by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for determining fugitive emissions from material sources and smoke emissions from flares. It involves direct visual observations to determine the duration of visible emissions (VE) caused by the operation of an industrial source. This method is applicable for the determination of the frequency of fugitive emissions from stationary sources, only as specified in an applicable subpart of the regulations. It does not require the determination of opacity levels, but rather determines the amount of time that visible emissions occur during the observation period.

Emissions can last for hours or days. Using Method 22 to assess the duration of visible emissions does not require an observer to watch for hours or days continuously. Instead, the method involves observing for specific periods and then extrapolating from those observations.

Method 22 involves structured short-term observations to estimate the presence of visible emissions. Here’s an example of how it works:

Observation Details:

  • Observation Period: Each observation period is 6 minutes.
  • Intervals: Within each 6-minute period, the observer records the presence or absence of visible emissions every 15 seconds.

Steps:

1

Duration of Observations: During each 6-minute observation period, the observer will make 24 checks (since 6 minutes = 360 seconds, and 360 seconds divided by 15 seconds per check equals 24 intervals).

2

Multiple Observations: The observer conducts this 6-minute observation multiple times throughout the day. For this example, let’s say the observer does this 10 times.

3

Recording Data: For each 6-minute period, the observer notes how many of the 24 intervals showed visible emissions.

Example Calculation:

  • Suppose in one 6-minute period, visible emissions were observed in 12 out of the 24 intervals.
  • If the observer repeats this 6-minute observation 10 times throughout the day, they might record data like this (number of intervals with visible emissions out of 24 for each 6-minute period): 12, 15, 10, 18, 14, 16, 12, 13, 17, 11.
  • Calculate the average percentage of time visible emissions were observed: (12 + 15 + 10 + 18 + 14 + 16 + 12 + 13 + 17 + 11) / (24 intervals * 10 periods) = 138 / 240 = 0.575 or 57.5%.

From the above example, you can infer that visible emissions were present approximately 57.5% of the time based on the sampled observation periods or you can get a Kuva camera to automate this process.

If you think all that sounds expensive, you are right!

Kuva enables you to find and fix super emitters before they get detected and reported by EPA or by third parties.

The typical cost of consent decrees is millions of dollars. Contact us for a payback analysis for your assets.

Minimize Methane Fee Exposure

Oil and gas companies have to pay a fee for methane emissions that exceed certain levels under a rule from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Excess methane produced in 2024 would result in a fee of US$900 per metric ton, with fees rising to US$1,500 per metric ton by 2026.
How is methane Fee calculated?
Suppose a methane event is identified at the site of an oil well, either during an inspection or an aerial flyover. Further suppose that the observed leak rate is 150 kilograms (kg) of methane per hour, but we don’t know how long the oil well has been leaking. EPA wants to assume that methane has been leaking at that rate (150 kg per hour) since the last time the well was observed. This date would be the date of the last inspection at the well that confirmed emissions under the threshold or, if no related record exists, EPA suggests using a default of 182 days (six months). That duration is the typical time between inspections, assuming the operator is properly conducting the required twice-annual inspections.

With up to 80,000 site surveys per year, a Kuva camera is ideal to detect intermittent super emitters with visual evidence, allowing oil and gas companies to prove the start of an emission event and reduce the risk of penalty from the EPA.

Kuva offers the shortest path to compliance at low cost with a regulator approved set and forget solution.

In-person OGI inspections, whether conducted 4 times or 12 times a year depending on your location, were once a fact of life for oil and gas companies, primarily serving to earn a checkmark indicating compliance.

New technology, such as Kuva’s low-cost camera, now offers a superior alternative. Approved by Colorado as a substitute for in-person OGI inspections, Kuva cameras not only secure your compliance checkmark but also enhance your awareness of site emissions, preempting issues related to methane emissions.

While emissions regulations still mandate one in-person OGI inspection per year, installing a Kuva camera eliminates the need for additional inspections on your site.

Colorado Alt. AIMM Approved
Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment Emblem
New Mexico ALARM Approved
The New Mexico Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department Emblem
METEC/ADED Blind Tested
Colorado State University Energy Institute Emblem
Alberta Energy Regulator
Alberta Energy Regulator Emblem
Kuva camera is approved in Colorado to replace monthly OGI inspections with continuous monitoring.

It is often said that “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” Sitting in front of a judge with an EPA panel on the other side of the discussion table is not how oil and gas producers want to spend their time. It is not worth the time, the negative press, and the risk, even if a somewhat beneficial agreement is reached. Just the time invested in preparing for and negotiating with the EPA is orders of magnitude more expensive than implementing a Kuva solution. By allowing you to find and fix super emitters before they get detected and reported by EPA or by third parties, Kuva helps you keep the money in your pocket and the methane out of the environment—a true win-win situation.

If you think all that sounds expensive, you are right!

Kuva enables you to find and fix super emitters before they get detected and reported by EPA or by third parties.

The typical cost of consent decrees is millions of dollars. Contact us for a payback analysis for your assets.

Gas leaking satellite image
Kuva enables you to find and fix super emitters before they get detected and reported by EPA or by third parties.

The typical cost of consent decrees is millions of dollars. Contact us for a payback analysis for your assets.

Kuva provides high quality emissions data for OGMP Level 4 or 5, Veritas and differentiated gas.

The Oil & Gas Methane Partnership 2.0 (OGMP 2.0) is a comprehensive, measurement-based reporting framework for the oil and gas industry that improves the accuracy and transparency of methane emissions reporting. It’s a multi-stakeholder partnership that includes oil and gas companies, international organizations, governments, and non-governmental organizations.
OGMP 2.0 establishes five reporting levels, with the highest level, Level 5, requiring that companies reconcile their source-level (Level 4) emission inventories with measurements at the site level. This means integrating bottom-up source-level reporting with independent site-level measurements.

OGMP Level 5 is about collecting equipment-specific emissions, measured data, and individual quantification of events, and reconciling these with site-level measurements. It’s a comprehensive approach to understanding and mitigating methane emissions in the oil and gas sector.

Chart showing the source resolved, measurement informed emissions inventory
Kuva’s solution is an ideal tool for OGMP Level 5 thanks to market leading emission quantification and equipment identification at an unbeatable price.

An emission inventory is an accounting of the amount of pollutants discharged into the atmosphere. It usually contains the total emissions for one or more specific greenhouse gases or air pollutants, originating from all source categories in a certain geographical area and within a specified time span, usually a specific year. Emission inventories are developed for a variety of purposes, such as tracking progress towards emission reduction targets, developing strategies and policies, and for scientific use.

Uncertainty in emission inventories can arise from various factors, including measurement errors, methodological choices, and gaps in data. Reducing uncertainty is vital as it improves the accuracy and reliability of the inventory, which is crucial for tracking progress towards emission reduction targets, it enhances the credibility and transparency of the inventory, which is important for policy-making and public trust, it helps identify areas where further research and data collection are needed, and it allows for better risk assessment and decision-making.

Intermittent gas emissions can pose a problem for measurement and monitoring because if the gas measurement tool doesn’t catch these intermittent emissions, it could lead to underestimation of the total emissions.

With Kuva’s Solution you get:
  • 80,000 site-measurements per year provide full understanding of intermittency.
  • Inspection based measurement have high degree of inaccuracy in representing an event - either miss intermittent emissions or record them at full value with uncertain duration.
  • Maintenance events filtered separately.

For oil and gas companies, reporting about the absence of methane emissions is becoming more important as topics such as differentiated gas and methane intensity self-commitments, take center stage in upcoming reporting requirements from the key markets of European Union and Japan. The expanding trend of having to produce methane emissions reports is also part of the new USE SEC 10k reporting requirements, and it will impact the whole supply chain for the industry.

Kuva is a standoff detection method, gas does not need to be transported to the camera to be detected. We also do not need any dispersion modelling for detections. Instead we are a spectroscopy based instrument just like an open path detector. We are also unique amongst emissions monitoring solutions in that we are the only solution with integrated false alarm screening to enable field operations to trust alerts received.

Trusted comprehensive solution for reputational risk management with fast payback and strong field acceptance.

Although the main purpose of the EPA’s Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program (GHGRP) and specifically its Subpart W is not to rank operators, but rather to provide accurate and transparent information about greenhouse gas emissions from the oil and gas sector, the data reported under Subpart W can indeed be used to compare and potentially rank operators based on their emissions. This can provide valuable information to regulators, investors, and the public about the environmental performance of different operators.

There have been several instances where the data reported under regulations like Subpart W have been used to compare and potentially rank operators based on their emissions. Here are a few examples:

  • A first-of-its-kind analysis from Ceres and Clean Air Task Force compared the total reported methane, carbon dioxide, and nitrous oxide emissions — as well as the relative emissions intensity of nearly 300 U.S. oil and gas producers.
  • The International Energy Agency (IEA) has published reports on emissions from oil and gas operations in net zero transitions. These reports often include comparisons of the emissions intensity of different operators.
  • McKinsey has published a report on decarbonizing upstream oil and gas operations, which includes a discussion of the emission intensity of different assets.
  • The Guardian has published a list of the 20 firms responsible for a third of all carbon emissions. This list uses company-reported annual production of oil, natural gas, and coal and then calculates how much of the carbon and methane in the produced fuels is emitted to the atmosphere throughout the supply chain, from extraction to end use.
Chart showing the relationship between the number of operators and the methane intensity %
Kuva’s continuous monitoring with 80,000 site surveys per year enable operations to find and fix super-emitters before they get detected.

It is not rocket science: having to send a truck and crew to do OGI inspections to diverse sites is more expensive and carries more risks than having a fully proven autonomous solution already on site.

Kuva’s Camera provides:
  • 40,000 hrs of design live.
  • No serviceable components that need replacement.
  • No scheduled maintenance during the camera lifetime.
  • Over the air updates eliminate the need for site visits to add new functionality.

The Kuva solution offers the lowest total-cost-of-ownership for complex upstream sites. With a payback time under 6 months thanks to proprietary technology that allows us to offer the first scalable visual solution for methane monitoring without sacrificing performance.

<6 Months
Average estimate payback time considering all costing aspects.

Contact us for custom calculation of your payback time.

We have spent years refining the way we inform field operators about events on site. The result is intuitive images rich with contextual information that makes the work of field personnel easier, and that can be delivered via our own dashboard, email, or integrated to site’s SCADA system.
Kuva's operators

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