Oil/gas production tank hatch monitoring – Eliminate methane emissions
Thief hatches are located on top of production tanks and are opened to manually measure levels. If not properly closed and latched they allow methane emissions to escape into the atmosphere. Tank hatch monitoring is a coming market. In Colorado, an operator was fined millions by the EPA for hydrocarbon emissions because their tank hatches were not properly closed to prevent leaking gases.
Our tank hatch product, patent (US 9,764,893 B1) detects if the hatch is open, closed, or latched. Coupled with the SM3, it gives real time notification to the operator remotely. This application saves time and expense for field personnel to travel to and climb atop the tank to verify the hatch status.
The design embeds a pressure sensor into a gasket and can be used on any type of equipment to determine if the correct pressure is being applied to the gasket to create a seal.
Hatch monitoring will typically be paired with production tank level monitoring at the wellsite. The SM3 is designed to handle both. The patented hatch sensor could be marketed as a single product for use with other telemetry solutions. Installation is simple and can be performed by a roustabout or pumper. Hatch monitoring will eliminate the greatest source of methane emissions at wellsites.
The design may be further developed to provide the operator notice of how much time the tank is venting even when the hatch is latched. This application would further reduce methane emissions.
