According to Article 6(3) of Regulation (EU) 2019/942 of the European Parliament and of the Council (2024/1787 of 13 June 2024 amending Regulation (EU) 2019/942 (also known as the Methane Regulation), local competent authorities, and therefore the domestic designated authority, are required to carry out routine inspections of oil and gas operators and mine operators by 5 May 2026 at the latest.
In order to fully implement this requirement, the domestic authority was required to purchase leak detection instruments at the methane emission sources operated by the operators by the end of 2025. EnviTek Ltd. won the tender in two out of three lots, so we had the opportunity to equip the authority with the following LDAR instruments:
1) Distran Ultra Pro X Max (ATEX zone 1 certified) acoustic camera
2) Addglobe GFM2.0 (ATEX zone 1 certified) high flow sampler
The Distran Ultra Pro device is a quick and accurate aid in the identification of type 1, so-called larger leaks (≥17 g/h) according to paragraph 14 of Regulation (EC) No. 2024/1787. The device is able to detect the acoustic noise generated by the leak from a distance (up to 100 m), which, when compared with the image of the wide-angle camera, displays the location of the leak to the operator. The great advantage of the device is that it is not gas specific, i.e. in addition to methane, it can be used to detect hydrogen, helium, instrument air or any other gas component in a pressurized line or in a vacuum.
The Addglobe GFM2.0 high flow sampler is a two-channel NDIR gas analyzer. One channel samples the identified leak at a high flow rate, and the other channel measures the methane concentration of the ambient air at a point further away from the leak. With a known sampling rate and the difference between the two measured concentrations, it precisely quantifies the leak.
