What is the Best Indicator of Pneumatic Venting: Device count or production data?

Pneumatic devices powered by instrument gas are among the most common sources of routine methane venting at upstream facilities — but they're also notoriously difficult to measure. Regulatory and industry practice has historically leaned on emission factor approaches or point-in-time optical gas imaging, both of which struggle to capture how venting actually changes with equipment condition, production activity, or well maturity.

This analysis takes a different approach, using 12 months of continuous nitrogen consumption data from 116 upstream facilities in Alberta and British Columbia — 1,847 pneumatic devices in total — to test three variables commonly assumed to influence venting: total device count, 12-month production volume, and average well age. Seven regression models were run to assess each variable's individual and combined explanatory power.

The findings carry direct implications for how operators and regulators approach emission inventory methodology, monitoring resource allocation, and the treatment of marginal or aging wells. Download the full whitepaper to see which variable came out on top — and what that means for how pneumatic emissions should be estimated going forward.

Learn more about which variable — device count, production volume, or well age — is the strongest predictor of pneumatic venting, based on 12 months of continuous measurement across 116 upstream facilities. Read the full whitepaper here.

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