Integrating Real-Time Emissions Data with SCADA Systems Using the Qube API
We often hear from customers how important it is for their Qube Emissions data to integrate into their existing SCADA systems. For locating and troubleshooting issues, nothing beats having a single screen with integrated data about your facility’s operations alongside the atmospheric data and emissions model results reported by the Qube system. With the Qube REST API, this is all made easy.
Real-Time Emissions Data Integration
Whether your system is set up to poll the Qube API at your own cadence, or if you setup a Push integration that streams the data into your system, you can get atmospheric data and calculated emissions data for your facilities in near real-time. This data can be used in a variety of ways, including the following use cases which have added real value to customers in the field.
Key Use Cases for a SCADA Integration
Triggering workflows: Qube alarms can be tailored to your sites to only notify you of significant emission events. Displaying these alarms in your SCADA system and using them to trigger internal workflows, such as expedited AVO or OGI inspections can maximize the chances of finding and stopping fugitive leaks as soon as possible.
Smarter alarms: Calculated emission rates and volumes can also be used as one input into a more sophisticated alarm logic within your own SCADA system. Using Qube emissions data alongside other process variables can help filter and focus alarms to capture specific known process conditions that contribute to emission events.
Troubleshooting and optimizing your facilities: Side-by-side time-series emissions rates in line with your SCADA data can be a huge time saver for finding issues and troubleshooting process conditions. Understanding the exact timeline of events and correlating process variables to real detected emissions has led to countless case studies of customers reducing emissions in the field:
Tuning flares using measured CO concentrations during emission events to find incomplete combustion
Monitoring VRU run status or compressor trips alongside associated emissions data to measure the impact of process upsets
Optimizing separator setpoints to minimize venting
Measuring the frequency of well blowdowns, compressor blowdowns, and other planned emission events
Correlating tank level and pressure to emissions data to help deduce the cause of a regular emission source leading to an optimized tank unloading procedure
Finding valve failures on shut-in wells
Finding buried pipeline leaks by looking at emissions data alongside line pressure drops
API in Action
Qube Technologies’ continuous emissions monitoring system, when integrated with SCADA systems through our robust REST API offers a comprehensive solution for centralizing alarms and optimizing the operation of a facility to reduce emissions. A SCADA integration enhances real-time monitoring capabilities, supports proactive operations workflows and saves operators' time.
Case study: Data integration & troubleshooting facilities at a Canadian Producer
A Canadian oil and gas producer realized value in evaluating emissions data provided by the Qube system together with data from the onsite SCADA system. In Figure 1, SCADA data at a central tank battery is compared with emissions data from Qube’s system during repeated pressure control valve (PCV) actuations.
The pressure inside the tanks started to rise due to gas carry-over from other equipment on site. To prevent the atmospheric tanks from over pressuring, a pressure control valve on the flare header was opened allowing for gas from the tanks to be routed to the flare as opposed to vented to the atmosphere.
Figure 1. Qube emissions data compared with SCADA data as a time-series
Figure 2 shows emissions were detected shortly after at the flare indicating that there was some methane slip (incomplete combustion) of the gas. These tank disturbances occurred several times over a period of a few days and resulted in the PCV being repeatedly actuated.
By coupling emission localization results in Figure 2 with the strong time-based correlation between tank pressures, valve actuation, and site emissions shown in Figure 1, the was able to determine the root cause of the gas carryover into the tanks and prevent or minimize these events from occurring in the future.
Additionally, an inspection of flare tip during the next scheduled facility turn-around and evaluation of current air/fuel ratios can reduce the incomplete combustion from the flare.
Figure 2. Qube information showing emissions localized to the flare tank shortly after PCV actuation