Continuous Methane Monitoring

EDG’s continuous methane monitoring solution leverages our cellular IoT gateways and cloud technologies to simplify monitoring for upstream and midstream oil and gas companies.

Install a single Methane Monitoring Unit (MMU) to monitor a local array of fixed point gas detectors which transmit data to the MMU using the WirelessHART® communication standard. Any number of MMUs can be monitored through the EDG Client Portal dashboard regardless of their location. From the Client Portal, monitor methane leaks in real time and setup configurable alarm thresholds to send SMS and email alerts.

The MMU is powered by an internal Lithium Ion battery pack, which sources charge from a solar panel to power the cellular IoT gateway and an internal WirelessHART receiver. The fixed point gas detectors are battery powered, resulting in a cable-free solution ideal for greenfield and brownfield drill sites.

How It Works

Setup your fixed point gas detectors at leak-prone locations across a drill site, and use trusted software to enter location data for each detector and the MMU.

Activating continuous methane monitoring is as simple as flipping a switch on each MMU. With the switch in the on position, the internal cellular IoT gateway and WirelessHART receiver will power up. The cellular IoT gateway will lock to the strongest available network connection, and sensor data from the fixed point sensors and anemometer will begin to transmit to the Client Portal at user-defined intervals.

Historical Data at your Fingertips

Monitor any number of MMUs spanning multiple drill sites from the EDG Client Portal. Grant team members and stakeholders access to your dashboard where they can view methane leak and concentration data. Limit user access on a per-site or per-unit basis.

Upon transmission, data is immediately available via the Client Portal’s visualization dashboard. It can also be export data to a CSV file, or accessed with your own software using EDG’s API.

Regardless of how you access your data, EDG’s services include data retention, which means you will always have access to your raw unmodified data.

Quantifying Leak Size and Concentration

Use the Client Portal’s dashboard to monitor wind direction and wind speed at the MMU over time, and track methane plumes back to the coordinates of individual fixed point gas detectors. This data allows us to quantify the size, concentration, and location of a leak.

Why is continuous methane monitoring important?

Historically, upstream and midstream gas companies used handheld Optical Gas Imaging (OGI) devices to measure methane on a site every few months.

Manually operated OGI devices are prone to directional inconsistencies, and require that a technician is available to operate the handheld. Results obtained by OGIs are skewed by anything within the OGI’s line-of-sight, such as rain or fog, and even particulates in wildfire smoke. Above all, OGI handhelds do not provide a real-time snapshot of methane leaks, making it cumbersome and time-consuming to pin-point leaks to a source.

By monitoring leaks on a regular basis, you can find out about leaks the moment they happen, and address them before the grow. Results from EDG’s solution are obtained without requiring a technician onsite, and eliminate inconsistencies due to operator error and line-of-sight obstacles.

Unlike OGI sensors, a remotely accessible network of fixed point gas sensors can be used to perform continuous methane monitoring, before, during, and after repairing a leak.

Responsibly Sourced Gas

Source gas responsibly with EDG’s continuous methane monitoring solution. Reap the benefits of:

  • Reduced methane emissions

  • Public safety

  • Operator safety

With continuous methane monitoring, you’ll be assured that your drill sites are safe for your workers and also safe for the public. You’ll be alerted to leaks in real time, giving you the ability to respond before they grow into a problem. By responding to leaks and continuing to monitor them after repair, you’ll have confidence in your reduced methane emissions as you supply the world with responsibly sourced gas.

Product Features

  • Locate and quantify methane plumes through the EDG Client Portal application

    • Monitor any group of systems around the globe

    • Data retention with full access to raw sensor data

    • Assign systems to meaningful group names

    • SMS and email alerts with configurable alarm thresholds

    • Export data to a CSV file or generate an EDG certified report with the click of a button

    • Share up to date information with stakeholders to demonstrate you are meeting safety and emissions requirements

  • Cable-free design

    • EDG’s MMU powered by Li-Ion battery pack which sources charge from a solar panel

    • 5 year battery life for fixed point gas detectors

  • Cellular connectivity

    • Global cellular connectivity using multiple Tier 1 networks

    • LTE Cat M1 (LTE-M), EGPRS

    • Network connections are established automatically using an onboard SIM

    • Available Networks in North America

  • 1 year subscription to EDG Client Portal

    • Assign meaningful names to individual devices

    • Organize devices into groups for selective monitoring

    • Historical access to data

    • Export data to CSV to quickly monitor trends, make predictions, and take action

    • Lifetime security updates without user intervention

  • Rugged Polycarbonate Enclosure for Indoor or Outdoor Use

    • 12” x 10” x 6” (H x W x D)

    • NEMA Type 4X (IP66): Constructed for indoor or outdoor use with a dust-tight, water-tight seal to protect against windblown dust and rain, splashing water, hose-directed water, and damage from external ice formation

    • Hinged door with two stainless steel locking latches

  • Designed and Manufactured in the USA



Looking for methane data aggregation?

Connect your leak monitoring solutions to the EDG Client Portal:

  • Reap the benefits of secure IoT data retention without building the infrastructure from the bottom-up

  • Read, calibrate, and command fleets of devices

  • Make IoT data available to customers, team members, and partners

  • Unify how developers access device data – regardless of manufacturer – without diving into low-level embedded code.


Why Engineering Design Group?

EDG's devices and services provide a short time-to-market opportunity for teams who need a secure, scalable, and robust solution for distributed sensor monitoring.

  • Lifetime security updates are deployed automatically to EDG systems with no user intervention and no application interruptions.

  • Scalable: Monitor any number of EDG systems using the EDG Client Portal web application. Adding another system to the Client Portal dashboard is as easy is as applying power to the system from the field.

  • Robust: EDG's technologies are designed and manufactured in the USA.

Our complete field-to-cloud solution eliminates the steep barrier of designing a secure, scalable, and robust IoT solution from the bottom-up. Our hardware works directly with our Client Portal to allow our customers to focus on growing their businesses while EDG handles the heavy lifting.