Glossary

To support the industry and stakeholders in the use of consistent terminology, Ipieca, IOGP, GIE and MARCOGAZ prepared this methane emissions glossary covering the whole natural gas value chain.

Intended for policymakers and regulators working on methane regulation in Europe, this glossary will be updated to reflect new legislation and technologies.

Download the Methane Emissions Glossary

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There are currently 3 names in this directory beginning with the letter A.
A
Acoustic leak detection (for through valve leakage)
Acoustic leak detectors capture the acoustic signal of pressurized gas escaping from a valve plug or gate that is not tightly sealed. They can detect either low or high frequency audio signals and are useful for detecting internal through valve leaks or ultrasonic signals from blowdown valves and pressure relief valves.
Activity Factor (AF)
A numerical value describing the size of the population of emitting devices such as length of pipelines, number of valves (per type), number of pneumatic devices (per type), or the frequency of emitting events such as number of operating vents. [12] (Note – This is not an exhaustive list, the Activity Factor is linked to the Emission Factor and expressed by a numerical value consistent with the Emission Factor.)
Asset
Part of the gas system owned by a natural gas company, comprising multiple devices that allows the company to produce, process, transport, store, and/or distribute gas.

References

[1] Directive 2009/73/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 July 2009

[2] EN-12186 – Gas infrastructure – Gas pressure regulating stations for transmission and distribution – Functional requirements

[3] EN-12327 – Gas infrastructure – Pressure testing, commissioning and decommissioning procedures – Functional requirements

[4] EN-12583 – Gas Infrastructure – Compressor stations – Functional requirements

[5] EN-15446 – Fugitive and diffuse emissions of common concern to industry sectors – Measurement of fugitive emission of vapours generating equipment and piping leaks

[6] GIE & MARCOGAZ Report “Potential ways the gas industry can contribute to the reduction of methane emissions” https://www.gie.eu/index.php/gie-publications/methane-emissions/methaneemission-report-2019/27786-gie-marcogaz-report-for-the-madrid-forum-potentialway-gas-industry-can-contribute-to-the-reduction-of-methane-emissions/file

[7] IPIECA/API/IOGP (2020). Oil and gas industry guidance on voluntary sustainability reporting https://www.ipieca.org/media/5105/ipieca_sustainability-guide_2020_glossary.pdf

[8] IPIECA Methane Glossary http://www.ipieca.org/resources/awareness-briefing/methane-glossary/

[9] ISO 14532 – Natural gas — Vocabulary

[10] JCGM-100 – Evaluation of measurement data – Guide to the expression of uncertainty in measurement. s.l.: Committee for Guides in Metrology (JCGM/WG 1), 2008

[11] MARCOGAZ – Assessment of methane emissions for gas Transmission and Distribution system operators, 2019 https://www.marcogaz.org/app/download/8161672063/WG_ME-485- Assessment+of+methane+emissions+for+gas+Transmission+and+Distribution+system+ operator.pdf?t=1602849054

[12] MARCOGAZ – Guidance for using the MARCOGAZ methane emissions reporting template – DSO, TSO, LNG receiving terminals and UGS https://www.marcogaz.org/app/download/8271109963/WG_ME710.pdf?t=1606988780

[13] MGP Reducing methane emissions: Equipment leaks https://methaneguidingprinciples.org/best-practice-guides/equipment-leaks/

[14] MGP Reducing methane emissions: Identification, detection, measurement and quantification https://methaneguidingprinciples.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/ReducingMethane-Emissions_Identification-Detection-Measurement-andQuantification_Guide.pdf

[15] MGP Reducing methane emissions: Transmission, storage, LNG terminals and distribution https://methaneguidingprinciples.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/ReducingMethane-Emissions-transmission-storage-LNG-terminals-and-distribution-Guide.pdf

[16] Oil and Gas Methane Partnership Technical Guidance Documents https://ccacoalition.org/en/content/oil-and-gas-methane-partnership-technicalguidance-documents

[17] Regulation (EC) No 715/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 July 2009

[18] US EPA – ‘Method 21: Determination of volatile organic compound leaks’