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

All | # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
There are currently 6 names in this directory beginning with the letter I.
I
Identification
Listing and compiling all emission sources from a system based on known, designed emission sources, and surveying for unintended or undesired emissions. (This is also synonymous with ‘detection’ in some circumstances.) [14]
(Note – This information will be part of the inventory)
Incident
Unexpected occurrence, which could lead to an emergency situation. [4]
Incident emission
Methane emissions from an incident/event. [12]
Incomplete combustion emissions
Unburned methane in the exhaust gases from natural gas combustion devices, such as turbines, engines, boilers or flares. [12]
(Note – Sometimes incomplete combustion is also called methane slip)
Infrared (IR) camera
Optical device (camera) equipped with infrared sensors for detecting gases that have infrared absorption bands within the band-pass filter installed in the device. Includes Optical Gas Imaging (OGI) and forward-looking IR cameras. (Note - Hydrocarbon emissions absorb infrared (IR) light at a certain wavelength and an IR camera uses this characteristic to detect the presence of hydrocarbon gas emissions from equipment at an oil and gas facility. The IR camera operator scans the leak area in real time (user selectable for cold/hot temperature environments). This scanned area is viewed as a live, image such that the gas plumes are visible on the camera display due to their absorption of the IR light. IR camera is also an optical gas imaging (OGI) technology.)
Inventory
A record of all known sources of emissions and emission rates. An inventory provides a summary of emissions over a given period of time. [14]
(Note – Inventory includes information gathered during the identification, detection, measurement, quantification and repairs of methane emissions).

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’