Jason Vosburgh

The Pipeline Pigging and Integrity Management (PPIM) Conference will be held in Houston, TX from February 6^th – 10^th, 2023.

Onboard Dynamics has been chosen as one of the companies to provide a white paper and presentation at the 2023 PPIM conference. The white paper, titled “Innovative Pipeline Evacuation Technology for Reducing Methane Releases to the Environment During Pipeline Maintenance and Pigging Operations”, will be presented at 2:30 pm on Wednesday, February 8^th, 2023, at the Hilton Americas in Houston.

Jeff Witwer, PhD, PE, will be giving the presentation overview of the paper. He is a technical advisor as well as one of the co-founders of Onboard Dynamics. The presentation, as well as the white paper, will provide an overview of technologies and operating practices that can be implemented to reduce methane releases during pigging operations. It will share technological features that are most important in determining project success including natural gas capture time, system set up time, the need for additional equipment and fuel supply, and consideration of equipment physical size. It will go over how these factors all impact the time and cost to capture natural gas. Also discussed is the importance of collecting and securing data to meet regulatory and auditing requirements.

Onboard Dynamics Exhibiting at the PPIM

In addition, Onboard Dynamics will have exhibit booth #546 located at George R. Brown Convention Center next to the Hilton. At the booth, visitors can learn about the GoVAC® FLEX system. It is a revolutionary tool for minimizing methane releases during pipeline blowdowns and is powered by a small portion of the gas being recovered, so no external power is required. It is compact to easily facilitate transport and positioning at job sites; Remote monitoring ensures reliable operation and responsive service. State-of-the-art telemetry provides accurate and detailed environmental reporting. 

About the PPIM conference

In parallel with the demands for greater pipeline safety, reliability, and efficiency – and the explosive growth in the market for technologies to help meet those demands – PPIM has evolved to become the industry’s primary forum for reporting new developments and field experience, and for showcasing the relevant tools and systems for pipeline inspection, assessment, and repair, as well as regulatory compliance and Integrity Management Programs. It is the place where the needs of pipeline operators and the capabilities of service and equipment suppliers intersect.

Onboard Dynamics has been selected to produce a final paper and presentation for the 2023 Pipeline Pigging and Integrity Management (PPIM) Conference. The conference will be held in Houston, Texas from February 6^th – 10^th, 2023.

Titled “Self-contained Compressor Technology Platform That Eliminates the Need for Venting and Flaring During Pipeline Maintenance and Pigging Operations”, the presentation will present solutions on how to address the challenges for pipeline operators in keeping our natural gas pipeline infrastructure well maintained while mitigating methane emissions. This presentation will show how field pipeline operators can efficiently evacuate natural gas from pipelines with a much lower carbon footprint that helps to reduce the environmental impact and makes the process safe, efficient, and more reliable. It will also share new advanced methods for accurately monitoring and reporting on the captured and recovered methane that will help companies stay in compliance with future, aggressive regulations. 

Reliable, safe, and clean solutions to capture and recover methane from natural gas pipelines are a current focus at a time when US and global policies are addressing efforts to limit methane emissions across the entire oil and gas ecosystem. Companies will be required to move away from direct venting and flaring practices to ensure that no natural gas is intentionally released to the atmosphere during natural gas pipeline evacuations associated with the numerous pipeline maintenance, repair, and inspection operations. The need for effective and sustainable solutions that can be deployed quickly and easily with a clean environmental profile is becoming more in demand. Other challenges exist such as public scrutiny, equipment capacity and availability, automated monitoring, and accurate reporting to validate and verify the amount of methane that was captured and recovered for regulatory compliance purposes. Environmental auditing policies that are aimed at precise measurement and reporting of emissions data will only get stricter for technologies used in minimizing methane releases.

Onboard Dynamics has produced and developed innovative technology products for simplifying the capture, compression, transfer, and use of natural gas during pipeline operations.

On October 20th, 2022, Onboard Dynamics will be giving a live webinar hosted by the Northwest Gas Association.

Alan Hansen, Director of Operations for Onboard Dynamics will be giving the presentation and providing questions about the unique, patented, natural gas compression technology for driving down emissions. He will be presenting ways for operators and service providers to reduce their GHG footprint, and what practical technologies are available to achieve the cleanest way possible to evacuate pipelines.

For our society to prosper and thrive while also meeting our environmental goals, there needs to be reframing and rethinking about how we talk about our natural gas ecosystem. We need to help the public better understand the many benefits of natural gas and its supporting infrastructure, while also living with the risks from all forms of energy and associated infrastructure. So how can natural gas play its important role in achieving our net-zero energy system?  A key step in achieving this goal is to be certain that no natural gas is released to the atmosphere during natural gas pipeline evacuation associated with routine maintenance and unexpected repairs.

Heather Smercina, Director of Business Development for Onboard Dynamics, will be sharing the latest solutions to capture and recover methane while providing accurate environmental reporting in a time when growing regulatory pressure will be adding fees on methane emissions and tracking mitigation activities of natural gas utilities.

The presentation titled “How to Remove Barriers and Reporting Challenges During Pipeline Evacuation in the Field” will be at 8:50 am CST on Oct. 12th at the American Public Gas Association Fall Operations Conference in Savannah, GA.

In this presentation, Heather will present solutions on how to address the challenges for pipeline operators in keeping our natural gas pipeline infrastructure well maintained while mitigating methane emissions. This presentation will show how field pipeline operators can efficiently evacuate natural gas from pipelines with a much lower carbon footprint that helps to reduce the environmental impact and makes the process safe, efficient, and more reliable. She will also share new advanced methods for accurately monitoring and reporting on the captured and recovered methane that will help companies stay in compliance with future, aggressive regulations.

The 2022 APGA Operations Conference features speakers and panels of experts on topics such as pipeline safety regulations, PHMSA’s Natural Gas Distribution Infrastructure Safety and Modernization Grant Program, methane emission mitigation strategies, case studies from community-owned utilities, and will also include an exhibitor hall of the latest in products and services for natural gas distribution operations.

Onboard Dynamics’ CEO, Rita Hansen has been selected as a finalist for the ALLY 2022 GRIT Entrepreneur Awards. The GRIT Awards goes to modern-day trendsetters who have stepped out of their comfort zone with resilience and strength to bring something new to the industry.

Rita was selected as an innovator in the industry because she embodies the founding principle of the company which has been to develop products that provide environmental benefits to their customers compared to currently established products and accepted practices in the marketplace. This has been a guiding principle due to her core values and all subsequent hires and contractors engaged by the company. The company’s patented compression-based technology innovations for methane capture and recovery help to remove the barriers and reporting challenges that face natural gas operators during pipeline blowdowns. By listening to the voice of their customers, the company was pointed towards the problems that they were facing during pipeline evacuations. Customer discovery work and understanding customer issues are core to being a modern-day maverick and innovator in this industry. Empathy, compassion, respect, and tenacity are all key to innovation and Rita exemplifies these characteristics in her own values.

About the GRIT Awards

ALLY Energy is on a mission to find the difference-makers who are making an impact on energy, sustainability, and climate.  We honor the energy industry’s brightest and grittiest talent who contribute to their companies, the energy industry, and their communities.  Our awards program recognizes individuals, students, and for-profit and nonprofit organizations that have demonstrated (GRIT) growth, resilience, innovation, and talent with a focus on driving a (JEDI)  just, equitable, diverse, and inclusive culture.  Best Energy Workplaces℠ give recognition to outstanding energy and climate technology employers.

Qualifications

The nominee must be in energy, climate, and/or sustainability.   The individual may be in a corporate role, an entrepreneur, a student, or someone unemployed and accomplishing specific things that embody GRIT (growth, resilience, innovation/new ways of working, inclusion, and talent).