Onboard Dynamics

Unique, Patented Natural Gas Compression Technology for Driving Down Emissions

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Matt Sievert to Present at the 2024 Western Regional Gas Conference

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Matt Sievert of Onboard Dynamics to Present at the 2024 Western Regional Gas Conference

Title: The Critical Role of Accurate Reporting in Mitigating Methane Emissions

Presented by Matt Sievert, Director of Business Development
Date: Wednesday, August 21st
Time: 1:30 to 2:15 pm
Location: Western Regional Gas Conference (WRGC) in Tempe, AZ

At the upcoming Western Regional Gas Conference (WRGC) in Tempe, Arizona, industry experts will gather to discuss the critical role of accurate reporting in mitigating methane emissions in natural gas pipeline operations. Matt Sievert, Director of Business Development, will shed light on the importance of precise measurement and reporting in the context of environmental sustainability and regulatory compliance.

The Imperative for Methane Emission Reduction

The pressure on natural gas pipeline owners and operators to reduce methane emissions has never been greater. With heightened public scrutiny, evolving regulations, and a growing focus on Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) goals, organizations are compelled to adopt measures that minimize methane releases into the atmosphere. This imperative has led to the adoption of various technologies aimed at capturing and recovering natural gas to reduce emissions during pipeline operations.

The Challenge of Accurate Reporting

While technologies for gas capture and recovery exist, not all solutions offer the capability to electronically track and measure these activities like the GoVAC® Pipeline Evacuation System. Accurate measurement and reporting of such activities are crucial for demonstrating compliance with regulations, meeting ESG goals, and potentially accessing economic benefits in the carbon credit marketplace.

The Role of Electronic Data Capture

Systems that electronically capture emissions data play a pivotal role in ensuring precise measurement and reporting. By eliminating manual processes prone to errors, these systems provide operators with verified project results and streamlined environmental reporting capabilities. The ability to receive third-party certification further enhances the credibility of environmental initiatives and facilitates compliance with regulatory requirements.

Securing Data Integrity

As companies navigate increasing public scrutiny and regulatory oversight, the need for secure data reporting becomes paramount. Control systems that communicate securely with the cloud enable remote monitoring and enhance data integrity. Verification and third-party certification processes help safeguard against unauthorized changes to emissions data, ensuring its accuracy, tamper-proof nature, and security.

Looking Ahead: Leveraging Technology for Environmental Accountability

In a landscape marked by growing environmental awareness and sustainability imperatives, the adoption of methane reduction tools with robust reporting features is essential. These tools not only help in documenting efforts to prevent methane emissions but also have the potential to generate tradable carbon credits in the carbon credit marketplace.

About the Presentation

Matt Sievert’s presentation at the WRGC promises to delve deeper into the critical role of accurate reporting in mitigating methane emissions. By exploring the intersection of technology, environmental accountability, and regulatory compliance, attendees will gain valuable insights into the future of sustainable natural gas pipeline operations.

As the industry continues to evolve, embracing technologies that ensure accurate reporting and data integrity will be key to advancing environmental stewardship and meeting the challenges of a rapidly changing regulatory landscape. Join us at the conference to be part of this important conversation and drive positive change in methane emission mitigation efforts.

Project Spotlight: Four GoVAC® FLEX Systems Used in a Single Project for Evacuation in British Columbia

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The GoVAC FLEX System in Canada

Overview:

A major utility company (the “Company”), servicing over a million customers across multiple communities in British Columbia (B.C.), is dedicated to mitigating greenhouse gas emissions through investments in low-carbon energy solutions. Grounded in core values of safety, customer care, collaboration, respect, and progress, the Company is committed to achieving net-zero emissions by 2030.

This utility highlights their sustainability pillars as the foundation for their future, emphasizing environmental responsibility in all aspects of project planning and execution, including routine blowdown or pipeline evacuation operations.

The Challenge:

Given the Company’s extensive pipeline network and their sustainability goals and zero-release methane policy, a flexible solution capable of meeting the demands of both high-volume evacuation projects and smaller projects located in residential areas was required.

The Solution:

Onboard Dynamics’ GoVAC® FLEX System emerged as the top choice for this customer because of its versatility. In particular, the ability to employ a single unit for smaller projects as well as the option to aggregate multiple units for larger scale projects was advantageous. As a result, the Company opted to lease four (4) systems to meet their project requirements.

In addition to supplying the GoVAC® FLEX systems, Onboard Dynamics also provided user training which enabled the Company to operate the systems safely and efficiently with continual oversight. This expedited deployment and enabled better project planning for the Company.

Four GoVAC® FLEX Systems Project Scope:

Four GoVAC® FLEX systems drawing down a 20″ pipeline.

The project scope consisted of decommissioning a distribution line located beneath a freeway. This line encompassed pipes of various diameters ranging from 8 inches to 20 inches. The Company wanted to standardize the diameters of their pipelines which motivated the decommissioning of these segments to facilitate replacement with a uniform diameter. This strategic initiative aimed to enhance operational efficiency and bolster reliability for the Company’s customers, ensuring consistent service delivery across their pipeline network.


Given the challenging location of the project, the evacuation system chosen needed to be nimble enough so that it could be maneuvered into place yet efficient enough to cross-compress larger volumes of gas.

Onboard Dynamics deployed four GoVAC® FLEX systems in a single project.


For this specific project, four GoVAC® FLEX systems working in tandem successfully evacuated 1,174,482 standard cubic feet (scf) of natural gas over a 16,733 ft long section. To achieve this, the units consumed 60,177 scf of natural gas as fuel. Despite this fuel consumption, the emissions generated by the system amounted to 7,221 pounds of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e). Considering the emissions generated by running the system, net emission reductions from capturing the natural gas with the GoVAC® FLEX System were greater than 99%. This demonstrates the efficiency of the GoVAC® FLEX System in evacuating natural gas while keeping its environmental impact relatively low as compared to common practices of venting or flaring gas from the pipe.

“I just want to say I am very impressed with your whole team with the support since delivery…”

The Company’s operations team underwent comprehensive hands-on training in preparation for operating the four GoVAC® FLEX systems. This training regimen comprised a full day of classroom instruction followed by a full day of field training. The team was divided into five groups of two individuals each, allowing for focused practice sessions encompassing system setup, operation, and “live” pipeline evacuation scenarios. Emphasizing practical, real-world applications, the training aimed to equip the team with the skills and confidence needed to effectively utilize the GoVAC® FLEX System in operational environments.


Environmental impact reports summarizing the project enabled the Company to measure their environmental initiatives. The environmental impact reporting features gave the Company accurate project results that they can use to measure their internal ESG goals as well as having accurate documented proof of their methane mitigation activities.

Environmental Impact Report:

  • Total Natural Gas Evacuated
    • 1,174,482 scf.
  • The Fuel Consumption by the GoVAC® System
    • 60,177 scf.
    • ~5% of the natural gas captured.
  • The GoVAC® System Emissions from the Project
    • 7,221.26 lbs. of CO2e
    • Approximately 5% of the total gas captured.
  • Total Evacuation Time
    • This is the total time that gas is moving through the system.
    • In this case, this value is the sum of the time dispersed across all four units.

Furthermore, remote monitoring supported by Onboard Dynamics’ leading telemetry and SCADA system provided the Company additional assurance on the status of the project in real-time.  In summary, this project not only showcased the efficiency of the GoVAC® FLEX systems but also underscored Onboard Dynamics’ dedication to its customers, prioritizing a client-centric approach to training and support throughout the entirety of the project.

By leveraging its innovative technologies and strategic collaborations, Onboard Dynamics continues to set new benchmarks for our customers in pipeline evacuations, Advancing Cleaner Energy For Our Environment.

Onboard Dynamics and ROSKA Expand the GoVAC® System into Western Canada

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Onboard Dynamics and ROSKA Expand the GoVAC® System into Western Canada

[Bend, OR] – June 12, 2024
Onboard Dynamics LLC (Onboard Dynamics), in collaboration with ROSKA DBO (ROSKA), is poised to expand the adoption of the GoVAC® Pipeline Evacuation System across the western and northern regions of Canada. The GoVAC® System, supplied by Onboard Dynamics, is designed to capture, recover, and measure natural gas during pipeline evacuations which serves as a crucial solution in mitigating methane emissions into the atmosphere. Together, the companies will support the decarbonization of the Canadian natural gas industry.

This partnership allows Canadian pipeline operators in the western and northern provinces to benefit from ROSKA’s greater than 25 years of service to the industry. 

The innovative technology provided by Onboard Dynamics, combined with this seasoned range of services and capabilities, further strengthens ROSKA’s position as the leading service provider in the region.

“We are proud to announce our partnership with ROSKA and our joint efforts to introduce the GoVAC® Pipeline Evacuation System across Western Canada,” said Rita Hansen, CEO, Onboard Dynamics. “Through this collaboration, we are demonstrating our dedication to fostering a more sustainable future for the Canadian natural gas industry.”

“This exciting partnership with Onboard Dynamics expands our pulldown offering into the low HP evacuation and recompression market, with a quality product for customers looking to conserve gas and reduce emissions,” said Clayton Roska, President, ROSKA DBO. “The addition of the GOVAC® System fills a gap in our gas conservation compression fleet, with Roska service and the GoVAC System, low volume gas conservation becomes easy for our customers. “  

About Onboard Dynamics LLC
Founded in 2013, the goal of Onboard Dynamics is to support the natural gas ecosystem in reducing global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions safely and reliably through our innovative and practical commercial solutions. Our patented compression-based systems minimize methane and other GHG releases during pipeline operations and maintenance, mitigate GHG emissions from transportation vehicles, and capture methane that would otherwise be released to the atmosphere from other industrial operations. Our customers receive expanded environmental benefits and reduction in costs through purchasing, leasing, and/or receiving turn-key services from our natural gas-powered products. For more information, visit www.onboarddynamics.com  or follow Onboard Dynamics on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/onboard-dynamics-llc/

About ROSKA DBO
Roska is a customer-focused operations company with 29-year track record offering solutions that include both Operations People and Process Equipment. One of these “solutions” is   “Pipeline Pulldowns” ,  in the last 10 years Roska has conserved more than 2.8 BCF of gas using high HP gas compression to pulldown transmission lines for our customers.

We work to build strong relationships by following our core values and work hard to align ourselves with our customers’ interests. Roska’s unique combination of operations capabilities and services forms a business model that is unique within the Canadian energy services sector.

We are Operations People with Process Equipment Technically backed and Ready to Go, including Production Testing that meets facility standards.

Alternative Technologies to Venting and Flaring During Pipeline Blowdowns

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Onboard Dynamics CEO, Rita Hansen, Presenting at GPA Midstream
Environmental Forum, Tuesday, Sept. 19th, 1:30 PM – 5:00 PM

Rita Hansen, CEO, Onboard Dynamics has been selected to give a presentation about alternative technologies to venting and flaring during pipeline blowdowns at the 2023 GPA Midstream Convention. The convention will be held in San Antonio, TX. From September 17th to 20th, 2023 and is an opportunity for people of all levels to come together and exchange ideas and network.  

The presentation will provide an overview of technologies and operating practices that can be implemented to safely prevent methane releases during all pipeline blowdowns, highlighting the features of technology that are most important in determining project success. The product features that will be discussed include safety, gas capture time, system set up time, and consideration of equipment physical size and how these factors all impact total time and cost.

An alternative technology to venting or flaring natural gas to be discussed will be Onboard Dynamics’ GoVAC® pipeline evacuation system. This innovative system simplifies the capture and recovery of natural gas during pipeline blowdowns. It addresses the challenges that pipeline operators face in keeping the natural gas pipeline infrastructure well-maintained while preventing methane emissions. This is especially important in a time when growing regulatory pressure will be limiting the amount of methane emissions allowed.

One of the most notable benefits of the GoVAC® technology is the environmental report generated from the instrumentation and controls designed into the products. This provides automated data capture and ensures safe and tamper-proof transmission, storage, and secure access. Accurate and validated environmental and operational reporting on key metrics are available to the operators both on site and remote.

Ms. Hansen will also provide insight into the value of having asset-grade data to generate certifiable results. The ability to provide digitized, validated evacuation reports enables companies to fulfill current and future regulations and environmental initiatives. Due to increasing regulatory oversight, it will be essential that every effort to mitigate methane release be fully documented with a trail of secure data that can be audited. Without such validation and tracking, the best mitigation efforts could become an expense without commensurate payback.

About Onboard Dynamics

The goal of Onboard Dynamics is to support the natural gas ecosystem in reducing global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions safely and reliably through our innovative and practical commercial solutions. Our patented compression-based systems minimize methane and other GHG releases during pipeline operations and maintenance, mitigate GHG emissions from transportation vehicles, and capture methane that would otherwise be released to the atmosphere from other industrial operations.

Our GoVAC® pipeline evacuation systems incorporate state-of-the-art instrumentation including flow meters that measure volume of gas recovered. The control system communicates to the cloud enabling remote monitoring and real-time data collection. This technology produces detailed, auditable reports of gas recovered from every project to ensure meeting strict environmental standards. Our products have performed numerous evacuation projects during all seasons throughout the United States.

Our customers receive expanded environmental benefits and reduction in costs through purchasing, leasing, and/or receiving turn-key services from our natural gas-powered products.

About GPA Midstream

GPA Midstream was established in 1921 The GPA Midstream gas conference is in San Antonio, TX. This conference allows companies and people working Midstream in the gas industry to come together and exchange ideas and network. This convention touches all professional levels, from entry-level engineers to technical experts and CEOs. Attendees come from operating and supplier companies. The GPA Midstream draws a high number of repeat attendees because the conference covers the latest information in research and development, safe operations, environmental performance, legislative and regulatory issues, and other key industry issues, year after year. Making the conference an important date for companies within the natural gas industry.

Onboard Dynamics at the Western Regional Gas Conference

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Onboard Dynamics is going to be exhibiting at the Western Regional gas Conference. The Conference takes place in Scottsdale Arizona on August 22nd– 23rd.

Come See Our Table

Visitors and potential clients will be able to ask questions about our products and receive detailed information about how our technology and solutions can help reduce their company emissions and achieve ESG goals.

About Our Products

Our GoVAC® line of products is an alternative to venting or flaring natural gas from pipelines. Our core technology can draw down a pipeline to near 0 psig using the natural gas already in the pipeline as its source of power. The gas recovered from the pipeline can then be transferred into an adjoining pipeline or compressed up to 3600 PSIG and put into a tube trailer for transport and reinjection elsewhere or into a storage tank to be used as CNG fuel for vehicles. The GoVAC® system requires no external power making it easy to use in remote areas. Its compact size and footprint facilitate flexibility in transportation and positioning at job sites, which is perfect for residential and challenging locations.

Each GoVAC FLEX ® unit is fully equipped with state-of-the-art telemetry and instrumentation including temperature and pressure sensors, electronic valves, and flow meters that measure how much natural gas is being captured and recovered. The control system communicates up to the cloud which enables remote system monitoring and near real time data collection capabilities.  Our telemetry, instrumentation, and control system come together to provide environmental reports that contain asset grade data ensuring traceability, transparency, and compliance at scale.

The ability to have digitized reports available is a huge benefit to the pipeline operator and any associated auditing agency. Accurate and secure data reporting will become ever more important as companies seek to fulfill current and future regulations and environmental initiatives.

About the Western Regional Gas Conference

The Western Regional Gas Conference is a non-profit organization that covers Integrity management, O&M topics, and new technology for the natural gas industry. There are conferences, seminars, and numerous vendor exhibits. The WRGC aims to provide a venue for discussion of natural gas distribution and transmission topics, regulations, and issues. It provides a relaxed environment for information exchange and networking between delegates, speakers, and vendors. The venue also hosts senior PHMSA members and State Regulators, allowing operators to interact with regulatory authorities.

About Onboard Dynamics

The goal of Onboard Dynamics is to support the natural gas ecosystem in reducing global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions safely and reliably through our innovative and practical commercial solutions. Our patented compression-based systems minimize methane and other GHG releases during pipeline operations and maintenance, mitigate GHG emissions from transportation vehicles, and capture methane that would otherwise be released to the atmosphere from other industrial operations.

Our GoVAC® pipeline evacuation systems incorporate state-of-the-art instrumentation including flow meters that measure volume of gas recovered. The control system communicates to the cloud enabling remote monitoring and real-time data collection. This technology produces detailed, auditable reports of gas recovered from every project to ensure meeting strict environmental standards. Our products have performed numerous evacuation projects during all seasons throughout the United States.

Our customers receive expanded environmental benefits and reduction in costs through purchasing, leasing, and/or receiving turn-key services from our natural gas-powered products.

Onboard Dynamics Exhibiting at the 2023 MEA Gas Operations Technical & Leadership Summit

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The MEA Gas operations Technical & Leadership Summit that takes place on August 16th in Cincinnati, Ohio has offered the best gas-operations training since 1923. This annual event is attended by employees at all levels of the natural gas industry. Onboard Dynamics staff will be exhibiting at booth #506 sharing information about our GoVAC® system.  

About Our GoVAC® technology

The GoVAC® FLEX system

Our GoVAC® technology is an alternative to venting or flaring natural gas from pipelines. Our core technology can draw down a pipeline to near 0 PSIG using the natural gas in the pipeline as its source of power. The recovered gas can then be transferred into an adjoining pipeline or compressed up to 3600 PSIG and put into a tube trailer for transport and reinjection elsewhere or into a storage tank to be used as CNG fuel for vehicles. Since the GoVAC® system is powered by a small portion of the natural gas being recovered, no external power is required making it easy to use in remote areas. Its compact size facilitates flexibility in transport and positioning at job sites, which is perfect for residential and challenging locations.

An operator inspects a GoVAC® FLEX unit on site.

Our automated system is fully equipped with state-of-the-art telemetry and instrumentation including temperature and pressure sensors, electronic valves, and flow meters that measure how much natural gas is being captured and recovered. The control system communicates up to the cloud which enables remote system monitoring and near real-time data collection capabilities.

Our GoVAC® system provides environmental reports that contain asset-grade data ensuring traceability, transparency, and compliance at scale.

This ability is a huge benefit to not only the pipeline operator, but to any associated auditing agency. Accurate and secure data reporting will become ever more important as companies seek to fulfill current and future regulations and environmental initiatives.

Stop by Booth #506

Visitors to our exhibit will be able to ask questions about our technology and receive in-depth information about how our products and solutions can help them meet their company ESG goals.

About The 2023 MEA Gas Operations Technical & Leadership Summit

The MEA is celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Gas Operations & Leadership Summit. The event takes place in Cincinnati, OH and is attended by people of all backgrounds and levels within gas operations. The summit is going to have 2 keynote presentations and more than 600 utilities, contractors, and vendor partners present. Within the summit there are numerous breakout rooms for technical and hands on learning sessions.

About MEA Energy Association

The MEA is a trade association that serves the people that deliver electricity and natural gas to homes and businesses. The association was founded 115 years ago by distribution utilities whose vision was to improve safety and efficiency. Today, the MEA fulfills the same purpose through education, leadership development, and industry connections. The MEA provides numerous benefits to companies in the energy industry through mediating numerous summits, roundtables, webinars, online courses, and much more. This allows industry to adopt safer and more efficient practices.