SoCalGas announces methane capture initiative collected, reused 1.2 MMcf of natgas

LOS ANGELES — Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) announced the company achieved a milestone in its methane capture initiative, passing the 1 MMcf mark. This innovative process allows for gas that would otherwise be vented to the atmosphere during pipeline replacement work to be saved and reinjected into its pipeline system for later use.

Since SoCalGas began capturing methane during pipeline replacement projects in August 2016, the company has captured approximately 1.2 MMcf of natural gas—the equivalent to about what 6,200 homes use each day on average in the US. 

When crews perform work on a pipeline, natural gas inside the pipe must be purged for safety.  By capturing this natural gas, SoCalGas is reducing emissions.  SoCalGas compressed most of this captured gas and then pumped it into large tanks to be put back into SoCalGas' system and used by customers.

On Aug. 16, SoCalGas crews completed 11 hr of methane capture work near the Sepulveda Dam in Los Angeles.  This project captured about 260,500 cf of natural gas from a transmission pipeline that was removed from service as part of a pipeline replacement initiative and pushed SoCalGas over the 1 MMcf benchmark.  Once the captured gas was cooled, it was injected back into the SoCalGas pipeline system.

The methane capture technique is being used as part of SoCalGas' Pipeline Safety Enhancement Plan (PSEP), a multi-billion-dollar program that identifies various high pressure pipeline sections throughout SoCalGas' system and schedules them to be pressure-tested or replaced. PSEP also includes provisions to upgrade, replace or retrofit hundreds of mainline valves in the system with technology that allows them to be opened or closed remotely by system operators from a central control location, or that automatically shuts off the flow of natural gas in the event of a large drop in pressure.

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