Mountain View, Calif.-based Kairos Aerospace has completed aerial scans for fugitive methane emissions in the New Mexico portion of the Permian Basin and expanded into west Texas. Steve Deiker, CEO and co-founder, told the Midland Reporter Telegram earlier this month that his company is using LeakSurveyor methane imager attached to airplanes flying over the region to detect leaks. “We can safely say the vast majority of wells are not leaking,” Deiker told the newspaper. “There’s only a small number of leaks that are significant. At most three percent of the infrastructure has significant leaks.” Kairos computers analyze data from up to 150 square miles per day and generate reports for customers.
“Everyone we talk to wants to stop gas leaks,” Deiker added. “They’re a safety hazard, and they cost the operator.” Kairos says it can detect 80 percent of fugitive methane emission volumes, then lower costs for companies to detect and repair leaks. The company’s goal is “finding big leaks frequently rather than finding every leak occasionally… High-speed, low-cost flights over wide areas allow more frequent surveys so large emissions are stopped faster for a greater impact.”
