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    Drilling firm EQT replaces gas-fired pneumatic devices with Electrification in Oilfields

    Jan. 10, 2023
    The initiative, which took 515 days to complete and was finished a full year ahead of schedule, involved the replacement or retrofitting of nearly 9,000 pneumatic controllers at all of EQT’s production locations and compressor stations
    Motor drives regulate the compressor speed to match the air needs of the pad. Courtesy EQT
    Motor drives regulate the compressor speed to match the air needs of the pad. Courtesy EQT

    U.S.-based energy firm EQT has completed a $28 million company-wide initiative aimed at eliminating 100-percent of its natural gas-powered pneumatic devices from its production operations.

    According to the company, this initiative resulted in a 70-percent reduction of methane emissions and a 305,614 metric ton reduction in its annual carbon footprint.

    The initiative, which took 515 days to complete and was finished a full year ahead of schedule, involved the replacement or retrofitting of nearly 9,000 pneumatic controllers at all of EQT’s production locations and compressor stations.

    The company says it deployed a "fit-for-purpose" technology strategy, primarily utilizing electric actuators and air compressor installations. EQT installed 341 air compressors and retrofitted 451 dump assemblies and 381 motor valves with electric actuators.

    The company notes that that the initiative represented a significant opportunity for reducing methane emissions within the industry. At EQT, natural gas-powered pneumatic devices accounted for 39-percent of its 2021 Production segment Scope 1 greenhouse gas emissions.

    The company also emphasized that it is committed to achieving net zero Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions in its Production segment operations by or before 2025, and that it had several other ESG initiatives underway.

    EQT says it has certified 66-percent of its natural gas under the EO100 Standard for Responsible Energy Development as well as the MiQ methane standard. It is also working to establish a Regional Clean Hydrogen Hub in the Appalachian region, and has started to electrify the oilfield by replacing diesel with electric crews in completion operations.

    EQT is an independent natural gas production company with operations focused in the cores of the Marcellus and Utica Shales in the Appalachian Basin.

    About the Author

    EnergyTech Staff

    Rod Walton is senior editor for EnergyTech.com. He has spent 14 years covering the energy industry as a newspaper and trade journalist.

    Walton formerly was energy writer and business editor at the Tulsa World. Later, he spent six years covering the electricity power sector for Pennwell and Clarion Events. He joined Endeavor and EnergyTech in November 2021.

    He can be reached at [email protected]. 

    EnergyTech is focused on the mission critical and large-scale energy users and their sustainability and resiliency goals. These include the commercial and industrial sectors, as well as the military, universities, data centers and microgrids.

    Many large-scale energy users such as Fortune 500 companies, and mission-critical users such as military bases, universities, healthcare facilities, public safety and data centers, shifting their energy priorities to reach net-zero carbon goals within the coming decades. These include plans for renewable energy power purchase agreements, but also on-site resiliency projects such as microgrids, combined heat and power, rooftop solar, energy storage, digitalization and building efficiency upgrades.