The Davis Refinery, coming to Belfield in the Bakken in southwest North Dakota, will be truly unique in its comprehensive utilization of emission control technology throughout the plant.

Davis will be the first greenfield refinery in the U.S. in over 40 years, designed to achieve better emission control standards. One such technological innovation in emission control is a highly-advanced, state-of-the-art smart camera Leak Detection Monitoring and Repair (LDAR). An all-encompassing Smart LDAR program will be employed to monitor the existence of any fugitive emissions throughout the plant.

In Davis, every valve, gasket flange connection and fitting will be continuously monitored with leak detection sensors and Optical Gas Imaging (OGI) cameras, a maximum available control technology that can detect any minor VOC leak. The OGI cameras will see a minor leak before it will be detectable by standard emissions monitoring equipment commonly used in the refining industry.

OGI cameras employ specialized infrared filters, enabling them to literally see vapor emissions should any ever leak. This Smart LDAR camera system will allow automated early detection and notification of any leaks as they appear. The visual confirmation provided by OGI is essential in pinpointing the exact source to begin the repair process immediately.

The U.S. EPA has identified OGI as the “best system of emission reduction” for detecting fugitive emissions from new equipment installation, upgrades, and modified sources. This optical monitoring technology is just one aspect of the state-of-the-art project from Meridian Energy Group, that will ensure the Davis Refinery meets Lowest Achievable Emission Rates (LAER) in the refining industry.

Source: Meridian Energy Group, Inc., Belfield