Oil & Gas Glossary
Fugitive emissions are leaks. They are not the designed vent from a bleed controller or the flame on a flare. They come from packing, flanges, thief hatches, compressor rod packing, and similar components that were supposed to stay closed.
On Permian sites the usual finding tools are soap, Method 21 instruments, and optical gas imaging. Quad O leak programs and operator LDAR routes exist because these leaks add up across hundreds of well pads even when each one looks small.
Redhead Services supplies OGI infrared cameras used to find fugitive leaks. Reducing designed vents is a different problem, handled with instrument air, VRUs, and combustors.
