Satelytics never wants our industry partners to feel like they must sleep with one eye open. Therefore, we don't work for regulators or non-governmental organizations. If a customer wishes to use our reporting program's results, we will gladly assist.

We kicked off this series on changing the cat-and-mouse regulation game by talking about the capabilities Satelytics' customers use to comply with and get ahead of ever-increasing regulations. This time we'll focus on what we have learned from our customers.

What do regulations say about the advanced monitoring capabilities from satellite data? The short answer is most regulatory language doesn't state how monitoring is to be accomplished, only that it should be conducted at a particular frequency. For PHMSA-regulated liquids pipelines, many pipeline operators attain compliance by monitoring twice-monthly. Yearly leak surveys are mandated for gas pipelines, but the method is not prescribed.

New federal governing rules are absorbing many gathering systems into their purview, greatly expanding the miles of pipeline that oil & gas and midstream operators need to monitor. At the request of our customers, Satelytics has presented at federal regulatory summits on the current state of satellite observation analytics, receiving a positive response. With high-resolution imagery available several times per week anywhere on earth, satellites exceed what legacy observation technologies can provide.

At the state level, compliance rules vary greatly. In my home state of North Dakota, regulatory rules are as strict or stricter than federal oversight. Customers in New Mexico, Washington State, and Colorado have indicated that new state rules require quantification of methane leaks instead of emissions calculations for both oil & gas and natural gas utilities, an increasing trend. Satelytics supports our customers in several states and provinces in Canada as they integrate advanced satellite monitoring into their compliance programs. Again, the response has been positive, and Satelytics' accuracy is eye-opening to regulators.

Industry leaders work to protect the environment, presenting numerous inherent benefits to industry, including reducing in-transit product loss and remediation costs. Satelytics stands by our industry customers, ready to provide a new perspective for complying with the regulation rollout.