Sensor developer Flir Systems Inc. has announced that its GF320 and GF300 optical gas imaging camera have received sensitivity standard validation by the U.K.-based National Physical Laboratory (NPL), making them compliant with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s OOOOa Methane Rule for the oil and gas industry. The EPA’s OOOOa methane rule references OGI as the best system of emission reduction on specific sources at compressor stations and well as sites across the United States. However, the rule also states that any OGI equipment used for compliance purposes must be capable of imaging a gas that is half methane, half propane at a concentration of 10,000 parts per millions, at a flow rate of less than 60 grams per hour, from a quarter inch diameter orifice. Being independently certified to be compliant with this requirement, the GF300 and GF320 systems represent advanced technology for gas detection activities within the oil and gas industry. “With the recent tightening of methane regulations – both in the U.S. and globally – oil and gas producers need a reliable solution to find fugitive emissions,” says Rickard Lindvall, vice president and general manager of FLIR’s instruments division. “The NPL’s validation separates the GF320 and GF300 from other optical gas imaging technology as it confirms our cameras comply with the industry standards.”