PipeSense is now expanding its support to emerging CO₂ applications and networks having proven its capabilities in monitoring and detection leaks in oil and gas pipelines.
Successfully designing, implementing and testing a new dynamic pressure analysis-based leak detection system, PipeSense proved the capability of the technology on a South Texas pipeline transporting dense phase and supercritical carbon dioxide (sCO₂) at approximately 2,000 psi. Deploying its team on-site for testing, PipeSense was responsible for a 12-mile stretch from a compressor station to a client's handoff point within the state.
Applying a Dynamic Pressure Analysis method (DPA), the leak detection system utilised two Field Processing Units (FPU) equipped with high-sensitivity pressure sensors and positioned at each end of the pipeline segment. Installation commenced in Q3 2025, while tests continued throughout Q4 2025.
Upon completion of the project, the system capability detects leak events within 2-3 minutes and with location precision down to <20 ft.
Stuart Mitchell, President and CTO of PipeSense, commented: “Supercritical CO₂ pipelines operate near the critical point, where fluid properties such as density and compressibility exhibit highly nonlinear and rapid variations.
“Standard Real-Time Transient Models (RTTM) and statistical models, which rely on simplified equations of state and linear assumptions, struggle to accurately predict pressure and flow transients during operational fluctuations. These modeling inaccuracies produce persistent discrepancies that appear as false leak signatures when residuals or pressure anomalies are misinterpreted.
"Our dynamic pressure analysis method offers a superior, mass-flow-independent alternative, paving the way for reliable monitoring in expanding CCS infrastructure.”
CO₂ pipelines benefit from PipeSense’s new leak detection system
