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One of the more interesting comments relating to personal or group accomplishment that I came across in 2012 was this one:
“We have added enough new oil and gas pipeline to circle the Earth and then some”
That is certainly a lot of pipeline and sounds like something that must have come from an energy industry participant.
It didn’t.
Who actually proudly made that statement? United States President and climate change activist Barack Obama.
Today when the general public and much of the investment community think about pipelines, they think about one specific pipeline, the very controversial Keystone XL Pipeline that is proposed to transport heavy oil from the Canadian oil sands down to the United States Gulf Coast refineries.
What might surprise the media and general public is that while they have been focused on the Keystone XL, the energy industry has been busy building other pipelines all over North America.
And the certain truth is that even if the Keystone XL isn’t approved there will still continue to be miles and miles of pipeline laid over the coming decade in North America.
Pipelines are a part of life, and with the boom in unconventional energy production in North America they are going to be of increasing importance.
The politicians know this, and they aren’t going to try and stop the unconventional energy revolution that has taken over North America by interfering with pipeline construction. With the high profile controversy of the Keystone XL and the BP Gulf of Mexico spill still very much on the minds of the general public what you can bank on politicians doing however, is being ruthless with energy companies and pipeline operators should there be any environmental damage caused by those pipelines.
Pipeline safety and limiting environmental damage is therefore going to be of crucial importance to the energy companies and pipeline operators. The good news for the pipeline operators is that with their stock prices high and interest rates extremely low, spending a little extra on safety isn’t a problem.
Synodon Inc – A Breakthrough Pipeline Leak Detection Technology
As I looked for companies through which I could try and profit from the growing focus on pipeline safety and leak detection I came across Synodon Inc (SYD-TSXv) which I think has enormous potential.
Synodon has developed a remote sensing technology that can measure very small ground level concentrations of escaped gas from an aircraft flying overhead. The technology is called “realSens” and it is mounted on a helicopter that then flies (pilot is guided by GPS) over the pipeline being monitored.
The origins of the technology actually date back to the 1990s when the Canadian Space Agency was attempting to develop a technology that could detect carbon monoxide from orbit. Synodon bought the technology from the Canadian Space Agency and have moved it forward.
As I understand it, the technology is like a big infrared camera that uses reflected light to detect very, very small color changes in the infrared spectrum. Those color changes are caused by various gases, with each different type of gas creating a different color pattern.
The image below shows the technology detecting a traditional pipeline leak. You can see that the leak is immediately apparent and its exact location evident.
Link to remainder of article: http://www.gurufocus.com/news/206483/synodon-inc–a-breakthrough-technology-for-pipeline-safety
