The NASA Technology Now Tracking Oilfield Methane

Methane is invisible, odorless, and far more potent than CO2 in the short term, so how do you actually catch it leaking? Brendan Smith, CEO of SeekOps Inc., explains how technology built for the Mars Curiosity rover ended up flying on drones over oil and gas sites here on Earth. We get into spectrometers versus satellites, why offshore detection is so tricky, what EU methane rules mean for US operators in 2027, and how SeekOps turns an invisible gas into something you can finally see.Click here to watch a video of this episode.Join the conversation shaping the future of energy.Collide is the community where oil & gas professionals connect, share insights, and solve real-world problems together. No noise. No fluff. Just the discussions that move our industry forward.Apply today at collide.ioClick here to view the episode transcript. 00:00   Setup and the Power Hour combo02:24   Crossing paths back in 201904:14   From PhD dropout to CEO05:24   JPL, the first patent, and Mars rover tech12:34   How a drone measures a methane plume13:49   Ground, drones, planes, and satellites19:00   Spinning out of JPL and the Equinor bet24:55   What methane is and why it matters29:01   Net zero and EU methane regulation32:00   LNG, coal, and offshore detection42:10   Lidar, photogrammetry, and 3D models45:36   What's overhyped and the road ahead49:24   Why Austin, and the Houston debate53:16   Wrap uphttps://twitter.com/collide_aihttps://www.tiktok.com/@collide.iohttps://www.facebook.com/collide.iohttps://www.instagram.com/collide.iohttps://www.youtube.com/@collide_iohttps://bsky.app/profile/collide-ai.bsky.socialhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/collideai