METEC 2.0 – Underground Pipeline

A green field with two trenches excavated for a underground gas pipeline test bed.

METEC’s Underground Controlled Release Testbeds

METEC’s first underground testbed was installed in 2017, with two additional testbeds being added over time. Research on these testbeds have informed our understanding of how gas plumes develop and spread underground and how environmental conditions impact detection of underground methane leaks.

Now, in 2025, as new research questions arise and as operators share ongoing challenges with underground leak detection and quantification, the METEC Research Group identified the need for a larger, more complex testbed allowing for tests under multiple soil and bedding types, as well as compex environmental conditions. The construction of this new testbed is a component of the METEC 2.0 Site Redesign.

construction of a underground pipeline testbed at METEC in 2017.
Schematic drawing of the METEC underground pipeline testbed containing 6 pipelines and the service roads next to each pipe.

METEC 2.0 – New Underground Testbed in 2025
Planned Design

The newest underground pipeline at METEC, when complete, will cover over 4.5 acres and have six separate pipelines at varying depths and with assorted soil backfill, totalling over half a kilometer of pipeline available for various testing needs. 

The image to the left shows the extent of the proposed pipeline testbed including types of pipelines (distribution and gathering), depths, and soil backfill types, including:

    • Native soil, clay, silty loam, and sand,
    • Natural soil bed with vegetation,
    • Homogeneous Sand Bed,
    • Layered Sand Bed.

Overlaid on the image is the local wind rose data. Prevaling winds are NW and SE, perpindicular to the nearby above ground METEC test site, which will allow extended releases and limited gas interference with the above ground METEC facility pictured to the northeast.


Project Timeline
  • Summer & Fall 2025: Expand research testing. Additional pipelines installed as readinees allows.
  • June 2025: Begin research testing on the testbed, including PHMSA projects.
  • May 2025: Testbed construction. Initial trenches. Installation and testing of the initial gas supply line and first test pipeline.
  • January- April, 2025: Finalize testbed and pipeline release design.  Begin constructing pipeline release points
  • December 2024: Secure land for testbed
  • Sept – Nov 2024: Prelimnary plans and rationale for need
PHMSA Research Projects

The following two research projects sponsored by PHMSA are currently in progress:

Practical Protocols for Pipeline Leak Detection (P3LD)

Partnership for Practical Pipeline Protocols (P4)

Aerial view of the METEC pipeline testbed showing two trenches in which pipes will be laid and a square sand testbed
An aerial image of the METEC pipeline test bed being constructed with two 80 meter trenchs completed.
Research scientists installing gas release points on a section of pipe.
An image of three pipes with their completed gas release points.
A 20 meter section of pipeline lying on the grass in the foreground, which a group of scientist move a 20 meter section of pipe in the background.
Researchers installing a pipeline in a trench.