Oil, Gas Companies Recognized for Reducing Emissions

The Environmental Protection Agency has announced the winners of awards given out under the EPA's Natural Gas STAR program. Both oil and gas companies from across the US as well as companies in Canada received awards, and several other groups were welcomed as new partners to the program including a company in India.

Different categories of awards were presented in Houston yesterday at the Natural Gas Star Implementation Workshop. The EPA recognized new partners in the STAR program, as well as businesses that have been showing excellent efforts in methane reduction for years. Other awards were given for distribution, production and even Rookie of the Year. A manager from a Canadian firm, EnCana Oil & Gas, Scott Mason, was recognized on the individual level as Implementation Manager of the Year.

The Natural Gas Star Program is a voluntary program for natural gas companies to reduce methane emissions through cost-effective means to improve efficiency. Methane is the major gas component of natural gas, and is much more potent that carbon dioxide as a greenhouse gas, which traps heat in the Earth's atmosphere. Methane is a by-product of the production process of natural gas, from both producing and processing to distribution along transmission pipelines.

The Natural Gas Star Program has been around since 1993, and counts among its accomplishments a reduction of almost 75 billion cubic feet of methane in 2005 alone. That is the same as taking five and half million cars of the road. 2006 proved to be an even better year for the program, reducing methane emissions over 85 billion cubic feet, or 7.5 million cars.

Factors that have helped companies reduce methane emissions include installing plunger lifts in the production sector, which allows the removal of liquids that may block the gas from being extracted. Installing vapor recovery technology has also contributed a large percentage of the methane reductions. In the distribution sector of the industry, inspections of pipelines have allowed companies to fix leaks.

Chevron Corporation and Great Lakes Gas Transmissions Company were each recognized for Continuing Excellence for 12 Years. Consumers Energy and Southwest Gas Corporation received the same award for the 10-year mark. Northern Natural Gas Company received a Continuing Excellence Award for Five Year, and Southwestern Energy Company was named Rookie of the Year. If you would like to read the full list of winners, please click here.

The Natural Gas Star Program counts over 120 partners, which themselves account for over 60 percent of all methane emissions in the US oil and natural gas industry. The oil and natural gas industry itself makes up more than a quarter of all human-caused methane emissions. The EPA estimates that since the beginning of the Star program the industry now emits 12 percent less methane.

Source: Environmental Protection Agency