Title: Ozone and the Denver NAA: An Oil and Gas Perspective
1Ozone and the Denver NAA An Oil and Gas
Perspective
- Curtis Rueter
- Noble Energy, Inc.
2Topics Covered
- What is oil and gas doing about ozone?
- Past involvement
- Current activities
- Nobles program
- What education is important for the public?
3What is Oil and Gas Doing about Ozone Past
Involvement
- 2002 Development of flash emission factor and
Reg 3 changes with APCD - 2003-04
- Support for Voluntary EAC process
- Funding of WRI controls research project
- 2005
- Exceeded 37.5 control level
- Other oil and gas companies met engine and dehy
standards
4What is Oil and Gas Doing about Ozone Past
Involvement
- 2006
- Exceeded 47.5 control level
- Reg 7 revisions for ozone deferred non-attainment
area - COGA supported state-wide Reg 7 limits
5What is Oil and Gas Doing about Ozone Past
Involvement
- 2007
- Industry met 75 control
- Reduced oil and gas emissions to 1973 levels
- Compliance challenges
- Short time frame (lt 5 months) and harsh winter
field conditions - Approximately 2,500-3,000 devices and 30 million
capital costs spent to date - Over ½ of units needed to be installed to go from
47.5 to 75
6What is Oil and Gas Doing About Ozone Current
Activities
- Active participants in the RAQCs stakeholder
process - WRAP Phase III
- Guiding Principles
- Voluntary early reductions
7RAQC Stakeholder Process Oil and Gas Activities
- WRAP Phase III Emission Inventory Initiative
- Western Regional Air Partnership (WRAP)
- Industry is funding this more detailed
basin-specific approach for developing emission
inventories - Previous Phase I and Phase II data were developed
on more of regional level
8WRAP Phase III More Details
- First comprehensive inventory of oil and gas area
sources - Identifies and characterizes differences between
regional basins - Refines future growth projections
- Provides a mechanism for future updates
- DJ Basin was the first basin covered
- Provided improved emission inventory for modeling
9WRAP Phase III Survey of Sources
- Natural gas processing plants
- Compressor stations
- Drilling/Workover rigs
- Artificial lift engines
- Vapor recovery unit (VRU) engines
- Oil/Gas well heaters
- Oil/Gas storage tanks
- Oil/Gas well completions
- Oil/Gas well fugitive emissions
- Venting
- Blowdowns
- Dehydration units
- Amine units
- Hydrocarbon loading
- Landfarms
- Water treatment/injection
- Flaring
- Pneumatic devices
- Produced water tanks
10Guiding Principles
- Adoption of ozone control measures should be
based on good science - Should be specific to Front Range ozone
- Learn from and build on previous strategies
- Voluntary controls for 2008
- Institutional/societal barriers should be
addressed - Education opportunity!
11Voluntary Reductions by Oil and Gas for 2008
- Letters at www.raqc.org
- Voluntary measures by Anadarko, EnCana, Noble,
and Petroleum Development (PDC) - Noble, Anadarko, and PDC are three largest
operators in Wattenberg EnCana is fifth
12Examples of Voluntary Reduction Measures
- Control of flash emissions beyond 75 requirement
- Retrofit / replacement of high bleed pneumatic
devices - Well completion management practices minimize
or control flowbacks
- IR camera programs for identifying leaks
- Equipment / site automation
- Employee education
- Employee trip reduction
13Nobles Current Program
- Currently achieving 85 emission reductions of
condensate flash - Approximately 1,300 control devices installed on
1,600 tank batteries - Burners are primary control
- Issues with vapor recovery units
- Controls installed on all new wells prior to
production
14Flash Control Costs (Non-Capital)
- Pilot gas (200-300 scfd/unit)
- Compliance staff
- Typically an Air Quality engineer plus ½-1 FTE
contractor support - Field staff
- Construction foreman and supporting staff
- Inspections by field personnel at least every 2
days - Field contractors
- 2-4 contract crews working on units (3 man crews)
- Noble has 3 contractors for VRU operations
- Sampling, maintenance, and RD costs
15Nobles Current RD Program
- Separator redesigns
- Innovative vapor recovery approaches
- Innovative burner designs
- Paper at GPA Conference in March, 2008 to be
published in Oil and Gas Journal
16What Education is Important for the Public?
- What 3 messages do I wish everyone knew and
understood? - Message 1 Individual actions are very
important - Cars, lawn mowers, edgers, etc., are major
contributors to Denvers ozone issues - Individual decisions on car maintenance, driving,
lawn mowing, and car refueling make an impact
17Rocky Flats Monitor 2007 Source Apportionment
with EAC ControlsTable A-1a of EAC Source
Apportionment Report
18What Education is Important for the Public?
- Message 2 Not all emissions contribute
equally to ozone or Different pollutants have
different ozone contributions - Cars, lawn mowers, and gasoline vapors have very
high ozone-forming potential - Message 3 Denvers ozone problem cannot be
solved by controlling industrial sources