Industry Partnership Advances Methane Reductions Through Collaboration and Innovation
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WASHINGTON, August 14, 2024 — The Environmental Partnership today released its sixth annual report highlighting the U.S. oil and natural gas industry’s collaborative efforts to reduce methane emissions and advance environmental progress. Participating companies achieved measurable results across all performance programs in 2023, building on the industry’s progress in reducing methane emissions, which declined 37% across U.S. onshore production regions between 2015 and 2022, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
“The success of industry-led initiatives like The Environmental Partnership further demonstrates our industry’s unwavering commitment to reducing methane emissions across the supply chain while helping to ensure the continued production of affordable and reliable energy,” said Emily Hague, director of The Environmental Partnership. “From advancements in detecting and measuring emissions to sharing operational solutions, I am proud of how our participating companies are continuing to raise the bar in our collective efforts to achieve meaningful emissions reductions.”
The Environmental Partnership, whose members represent nearly 70% of U.S. onshore oil and gas production, plays an instrumental role in supporting companies in their efforts to improve the industry’s environmental performance. The partnership fosters collective efforts that are built on sharing practices and leveraging knowledge between operators, partnering with other experts to further industry understanding, and working together to identify solutions, innovations and practices that reduce methane emissions across the supply chain.
“It’s been a transformational year for our industry with new challenges and opportunities, but what remains clear is the commitment of program participants to reducing methane emissions,” said Vanessa Ryan, chair of The Environmental Partnership and manager of methane reduction for Chevron. “I am excited by what we’ve accomplished over the past year and look forward to the continued progress this industry-leading partnership is positioned to achieve in the years ahead.”
Developed in collaboration with the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) and industry stakeholders, including representatives from the wind energy sector, the document covers all aspects of safety and environmental management. This includes risk assessment and procedures for safe work management as well as safe work practices, management of change, emergency preparedness and incident investigation. It provides guidance for the systematic evaluation of assets and operations to better identify risks and accounts for evolutions in technology, operations and knowledge. RP 75W can be used globally for offshore wind operations.
Highlights from the annual report include:
- Reducing Flaring: In 2023, participating companies continued to reduce their flaring, achieving a 6.6% reduction in flare intensity and a 10% reduction in total flare volumes compared to the previous year, even as U.S. oil and gas production grew by 9% and 4%, respectively, during the same period.
- Replacing Pneumatic Controllers: Since 2018, participating companies have removed or replaced more than 180,000 gas-driven pneumatics, resulting in the permanent reduction of an estimated 355,421 metric tonnes of methane emissions per year released into the atmosphere based on EPA’s mandatory emissions reporting requirements in place in 2023.
- Enhancing Detection and Monitoring Strategies: By implementing robust leak detection and repair programs, companies have reduced their leak occurrence rate from a reported 0.16% in 2018 to a reported 0.06% in 2023, or less than one component leaking in 1,000.
API represents all segments of America’s natural gas and oil industry, which supports nearly 11 million U.S. jobs and is backed by a growing grassroots movement of millions of Americans. Our approximately 600 members produce, process and distribute the majority of the nation’s energy, and participate in API Energy Excellence®, which is accelerating environmental and safety progress by fostering new technologies and transparent reporting. API was formed in 1919 as a standards-setting organization and has developed more than 800 standards to enhance operational and environmental safety, efficiency and sustainability.
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2024 TEP Annual Report Executive Summary
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