ARTICLE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT Scott Prestidge scott.prestidge@coga.org DENVER — Colorado’s oil and natural gas industry continues to reduce emissions and mitigate the effects of ground-level ozone as part of its ongoing commitment to being good stewards of our environment. The Colorado Oil & Gas Association recently began the fifth year of its program to coordinate with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) to mitigate emissions during ozone season. Since 2011, the state’s oil and natural gas industry has cut its emissions of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) in the Denver Metro/North Front Range (DMNFR) ozone nonattainment area by nearly 60 percent. While it has been challenging to meet tightening federal standards, the region has made significant progress. “Despite the air pollution challenges associated with an increasing population, our ozone levels have improved over time,” according to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE). To assist with this critical challenge of reducing ozone, COGA member companies, which represent at least 90 percent of production in the nonattainment area and include both drilling and completion companies, are participating in a voluntary program during the 2021 peak-ozone season. “For the fifth year in a row, our producers and midstream companies will be working overtime this summer to reduce the number of ozone exceedance days. Every company is unique and afforded different opportunities to help continue the progress our state is making toward cleaner air. While our industry can’t do it alone, the cumulation of individual voluntary efforts makes a big difference, and we are happy to do our part,” said Dan Haley, President & CEO of COGA. The 2021 program includes a variety of voluntary emissions reduction measures during forecasted high-ozone days. Individual companies in different phases of the development process, with different assets, facilities, and operating schedules, can take the most appropriate step to reduce emissions during those forecasted high ozone days. Possible ozone mitigation activities include but are not limited to the following: Alternate vehicle fueling times Reduced vehicle traffic and miles traveled Managed drilling and completions on high ozone days to reduce emissions Delayed operational activities on high ozone days Delaying well maintenance activities on high ozone days “Colorado’s oil and natural gas industry has seen significant reductions of ozone-causing emissions,” Haley said. “That’s due to technological innovation, regulatory initiatives currently on the books, and leadership from numerous Colorado-based companies that care deeply about this issue.” Ozone is a secondary pollutant formed when VOCs and nitrogen oxides (NOx) combine in the presence of sunlight and heat. According to the Regional Air Quality Council (RAQC), “Weather plays a key role in ozone formation. The highest ozone levels are usually recorded in summer months when temperatures approach the high 80s and 90s and the wind is stagnant or light.” Also according to RAQC data, during high ozone days along Colorado’s Front Range, background emissions can range from 73 percent to 83 percent of the total. Our topography and weather patterns contribute to this dynamic, and it presents Colorado with a unique challenge. Background ozone levels are driven by other domestic and international sources beyond Colorado borders, as well as biogenic sources, such as the naturally decaying material in our expansive national forests. Due to these factors, addressing ozone-related challenges in Colorado is extremely difficult. This requires an economy-wide undertaking, because depending on the day and location, only about 25 percent of the emissions needed to form ozone in the nonattainment area are actually produced by Colorado-based human activity. These activities include but are not limited to cars, boats, planes, tractors, as well as industrial plants, lawn and garden equipment, and even household products like paints, solvents, and hair spray. In fact, because lawn and garden equipment is such a signficant contributor to ozone issues, some of our companies also incentivize their employees to switch to electric maintenance equipment or perform these activities after dark when the risk of ozone formation disipates. The state of Colorado has undergone extensive rulemakings in recent years to make Colorado’s already stringent air regulations the gold standard across the country, to decrease air emissions and meet long-term climate goals required under the state’s new Greenhouse Gas Roadmap. Those rulemakings include but are not limited to additional tank controls, controls for completions operations, non-emitting pneumatics, continuous air monitoring, and the prohibition of routine venting and flaring. COGA is also a committed stakeholder in the oil and natural gas GHG rulemaking scheduled for later this year. COGA’s members are committed to cleaner air and not only are active stakeholders in the regulatory process but have invested millions in new technologies to further reduce emissions. Additional information is available via COGA’s “Facts on CEO” and “Resources” webpages. COGA is also promoting the efforts of Simple Steps. Better Air, the public education initiative by the Regional Air Quality Council (RAQC). About COGA Founded in 1984, the Colorado Oil & Gas Association’s (COGA) mission is to be the unified political and regulatory voice for the oil and natural gas industry in Colorado, and to support our members through advocacy, partnerships, education and stakeholder engagement.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT Scott Prestidge scott.prestidge@coga.org
DENVER — Colorado’s oil and natural gas industry continues to reduce emissions and mitigate the effects of ground-level ozone as part of its ongoing commitment to being good stewards of our environment. The Colorado Oil & Gas Association recently began the fifth year of its program to coordinate with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) to mitigate emissions during ozone season. Since 2011, the state’s oil and natural gas industry has cut its emissions of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) in the Denver Metro/North Front Range (DMNFR) ozone nonattainment area by nearly 60 percent. While it has been challenging to meet tightening federal standards, the region has made significant progress. “Despite the air pollution challenges associated with an increasing population, our ozone levels have improved over time,” according to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE).
To assist with this critical challenge of reducing ozone, COGA member companies, which represent at least 90 percent of production in the nonattainment area and include both drilling and completion companies, are participating in a voluntary program during the 2021 peak-ozone season. “For the fifth year in a row, our producers and midstream companies will be working overtime this summer to reduce the number of ozone exceedance days. Every company is unique and afforded different opportunities to help continue the progress our state is making toward cleaner air. While our industry can’t do it alone, the cumulation of individual voluntary efforts makes a big difference, and we are happy to do our part,” said Dan Haley, President & CEO of COGA.
The 2021 program includes a variety of voluntary emissions reduction measures during forecasted high-ozone days. Individual companies in different phases of the development process, with different assets, facilities, and operating schedules, can take the most appropriate step to reduce emissions during those forecasted high ozone days. Possible ozone mitigation activities include but are not limited to the following:
“Colorado’s oil and natural gas industry has seen significant reductions of ozone-causing emissions,” Haley said. “That’s due to technological innovation, regulatory initiatives currently on the books, and leadership from numerous Colorado-based companies that care deeply about this issue.” Ozone is a secondary pollutant formed when VOCs and nitrogen oxides (NOx) combine in the presence of sunlight and heat. According to the Regional Air Quality Council (RAQC), “Weather plays a key role in ozone formation. The highest ozone levels are usually recorded in summer months when temperatures approach the high 80s and 90s and the wind is stagnant or light.” Also according to RAQC data, during high ozone days along Colorado’s Front Range, background emissions can range from 73 percent to 83 percent of the total. Our topography and weather patterns contribute to this dynamic, and it presents Colorado with a unique challenge. Background ozone levels are driven by other domestic and international sources beyond Colorado borders, as well as biogenic sources, such as the naturally decaying material in our expansive national forests. Due to these factors, addressing ozone-related challenges in Colorado is extremely difficult. This requires an economy-wide undertaking, because depending on the day and location, only about 25 percent of the emissions needed to form ozone in the nonattainment area are actually produced by Colorado-based human activity. These activities include but are not limited to cars, boats, planes, tractors, as well as industrial plants, lawn and garden equipment, and even household products like paints, solvents, and hair spray. In fact, because lawn and garden equipment is such a signficant contributor to ozone issues, some of our companies also incentivize their employees to switch to electric maintenance equipment or perform these activities after dark when the risk of ozone formation disipates. The state of Colorado has undergone extensive rulemakings in recent years to make Colorado’s already stringent air regulations the gold standard across the country, to decrease air emissions and meet long-term climate goals required under the state’s new Greenhouse Gas Roadmap. Those rulemakings include but are not limited to additional tank controls, controls for completions operations, non-emitting pneumatics, continuous air monitoring, and the prohibition of routine venting and flaring. COGA is also a committed stakeholder in the oil and natural gas GHG rulemaking scheduled for later this year. COGA’s members are committed to cleaner air and not only are active stakeholders in the regulatory process but have invested millions in new technologies to further reduce emissions. Additional information is available via COGA’s “Facts on CEO” and “Resources” webpages. COGA is also promoting the efforts of Simple Steps. Better Air, the public education initiative by the Regional Air Quality Council (RAQC).
About COGA Founded in 1984, the Colorado Oil & Gas Association’s (COGA) mission is to be the unified political and regulatory voice for the oil and natural gas industry in Colorado, and to support our members through advocacy, partnerships, education and stakeholder engagement.