Emissions of methane, VOCs, NOx, and CO2 from oil and gas production facilities are coming under increased scrutiny by Federal, State, and even local jurisdictions, as well as the general public. Methane is a potent greenhouse gas, while VOCs and NOx are precursors to ozone formation. CO2 concentrations are increasing in the atmosphere which is being linked to climate change.
Oil and gas production facilities, especially those that service multiple horizontal wells with thousands of barrels of oil per day flowing through dozens of atmospheric tanks, are capable of generating millions of cubic feet per day of flash gas that historically has been vented or flared, unnecessarily wasting that resource as well as generating hundreds of tons of emissions unnecessarily.
Colorado, especially the Denver Metro-Northern Front Range area, is where oil and gas development, population growth, and elevated standards of care for the environment are colliding every day. There has been a concerted effort to reduce or even eliminate oil and gas development from Colorado through imposition of the toughest waste reduction and emission control rules and enforcement in the country. The interesting result, however, is that various technologies have been developed and employed to meet this challenge and now a barrel of oil developed and produced in Colorado is the cleanest in the United States, and probably the world, and that’s something we can all be proud of.
Peter has had many roles in the oil and gas industry over 44 years since graduating from Mines in 1978. Those roles included drilling, well control, production, operations, acquisitions and divestment, receiver, legal matters, gas marketing, managing gas gathering and processing facilities, and regulatory affairs for operators. He Chaired the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission from 2001 to 2007 and most recently co-founded EcoVapor Recovery Systems to help operators control air emissions from oil and gas production sites. Peter has worked the US onshore, US offshore, and internationally.