THEN GAS FLARING LIKE THIS SHOULD BE ENDED
Adrian Hedden, Carlsbad Current-Argus
Wed, May 4, 2022,
One of the world’s largest oil and gas companies said it was making progress toward controlling climate-change-inducing air pollution emissions at a facility near Carlsbad in the New Mexico portion of the Permian Basin.
ExxonMobil announced last week it had certified 200 million cubic feet per day of natural gas per day from its Poker Lake facilities in southeast New Mexico through independent certifier MiQ.
The certifier gave Poker Lak an “A” grade, per a news release, the top rating MiQ gives to energy companies for using carbon capture technologies when producing fossil fuel.
Tom Schuessler, senior vice president of unconventional operations at ExxonMobil said the certification will help the company meet increasing demand for fossil fuels produced with less environmental impact.
“This certification further validates the steps we have taken to reduce methane emissions, which is part of our plans to achieve net zero Scope 1 & 2 greenhouse emissions in our Permian Basin unconventional operations by 2030,” he said.
“Certification gives our customers confidence that we are responsibly producing natural gas with best-in-class.”
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ExxonMobil, at the Poker Lake facilities used fixed monitoring systems, aircraft monitoring, infrared cameras, and routine leak detection and repair to earn the certification, the release read.
Methane is a greenhouse gas largely produced during oil and gas production and can be released into the air with 25 times the heat-trapping effects of carbon dioxide (CO2).
In response to growing concerns for climate change and pollution from fossil fuels, investors began recently calling on energy companies to find ways to curb emissions.
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MiQ Chief Executive Officer Georges Tijbosch said as one of the biggest energy companies in the world, Exxon’s work to certify its gas products was a sign the industry as a whole was moving toward less-polluting operations.
“It’s widely accepted that it’s now the time to take steps to limit the effects of climate change and reducing methane emissions is one of the most significant actions we can take,” Tijbosch said.
“MiQ is pioneering Independently Certified Gas to help accelerate methane reductions from the natural gas industry and, as one of the world’s largest energy companies, ExxonMobil’s expansion of the certification program demonstrates that Independently Certified Gas is rapidly becoming the status quo.”
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Exxon reported it used methane leak surveys at 9,500 sites in the U.S., replacing all high-bleed pneumatic valves with newer, low-emission technology.
The company also said it reduced methane emissions in the U.S. from its unconventional operations by about 40 percent between 2016 and 2020.
One of southeast New Mexico biggest power providers, Xcel Energy planned to purchase the certified gas from Exxon for use in electricity generation, a step toward the utility’s goal of cutting all carbon emissions from its provided power by 2050.
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President of Xcel’s New Mexico and Texas operations David Hudson said that meant purchasing gas from certified, low-emission producers by 2030.
“Xcel Energy is committed to delivering net-zero energy by 2050 across all the ways our customers use energy, and that includes powering our generating fleet with natural gas purchased only from suppliers with certified low-methane emissions by 2030,” Hudson said. “Fueling our New Mexico power plants with ExxonMobil’s certified natural gas is an important step in that direction and enables us to achieve the cleaner energy future we’re all envisioning.”
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The energy sector throughout the world was poised for further emissions reductions like those in the Permian Basin, potentially removing up to 550 million tons of CO2 from the atmosphere annually by 2030, per research from Rystad Energy.
Carbon capture project announcements grew by more than 200 developments in 2021, representing three times the number of such projects in operation around the world.
Yvonne Lam, Rystad head of carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) research said emissions grew as the COVID-19 pandemic waned and production increased due to recovering fuel demand.
This drove up emissions, Lam said, and investor concerns for the impacts of fossil fuel were further compounded by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the aggressor nation, the world’s second-largest oil producer’s removal from the global market.
“With global CO2 emissions rebounding to new record highs post-Covid-19, the demand for CCUS projects is accelerating,” Lam said. “Amplified by widespread energy security concerns amid the Russia-Ukraine war, calls for faster decarbonization of the energy industry, especially in Europe, are growing louder.”
This article originally appeared on Carlsbad Current-Argus: ExxonMobil cuts methane pollution from New Mexico fossil fuel facilities
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