By Regina,
posted on Wednesday, April 14, 2010.
Here at ANGA, we are committed to clean, abundant and affordable
American natural gas. We also share a commitment to being
responsible stewards of the land and pursuing innovations that
continually advance our clean energy future. One
recent example comes from member companies Devon and EnCana who are reducing methane emissions
through a new carbon credit program. The program, approved by
the American Carbon Registry (ACR) and jointly
pioneered by Devon and Verdeo Group, will significantly improve air
quality by enabling natural gas companies to reduce methane
emissions in return for carbon offset credits. "We are thrilled to
approve the first methodology that provides a framework for oil and
gas companies to reduce a significant source of GHG emissions," said Nicholas Martin, ACR's chief technical
officer. "We are confident that this methodology...meets the
highest standards of environmental integrity in the market today."
How does it work? Devon and EnCana are retrofitting their wells
with low-bleed pneumatic
controllers.Pneumatic controllers
regulate pressure, flow rate and liquid levels at gas wells.
Replacing high-bleed controllers with low-bleed models can
significantly reduce methane emissions.
"Devon has a corporate initiative to reduce GHG emissions and
create tradable, bankable offset credits," explains Darren Smith, the company's manager
of environmental health and safety. And, already EnCana has
replaced about 1,000 pneumatic controls in its well fleet.
Thank you, Devon and EnCana, for demonstrating the natural gas
community's ongoing commitment to responsible environmental
stewardship.