refineries safety-standards workplace-safety
Mark Green
Posted May 5, 2017
Good news for the U.S. refining sector and its workers: Federal statistics show refinery employees are six times less likely to be injured on the job than workers in other manufacturing sectors – and the refining industry’s rate is steadily trending downward. Both reflect the refining sector’s commitment to worker safety and industry standards, as well as careful adherence to state and federal regulations.
100-days infrastructure pipelines oil-and-natural-gas safety-standards
Mark Green
Posted April 3, 2017
100-days safety-standards industry-standards
Mark Green
Posted March 27, 2017
Safety is a core value of the oil and natural gas industry – safety for workers, communities near active operations and the environment, from protecting plants and animals to reducing emissions for cleaner air. Safety has continued to grow since the advent of hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling, bringing energy development to more and more areas across the country.
hydraulic-fracturing fracking safety-standards epa34 water
Mark Green
Posted December 9, 2016
hydraulic-fracturing fracking safety-standards epa34 oil-and-natural-gas
Mark Green
Posted November 17, 2016
As EPA nears the release of its finalized hydraulic fracturing/water report, the weight of scientific study and analysis backs the agency’s preliminary conclusion that there’s no evidence that fracking has led to “widespread, systemic impacts on drinking water resources in the United States.” Dozens of other recent studies reached similar conclusions – including peer-reviewed case studies and research by academics, government and industry, as well as state and federal regulatory reviews.
offshore-energy-development safety-standards safe-operations regulation oil-and-natural-gas center-for-offshore-safety
Mark Green
Posted September 28, 2016
Safe offshore energy development is a by-product of advanced technologies and equipment, an ever-expanding knowledge base, improved worker training, an effective partnership of industry and regulatory authorities, constantly improving standards for deepwater exploration and production and, over it all, an industry committed to creating and growing a culture of safety in offshore operations.
crude-oil-tankers safety-standards oil-and-gas transportation
Kate Wallace
Posted August 25, 2016
natural-gas-supply safety-standards affordable-energy us-energy
Marty Durbin
Posted February 5, 2016
Our industry’s continuing commitment to safety is underscored in a new federal advisory bulletin on underground natural gas storage facilities that urges field operators to implement industry best practices developed by API and other organizations. The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA):
Operators must adhere to applicable State regulations for the permitting, drilling, completion, and operation of storage wells. In developing, implementing, and updating their safety and integrity programs, we encourage underground gas storage facility operators to … voluntarily implement American Petroleum Institute (API) Recommended Practices (RP) … and Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission (IOGCC) standards entitled “Natural Gas Storage in Salt Caverns – A Guide for State Regulators” (IOGCC Guide), as applicable. … API has an accredited process to develop recommended practices and standards that involves industry, manufacturers, engineering firms, construction contractors, the public, academia, and government.
API worked with other trade associations and PHMSA to develop two recommended practices (RPs) last year – one focused on safe practices for designing, storing and operating natural gas in depleted oil and gas reservoirs, and another detailing how to safely design, store and operate natural gas in salt caverns. Both RPs discuss proper construction methods, materials and maintenance practices to ensure safe operations.
pipelines pipeline-safety infrastructure safety-standards keystone-xl
Mark Green
Posted January 8, 2016
The United States is overdue for a fact-based conversation about energy infrastructure. The needs are great. IHS estimates that needed energy infrastructure through the middle of the next decade could spur $1.15 trillion in private capital investment and support more than 1 million jobs. But there are roadblocks.
The long fight over the Keystone XL pipeline has anti-progress, anti-fossil fuel advocates targeting other needed projects. During his State of American Energy 2016 remarks this week, API President and CEO Jack Gerard warned that ideological opposition to infrastructure will hurt the United States:
“The demonization of the Keystone XL pipeline remains a powerful cautionary tale of the dangers of energy policy driven by ideology rather than economic reality and has a chilling effect on expansion efforts for our nation’s energy infrastructure. That’s not just bad national energy policy. It is also bad news for our nation’s economy.”
Thus the need for a rational conversation about the country’s infrastructure needs that’s based on fact. Such as: America’s more than 199,000 miles of liquid pipelines deliver about 16 billion barrels of crude oil and petroleum products a year, with a safety rate of 99.999 percent. And another: Industry keeps working toward a goal of zero incidents by continually improving safety in the infrastructure sector.
safe-operations safety-standards methane hydraulic-fracturing epa34 air-quality
Mark Green
Posted October 12, 2015
Methane emissions from oil and natural gas systems continue falling. EPA, in an update to its Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program, says that methane emissions decreased from 77 million metric tons CO2 equivalent 2013 to 73 million metric tons CO2e last year. This continues a significant downward trend over the past few years.
The significance is this: Further reductions in methane emissions argue strongly against EPA’s position that additional regulation is needed. And, indeed, the agency is working on new layers of methane regulation.
Let’s think this one through. Methane emissions are falling under current the current regulatory regime, yet EPA and its supporters say that further reductions won’t happen without more regulation. (If you feel like you’ve heard this argument before it’s because you have – see here and here on EPA’s ozone proposals.) But here’s what we know: Methane emissions associated with oil and natural gas systems are falling – at a time when natural gas production is dramatically increasing.
