June 2020 Energy News

Energy News June 2020

From the Field Photo ‘Pumpjack’ Tom Green County Photo by Nuno Selvera

P.

P.

P.

P.

P.

P.

P.

3

RRC Adds LP-gas Registration Form for Manufacturers

4

Commission Seeking Ways to Reduce Flaring

6

Fiscal Year 2021 Oil and Gas Monitoring and Enforcement Plan Outlines Agency Goals

8

More Free Webinars Added in July

10

MOU Between RRC and TCEQ Updated

11

We Are RRC!

12

Commissioners’ Corner

RRC Adds LP-gas Registration Form for Manufacturers Existing LP-gas license application form improved

The Railroad Commission recently approved a new LP-gas registration form for manufacturers and an improved form for license applications.

Society of Mechanical Engineers or the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Manufacturers must also show proof of insurance.

The new LPG Form 1M was created as part of the response to House Bill 2127, which was signed into law in 2019. The bill required RRC to create a registration process for manufacturers of LP-gas containers.

The existing LPG Form 1 was revised.

The form is an application for license or license renewal for 18 different LPG categories, including transporting, storing, and repairing containers; installing appliances and piping; filling cylinders; and more. As part of the form, applicants indicate that they will comply with Commission rules and regulations.

The RRC rule that established the new form went into effect on June 1. The primary purpose of the new LPG Form 1M registration form is to have a record of all LP-gas containers in case there is ever an issue, such as defective containers.

“We want to keep a record of them,” says April Richardson, director of RRC’s Alternative Fuels Safety. “If we find a problem with the containers, we can reach out to the manufacturer.”

Depending on the type of container, manufacturers must provide proof of certification from either the American

The changes clean up and clarify portions of the form and add instructions.

“It was made more user-friendly,” Richardson says.

The changes to these forms are another step the Alternative Fuels Safety Department has recently undertaken to streamline forms for staff and industry. In May, the RRC adopted a new LPG Form 16 that now combines training attendance information into the form.

Commission Seeking Ways to Reduce Flaring

Oil and gas companies, energy associations, and environmental groups offer suggestions Challenges remain to address the issue of oil and gas flaring in Texas; however, the Railroad Commission is committed to finding solutions.

The first step is to listen.

At their June Conference, RRC commissioners hosted several panels with environmental groups,

oil and gas companies, and energy associations to hear some of their best ideas on reducing flaring with smart approaches in order to not cripple this critical industry that fuels our lives and provides us with many products that we depend upon.

“This is now the time to introduce meaningful reforms to reduce flaring in Texas,” said RRC Chairman Wayne Christian during the meeting.

It is not only about improving conditions to better protect public health and the environment. It makes solid business sense, too.

Among the suggestions the various panelists made included requiring vapor recovery units, creating a guide of best practices, helping facilitate technology innovation, reducing number of days that flaring can occur for a permit, increased transparency about flaring volumes, more pipeline infrastructure, and more online resources.

“One of the challenges that we’ve had, one of the priorities we’ve all had as an agency, is to make sure our data has improved,” Commissioner Christi Craddick said. “I think the data and figuring out how to improve that will be a priority.”

Ed Longanecker, president of the Texas Independent Producers and Royalty Owners Association, pointed out that methane emissions from oil and gas systems are down 23 percent since 1990, according to the EPA.

Club, commented that not all companies are doing the same thing with flaring, and that inconsistency creates a problem.

“Despite this progress of our industry and clearly measurable results, we understand that more can be done,” he said. “It’s this ongoing commitment and a desire again to better access the issues related to methane emissions, flaring, and industry-led solutions in our state that led to the development of the Texas Methane and Flaring Coalition.”

Others who provided testimony during the panel discussions included Colin Leyden with the Environmental Defense Fund, Trammell Crow with EarthX, Stephanie Reed with Parsley Energy, Kirk Edwards with Latigo Petroleum, Mike Starrett with Occidental Petroleum, Todd Staples with the Texas Oil and Gas Association, Jason Modglin with the Texas Alliance of Energy Producers, and Ben Sheppard with Permian Basin Petroleum Association.

That voluntary coalition served as a Blue Ribbon Task Force, which complied a report titled, Flaring Recommendations and Best Practices, Practices , which can be found at this link http://freepdfhosting.com/ a0172f6dab.pdf.

Chairman Christian directed Executive Director Wei Wang to look into the recommendations in the Blue Ribbon Task Force report and bring a substantial proposal for the commissioners to consider implementing for the fall.

V I E W T H E R E PO RT4 On the environmental panel, Cyrus Reed, Interim Director of the Lone Star Chapter of the Sierra

RRC staff is diligently reviewing the recommendations and will present their analysis at the Aug. 4 Commission Conference.

Fiscal Year 2021 Oil and Gas Monitoring and Enforcement Plan Outlines Agency Goals To help guide regulation of the Texas oil and gas industry, the Railroad Commission recently approved its Fiscal Year 2021 Oil and Gas Monitoring and Enforcement Plan.

The oil and gas industry is vital to the state’s budget and economy and contributes toward the country’s security by helping it be energy independent. From common household products to everyday energy consumption, oil and gas has a profound impact on our lives. By ensuring the industry operates in a manner that protects public health and the environment, the Railroad Commission helps protect this critical resource that all Americans rely upon.

The annual planning document outlines how the agency will continue to build upon its current success to ensure all wells in the state are inspected at least once every five years and documents ongoing enhancements to agency operations.

“Just in the past several months we have utilized technological advances to streamline operations and improve our agency’s efficiency,” said Wei Wang, RRC Executive Director.

“We launched a Drone Program that will help inspectors quickly respond to emergencies which is critical in incidents when time is of the essence. The drones also provide aerial views of incidents, which were not available to inspectors in the past. We also added another layer to our transparency initiative with an online portal for our hearings cases. Not only does this portal give the public unprecedented access to view documents and reports used in the hearings, but it also allows parties involved in hearings

to easily save time by filing documents online while also streamlining our staff resources.”

In April the Commission exceeded its Fiscal Year 2020 performance target four months ahead of schedule for the number of oil and gas well and facility inspections. As of this month, 286,205 inspections have been conducted. The RRC has also exceeded the 5-year well inspection frequency goal for the year.

Among other goals, the annual planning document outlines RRC’s education initiatives. The educational outreach helps operators better understand RRC rules which can help them comply with the rules and avoid enforcement action.

The various educational activities that the agency uses include an annual regulatory conference; regulatory forums at sites near large concentrations of oil and gas workers; presentations at industry events, including conferences, seminars and workshops; production of online user guides; and instructional videos.

Because of the impact of COVID-19, the Commission embarked on several virtual training sessions and is exploring ways to provide more online training as part of the agency’s future outreach to the oil and gas industry.

The Oil and Gas Monitoring and Enforcement Plan is located at https://www.rrc.texas.gov/ media/58340/og-s-plan-fy-2021.pdf.

V I E W T H E M O N I TO R I N G & E N F O RC E M E N T P LA N4

More Free Webinars Added In July As part of the ongoing virtual education initiatives, the RRC is hosting a series of free oil and gas regulatory webinars in July to inform and train energy industry representatives on the applicable laws, rules and procedures for hydrocarbon production in Texas.

The webinars will cover a variety of topics including: • • • • • • • • • • • • •

completions filings for oil, gas, and underground injection control drilling permits and online filings field transfers groundwater protection determinations inactive wells oil storage – surface and underground oil and gas waste stream management requirements production reporting and commingle permit applications production sharing agreement and allocation wells Public GIS Viewer new tools severance tax incentive certification application transportation and storage reporting underground injection control permitting, testing, and monitoring requirements

To view the webinar schedule, visit the RRC’s website at https://rrc. texas.gov/oil-gas/oil-gas-workshops-and-seminars/rrc-regulatory-webinars-oil-gas/.

V I E W T H E W E B I N A R S C H E D U L E4 The webinars will also be archived in the Webcasts section provided in the link above.

July Oil and Gas Webinars

MOU Between RRC & TCEQ Updated Agreement helps clarify jurisdictions With multiple environmental regulatory agencies in the state, it is important to define their lines of jurisdiction to help businesses and the public to clearly understand the agencies’ oversight.

To address and anticipate issues, the Railroad Commission and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality have relied upon a longstanding Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), which was recently updated.

The updated memorandum memorializes TCEQ authority to permit Class II injection wells for waste from drinking water systems and transfers wastewater discharge authority from oil and gas operations to the TCEQ. The primary purpose of the memorandum is to identify issues where jurisdiction of the RRC and TCEQ may need interpretation and provides the public the agencies’ interpretation based on authorities granted by the Texas Legislature.

For instance, the Texas Health and Safety Code grants the TCEQ broad authority over the disposal of waste in the state, but the Natural Resources Code and Water Code also grants the RRC authority over waste and pollution prevention from oil and gas operations. The MOU is intended to clarify the role of each agency.

The current changes to the MOU were made in response to House Bill 2230 and HB 2771 from the 84th and 86th Texas legislative sessions.

TCEQ, which regulates drinking water, is now dealing with desalination projects, but a challenge in permitting such a facility is how to safely dispose of the waste, which is heavy in salt. It so happens that RRC already deals with that sort of issue with oil and gas operations and permits Class II injection wells.

The MOU clarifies TCEQ’s authorization to issue these sorts of injection wells for drinking water projects, which helps prevent environmental issues because of the desalination process or other processes, such as removing arsenic from drinking water.

The other issue that was addressed in the updated MOU concerns discharges of produced water, hydrostatic test water, and gas plant effluent resulting from the exploration, production and development of oil, natural gas, or geothermal resources.

Authority over such discharges moves from RRC to TCEQ, which allows TCEQ to regulate oil and gas discharges with its Texas Pollutant Discharge Elimination System after EPA approves amendments to the TCEQ program. This will help streamline the permitting process, which under currently requires a permit from RRC and EPA. In the future, applicants will need a permit only from TCEQ. For RRC, this simplifies its oversight over oil and gas operations, making it more efficient.

BACK Left to Right Rebekah Sykes, LaShondra Washington FRONT Left to Right Leah Woldegiorgis, Rowena Harrel, Blanca Torres, Katie Cable COMPUTER SCREEN Daniel Betts

Blanca Torres is a friendly voice around the In June, the RRC reopened its Central Records

office, answering public inquiries on the phone.

research area in Austin with added safety

Daniel Betts (on the laptop screen) helps

precautions for the COVID-19 pandemic. Our

research historical records and answers digital

team has been hard at work creating ways

data set questions.

so the public can access our records safely in person. Here just a few team members you’ll meet at our Austin office: Leah Woldegiorgis, Rebekah Sykes, Sykes , and Katie

Need to research in person? Book an appointment and check our new safety procedures and rules for researching at http://ow.ly/VzHh50A6dNA

Cable are in charge of researching requests of historical records like microfiche and film.

V I E W O U R S A F E TY P RO C E D U R E S4

Rowena Harrel and LaShondra Washington prepare documents to be digitized and made available online for the public.

See you soon!

Chairman Christian CO M M I S S I O N E R S’ CO R N E R

Over the past several months, the foundations of the Texas economy have been rattled. Jobs have been lost at heartbreaking speed, some businesses have closed, and others worry about their future.

As Chairman of the Railroad Commission of Texas, the agency that regulates the oil and natural gas industry, I take personal responsibility for ensuring that Texans have the energy needed to rebuild and grow, and that the industry can continue to operate responsibly, especially during these difficult times.

The oil and gas industry is central to our lives and to the Texas economy, supporting hundreds of thousands of high-paying jobs and providing significant funding for our schools, universities and essential services. Being deliberate in our work to fortify our energy economy is a worthy undertaking.

To read further, go to https://rrc.texas.gov/media/58551/mrt_06-14-2020.pdf

R E A D M O R E4

Commissioner Craddick CO M M I S S I O N E R’S CO R N E R

At the end of May, Commissioner Craddick spent time in Midland speaking with industry leaders. Her update included recent decisions on regulatory waivers and administrative assistance. She also appreciated receiving feedback from participants on the best ways in which the Commission can provide regulatory certainty to operators during this global pandemic and economic crisis.

Additionally, the Commission heard a number of recommendations from stakeholders pertaining to flaring. Commissioner Craddick appreciates the leadership of Chairman Wayne Christian and the efforts by staff to provide comprehensive and meaningful change on this matter.

Finally, Commissioner Craddick welcomed a new Director of Public Affairs. Mia Hutchens joined the team after spending years in the private sector focused on oil and gas policy.

Commissioner Sitton CO M M I S S I O N E R’S CO R N E R

Commissioner Sitton has continued to keep an eye on the impact of COVID-19 on the economy and energy markets in particular. Texas must both manage the coronavirus and ensure that we keep our vibrant energy industry as strong as possible.

He is also getting ready to address the party convention in Houston later in July.

Oil and Gas Production Statistics

View monthly production totals of crude oil, condensate and total oil; and of gas well gas, casinghead gas, and total natural gas.

V I E W P RO D U CT I O N S TAT I S T I C S4

Enforcement Actions

The Commission has primary oversight and enforcement of the state’s oil and gas industry and intrastate pipeline safety. View RRC’s Latest Enforcement Actions here.

V I E W E N F O RC E M E N T ACT I O N S4

Public GIS Viewer

The Public GIS Viewer allows users to view oil, gas and pipeline data in a map view.

LA U N C H T H E P U B L I C G I S V I E W E R4