
Air Quality
We believe we have a responsibility to reduce our emissions and protect air quality.
Minimizing emissions, including methane emissions, is not only a requirement of the many laws and regulations at both the state and federal levels, but a sound business practice, as it maximizes the volume of gas available for sale to our customers. Our air quality programs are designed so that our operations meet or exceed federal and state regulations that establish emissions limits, emissions control requirements, monitoring, testing, record-keeping, and reporting requirements, to protect and maintain air quality.
Review the details on each of our initiatives to keep the air cleaner now and for the future:
Reducing Emissions
Coterra conducts annual benchmarking of the company’s atmospheric emission performance to identify opportunities and challenges relating to various emission sources. At the federal level, greenhouse gases (GHGs) are regulated under two programs: Title 40, Part 98, Subpart W of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), “Mandatory Greenhouse Gas Reporting,” which mandates annual reporting of GHGs for subject facilities, and 40 CFR Part 60 Subpart OOOOa, “Standards of Performance for Crude Oil and Natural Gas Facilities,” which imposes emission standards, operation standards and control requirements, as well as recordkeeping and reporting requirements for operations resulting in the emissions of both GHGs and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). While Subpart OOOOa regulates how Coterra conducts our operations to reduce emissions and impacts on the ambient air, Subpart W mandates specific procedures for data gathering, integrity review and calculation methodology for annual reporting. In addition to these federal programs1, Coterra also implements internal processes and procedures to ensure our performance meets or exceeds requirements at all federal, state, and local regulatory levels.
Coterra’s commitment to operational excellence leads to the development of internal guidelines, processes and practices that comply with or exceed regulatory requirements. Coterra performs annual benchmarking of GHG emissions to identify opportunities for emission reduction. For oil and natural gas producers such as Coterra, the two key GHGs that make up the majority of our total emissions are carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4). The EPA and industry measure the impacts of GHGs in units of CO2 equivalents (CO2e), which is based on converting methane, nitrous oxides and fluorinated gases to CO2 using global warming potential factors (GWP)2.
The primary contributors to methane emissions are from the estimated methane venting during the pre-separation drill-out process of completion operations and natural gas venting associated with liquid unloading the operating of natural gas pneumatic bleed devices to control surface equipment, as well as the venting associated with liquids unloading. The primary contributor of carbon dioxide emissions is from combustion, such as the combustion of natural gas and diesel fuel to operate compressor stations, drilling rigs, generators and completions equipment. The comprehensive ongoing analysis of our emission profile enables us to track CO2 and CH4 emissions by each categorical source to identify equipment and/or emission sources with the most potential for emission reduction. Further, for Marcellus operations, within 180 days of plug drillout following well stimulation, all producing well sites are evaluated for compliance with state mandated emission criteria to demonstrate that they do not exceed exempt thresholds and thereby do not require an individual air permit for significant sources.
In our efforts to identify and minimize CH4 emissions, Coterra evaluates industry proven technologies and seeks to implement best management practices. The four categorical sources of methane emissions are:
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Liquid Unloading
Accumulation of liquid in the wellbores is an inherent part of upstream operations as wells mature over time and optimization of the processes to remove liquids is a necessary operation for all oil and gas producers. Coterra continues to use the technologies and practices implemented below to minimize methane emissions.
- Install artificial lift equipment and tubing/capillary strings/plunger lifts
- Ensure all liquid unloading events flow directly from the wellhead to the production tanks are monitored in person or tied into pipeline
- Employ automation of liquid soap pumps
Completion Operations
Methane emissions are entrained in the circulating fluid as the liquid is recirculated to tanks from wellheads during completion operations. In 2019, Coterra strived to refine data accuracy by installing Lower Explosive Limit (LEL) detection monitors to track and record actual emission duration for its Marcellus operations in lieu of applying engineering estimates. These LEL detection monitors track and record actual emission duration during the flowback period from wellheads to facility separators which route nearly 100% of gas to sales. In Coterra’s non-Marcellus operations, vapors are combusted via onside safety flares until pipeline specifications are met, in which vapors are then safely routed to sales. Close monitoring of sales quality gas and associated flaring minimized methane emissions in the Permian and Anadarko basins.
Pneumatic Bleed Devices
Pneumatic bleed devices operate on either natural gas or compressed air, and their mechanical actuation helps to operate production equipment across a variety of oilfield operations. When these valves actuate, the supply pressure (either gas or air) is vented to the atmosphere. Historically, pneumatic devices were installed to operate on local natural gas. Technology and equipment advancement has allowed for these valves to be either converted to zero/low/intermittent bleed valves or instrument air valves. As such, Coterra is harnessing these low emitting alternatives for pneumatic devices and actively replacing valves across its asset base.
Leak Detection and Repair
Fugitive emissions are the unintended escape of gas through various components such as flanges, valves, connectors, and pressure relief valves. To help identify and minimize fugitive emissions, Coterra employs the use of optical gas imaging (OGI) cameras for leak-detection inspections on an ongoing basis, . Members of our team are trained and certified Thermographers from the Infrared Training Center. The training provides our operators with not only the operating techniques and basics of thermal science, but also an understanding of the regulatory framework, safety practices, camera techniques, and video image interpretive skills.
Coterra has implemented additional enhanced monitoring practices across its Permian Basin and Anadarko Basin operations. Permian Basin operations undergo semi-annual aerial inspections performed by fixed-wing aircrafts. Coterra has also deployed three centralized, real-time laser monitoring systems across its Permian and Anadarko assets, which provide 24/7 monitoring and detection of emissions.
Reducing Carbon Dioxide Emissions
To reduce CO2 emissions, Coterra focuses on the operation of engines during drilling, completion and production. Examples include:
- Reducing diesel usage by substituting traditional diesel fuel with biodiesel fuels or using line gas/CNG,
- Converting compression to either lean gas or electrical drive, and
- Using electricity to power drilling and completion equipment, where viable.
Coterra utilizes its operated electric grid in the Permian Basin for electric-powered drilling, completion (e-frac), and compression activity where viable. Coterra has begun executing a substantial upgrade of its electric grid and infrastructure to further e-frac operations and its midstream operations.
Additionally, Coterra has implemented green completion practices across its operations. Subpart OOOOa defines green completions as the capture of produced gases during well completion activities and allows for flaring or venting only when it is not technically feasible to capture the gases or the situation presents a hazardous condition. This is a collaborative effort between Coterra’s Completion Engineers and Operations team to orchestrate the sequence of flowback processes and capture produced gases during the transition to normal production. This process optimization has material impacts to flaring and venting reductions.
Technical and engineering designs are another manner in which Coterra can reduce the need for flaring and venting. New facility designs such as “tankless” production batteries are engineered to substantially reduce potential emissions sources, while vapor recovery units capture gas that would have been sent to flare in legacy facilities. Coterra initiated a comprehensive effort to deploy this facility design on new production batteries, and to retrofit legacy facilities across its Permian operations as new wells are added to existing infrastructure.
Coterra has targeted pneumatic devices to minimize its emissions. Coterra is replacing pneumatic pumps, where operating conditions permit, that were operating on natural gas with pumps that operate on electricity and using instrument air in place of natural gas for facility equipment operations. Coterra has removed, replaced, or retrofitted its inventoried high-bleed gas pneumatic devices across its operations. Coterra is committed to installing instrument air operated pneumatics where feasible, and to continue a rigorous retrofit campaign aimed at eliminating natural gas operated pneumatic devices.
Emission Reduction Programs and Achievements
As part of Coterra’s commitment to support practical and sustainable environmental programs, we are an original member and supporter of API’s “The Environmental Partnership” program launched in December 2017. We participate with a group of our industry’s largest companies to reduce methane and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in our operations through the sharing of best practices and implementing innovative strategies. Coterra is excited to be an original member of The Environmental Partnership and we look forward to the continued growth in its membership and the resulting benefits for Coterra and all our stakeholders.
Coterra also participates in the EPA Natural Gas STAR program. The Natural Gas STAR program is a voluntary program that encourages oil and natural gas companies to adopt proven, cost-effective technologies and practices that improve operational efficiencies and reduce methane emissions to the atmosphere.
Footnotes
1 Coterra is also subject to state regulations that impose even more stringent requirements on certain emission sources.
2 The Global Warming Potential (GWP) was developed to allow comparisons of the global warming impacts of different gases. The current GWPs over 100 years are 1 for CO2, 25 for CH4, and 298 for N2O. The GWPs allow for the conversion of different gases to a common unit, namely CO2e.