Aereon
On March 2, 2019, the USEPA finalized a voluntary New Owner Clean Air Act Audit (CAA) Program custom-made for the oil and natural gas sector. The program can be used by new owners of upstream exploration and production sites to voluntarily find, correct and self-disclose Clean Air Act violations. This can result in timely and cost-effective CAA […]
Heater treaters can be significant sources of “flash gas” from oil and gas production facilities. Flash gas is natural gas that is released from a wellstream when the liquid undergoes a pressure drop or when the liquid’s temperature is increased. In a heater treater, the crude oil/condensate and produced water experience a pressure drop and […]
Oil and gas production processes result in the venting of a portion of the produced natural gas. Vent gas management is a continuing issue for oil and gas operators. Companies must balance permitting requirements, regulatory compliance and corporate responsibility to minimize pollution, waste and liabilities. Recovery of the vent gas increases revenue to the facility […]
Enclosed combustion units (ECD) also called enclosed combustion devices or enclosed flares are widely used in oil and gas operations to control vent gas VOC and methane emissions. ECDs are a good alternative control device when a vapor recovery unit (VRU) is not feasible for the application. Many operators prefer ECDs over candlestick (open tipped) […]
Volume of gas to be recovered The gas to be recovered can be referred to as the suction gas to the VRU. This includes data on the cyclical flowrate of the suction gas (i.e., minimum, maximum and average flowrate). When possible, this is best determined using direct measurement. Chemical makeup of the gas to be […]
What is a VRU? A VRU, or vapor recovery unit, is a compression system used to collect and compress low volume gas streams for injection into the suction of a larger compressor, a meter run, a local site fuel gas system or directly into a gas gathering line. Mechanical VRUs consist of a driver motor or […]
Process Description To meet pipeline specifications, operators are often required to dehydrate their produced natural gas that is saturated with water vapor. Water vapor in natural gas pipelines can result in the formation of hydrates that can obstruct or plug the pipe. Also, water vapor in a pipeline can cause corrosion due to the presence of carbon […]
Federal and State regulatory rules require oil and gas (O&G) operators to reduce natural gas venting and leaks from their operations. NSPS OOOO has standards for VOC emissions from storage tanks, compressor seals, pneumatic controllers and fugitive leaks (primarily natural gas processing). NSPS OOOOa has standards for VOC emissions from storage tanks, compressor seals, pneumatic controllers, pneumatic […]
Operators use enforceable limits in air permits to avoid triggering NSPS OOOOa applicability for crude oil, condensate and produced water storage tanks. To obtain an enforceable limit, the limits must be included in a legally and practically enforceable air permit or other authorization. Air permits granted by a federal, state, local or tribal authority typically […]
For oilfield storage tanks, NSPS OOOO and OOOOa have similar requirements regarding applicability, emission limitations, recordkeeping and reporting requirements. Some exceptions for storage tanks are different applicability dates for the two rules and NSPS OOOOa has additional requirements for closed vent systems (piping) used to control NSPS OOOOa affected facility storage tanks. These rules affect […]