There are thousands of oil and gas wells operating across the state of Texas and the USA. Many wells are sometimes flared and the sight of these flares can cause concern to citizens that observe them near their residence or while traveling across the state. They are also necessary for safe operation at Oil and Gas facilities. This write up will help explain flare operations at oil and gas sites.

Many customers are inquiring about Cimarron Energy’s “Tankless Facility” solution and how it can lower emissions and lower the risks associated with using tanks on well sites. Our solution eliminates the need for temporary storage of oil by using a blowcase to pressurize the oil for injection into an oil pipeline using available gas from a compressor.

In November 2019, the EPA finalized revisions to emission calculation methods used for organic liquid storage tanks found in AP 42 Chapter 7, Section 7.1. These methods were developed by the American Petroleum Institute (API) for fixed roof and floating roof tanks. The previous revisions were made in November 2006.

WPI exclusive distributor for our ARControl™ brand in the Eagle Ford region

(Updated January 2, 2020)

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 dioxide (CO₂) or hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) in the natural gas.

In Texas, University Lands (UL) manages surface and mineral interests for 2.1 million acres of land across 19 counties in West Texas for the Permanent University Fund (PUF). In 1876, the Texas Constitution set aside land in West Texas to support The University of Texas and Texas A&M systems. The PUF receives revenue from UL land leased to oil and gas (O&G) companies.

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 compliance.

On December 12, 2018, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) proposed air quality rules that would affect VOC emissions from existing oil and gas (O&G) facilities. The proposed rules are used comply with the USEPA’s Control Techniques Guidelines for the Oil and Natural Gas Industry (CTG) published in October 2016. The CTG document guides States in how to comply with VOC Reasonably Available Control Technology (RACT) requirements for ozone nonattainment areas and Ozone Transport Region (OTR). Pennsylvania is located in the northeast States OTR. These VOC RACT requirements would apply to existing O&G facilities that are not affected by the NSPS OOOO and OOOOa. The rules can also apply to NSPS OOOO and OOOOa sources since the States can be more stringent than federal requirements.