AskChesapeake

Chesapeake Energy works to be a good environmental steward and to employ best practices in order to protect our community. As you may have heard, recent privately-funded studies suggest there are unregulated air emissions occurring in the Barnett Shale area which are allegedly leading to diminished air quality. The following information has been compiled to help place perspective on this important issue.

Current Air Quality

In 1991, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) declared the greater Dallas/Fort Worth region to be an “ozone nonattainment area.” This designation means that the air quality in the North Texas area is poor and that it has not met the standards to reduce emissions set by the EPA and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ). The area received the status long before natural gas drilling became active in the Barnett Shale.

According to the TCEQ and the EPA, car and truck emissions are by far the largest sources and contributors to ozone formation in the nine-county DFW nonattainment area at 43%.

Recent Emissions Studies

Texas Commission on Evirionmental Quality Studies

On January 12, 2010, the TCEQ released its results of air samples taken in Fort Worth during December. The study evaluated more than 100 natural gas production facilities within the city limits of Fort Worth and utilized Forward Looking Infrared Cameras and toxic vapor analyzers to provide real time detection and estimation of total volatile organic compound (VOC) concentrations.

No detectable amounts of VOCs were found during testing, and according to the TCEQ results indicated no cause for concern.

Within two weeks after releasing the Fort Worth results, the TCEQ shared the same positive results with the City of Flower Mound where similar tests were performed. Testing there also found little or no benzene.

On January 27, 2010, the TCEQ issued its much anticipated survey results from data collected last fall. The results reinforced initial findings in the region and the natural gas industry’s assertion that production of natural gas in Tarrant County does not negatively impact ambient air quality. “There’s no need for widespread alarm,” said Toxicology Division Director Dr. Michael Honeycutt during a press conference at the TCEQ’s regional office in Fort Worth.

• TCEQ's most recent study monitored 94 sites across five counties and found only two locations in Wise County (non-Chesapeake) that would trigger immediate actions to reduce emissions. Both sites have since been corrected.
• TCEQ’s Fort Worth study reviewed 126 locations and found no sites with high levels of benzene.
• Existing monitoring stations near oil and gas production have shown a decrease in benzene levels for the past decade.
• TCEQ will install two more long-term monitoring locations at Eagle Mountain Lake and the community of DISH.
• TCEQ expects to resume similar air quality testing in the spring of 2010.

The TCEQ is the environmental agency for Texas. The TCEQ strives to protect our state's human and natural resources consistent with sustainable economic development. Our goal is clean air, clean water, and the safe management of waste. For more information about the TCEQ, visit www.tceq.state.tx.us/.

Click here to read the TCEQ press release entitled, Oil and Gas Air Test in Ft. Worth Find "No Cause for Concern."  

Prviately Funded Studies

The TCEQ’s Fort Worth results contradict a privately-funded air emission study conducted at a Westworth Village farm. The study represented data incorrectly and exaggerated the potential hazards based on laboratory results from samples collected over a 24-hour period. Industrial Hygiene and Safety Technology, Inc. (IHST), an outside consultant retained by Fort Worth to review the study  indicated the results from the Westworth Village study were “rudimentary and inaccurate” in nature. After technical review it is apparent that the same approach was used in the Town of DISH.

Click on the icon to download or read the IHST study review.

Benzene

The TCEQ has found the production of natural gas in Tarrant, western Dallas and eastern Johnson counties generates little to no benzene air emissions. Most of the natural gas produced by Chesapeake in the Barnett Shale has 0.001% or 1/1,000th of 1% benzene in the gas stream, as compared to approximately 0.5 – 1% in vehicle gasoline.

Benzene is:

• Colorless chemical produced from a variety of natural and industrial sources.
• Not unique to the natural gas industry. 
• Ranked in the top 20 chemicals used for the production of industrial products measured by volume. 
• Found in tobacco smoke, gas stations emissions, motor vehicle exhaust, building materials, fireplaces and industrial emissions

For more information on Benzene, click here.

Dry Gas vs. Wet Gas

The typical “dry” gas that Chesapeake is producing in Tarrant, eastern Johnson and western Dallas counties is virtually all methane and contains little to no liquid hydrocarbons, such as those commonly found in “wet” gas. These liquid hydrocarbons may include benzene or other chemical compounds. 

Emissions 101

It is important to distinguish between two kinds of ozone-forming pollutants: nitrogen oxides (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Common sources of NOx include car and truck emissions, power plants, and off-road equipment such as gas compressor engines and various industrial boilers and heaters. Common sources of VOCs include natural sources, like trees, grass and soil, as well as commonly found household items such as paint, cleansers, disinfectants, air fresheners and dry-cleaned clothing.

Source: North Central Texas Council of Governments, September 14, 2007

Sunlight and heat interact with NOx and VOCs in the atmosphere, causing a chemical reaction which results in ozone formation.

If both NOx and VOCs contribute to formation of ozone, why is the reduction of NOx emissions the most effective path to controlling ozone formation in the greater Metroplex area, according to the TCEQ?  A complete answer is complex, but one main reason is relatively simple. Most VOCs emissions (66%) in the Metroplex come from naturally occurring sources. Even if the remaining 34% of man-made VOCs were reduced, it would have limited impact on overall VOC emissions. The natural matter would still emit the majority of VOCs.

On the other hand, natural matter is responsible for only 12% of NOx emissions, meaning a full 88% of NOx is from man-made sources — something which can be better controlled. As a result, the Metroplex has a greater chance in reducing ozone-forming emissions by targeting NOx sources.

NOx Emissions in the Barnett Shale Area

Car and truck emissions are by far the largest sources and contributors to ozone formation in the nine-county DFW nonattainment area. TCEQ data shows that on-road vehicles emit more than 3 times (41%) as much NOx as natural gas production activities (13%) in the nine-county DFW nonattainment area.

On-road vehicles are the largest contributors to ozone formation the greater Metroplex area. 

Barnett Shale gas producers, like other large industrial sources in the Metroplex, have already taken very significant steps to reduce NOX emissions. Among these is the successful installation of catalytic controls on hundreds of engines of a particular class. Compared to engines without these controls, the adapted engines reduce NOx emissions by 75% to 95%. EPA regulations require the conversion of another class of engines by March 2010 to further reduce NOx emissions. A more stringent TCEQ regulation aimed at a certain class of engines in 33 East Texas counties will further reduce NOx emissions by March 2010.

Together, these actions will result in a significant reduction in NOx emissions in the north and east Texas area, and get North Central Texas closer toward lifting the nonattainment designation.

VOC Emissions in the Barnett Shale Area

VOC emissions are generally limited to distinct areas of the Barnett Shale. Most of the Barnett natural gas is very pure methane. Little to no VOCs are emitted from Chesapeake’s natural gas wells in the “thermally mature” parts of the Barnett Shale. The vast majority of Chesapeake’s Barnett Shale wells in the nonattainment area do not require tanks for condensate storage because of the lack of VOCs.

In the northwestern, western and southwestern edges of the Barnett, the gas generally has a higher VOC content. To meet TCEQ air permit standards in these particular areas, producers may take special actions to minimize the amount of VOCs emitted.

It has been suggested that green completions is a way to help reduce emissions from natural gas production in the Barnett Shale area. This process involves connecting a well directly to a pipeline to avoid the venting of gas into the atmosphere. However, green completions on wells that do not have VOCs would have no value in reducing overall emissions, as this method is aimed at reducing VOCs, and not NOx, the primary ozone pollutant in the Metroplex.

Correcting Misconceptions about Air Emissions

The natural gas industry took some heat recently when an emissions study with flawed assumptions received a spotlight in the press. Misleading statements suggested that emissions from Barnett Shale gas production are more responsible for ozone formation than the emissions from hundreds of thousands of cars and trucks operated in the area each day. Such statements are false, and the TCEQ is to be commended for its recent efforts to set the record straight. 

When TCEQ data shows that on-road vehicles emit more than three times (46%) as much NOX as natural gas production activities (13%), it is hard to understand how anyone could state that Barnett Shale gas producers are more responsible for ozone problems in the D/FW Metroplex than on-road vehicles.

In addition, according to TCEQ data, the gas industry’s VOC emissions in the nonattainment area represent approximately 5% of the total VOC emissions inventory for the region.

It is important to point out the contrasting relationship between drilling activity and ozone emissions in the Barnett. As rigs began dramatically increasing across the Barnett Shale from 2000 through 2008, ozone emissions decreased in the nonattainment area, according to TCEQ data. Most likely because natural gas production is a new and unfamiliar industry in urban areas, natural gas producers are mistakenly targeted as the major source of ozone-forming pollution in the Metroplex, which is simply not the case. The emissions problem, which existed long before the drilling activity, cannot be laid solely at the doorstep of the natural gas industry. 

Chesapeake as an Environmental Steward

Chesapeake has employed several EPA-recommended best practices to reduce emissions, including:

 

 

Chesapeake was awarded the EPA’s 2009 Natural Gas STAR Production Partner award for its voluntary partnership that encourages oil and natural gas companies to adopt cost-effective technologies and practices that improve operational efficiency and reduce emissions of methane.

Working Together to Control Ozone

Everyone must work together to make a difference in our future air quality. Here are some ways that we can all make a difference in reducing ozone: 

• Consider joining a carpool
• Take the bus or another mode of public transportation
• Adhere to a regular vehicle maintenance program
• Have your vehicle inspected annually

The natural gas industry offers a unique solution by producing a clean-burning energy source with enormous potential to reduce ozone formation. As more businesses take steps to convert their fleets to natural gas, more headway will be made in reducing overall ozone-forming emissions in North Central Texas.

For our part, the natural gas industry is committed to working closely with the TCEQ and local governments to continue to help lower ozone concentrations in the Metroplex. It will take all of us coming together to make a difference in reducing ozone in North Texas.

More Information

• On October 29, 2009, Chesapeake presented "Ozone Reduction Takes a Team Effort" at the Fort Worth Business Press Breakfast Symposium. Click on the icon to view or download the presentation . 
• Barnett Shale Energy Education Council: www.bseec.org