Colorado regulators target tiny oil field device that’s a big contributor to greenhouse gas, ozone pollution – By Mark Jaffe (Colorado Sun) / January 21 2021
Even major oil companies admit that tens of thousands of pneumatic controllers should be upgraded to prevent natural gas from seeping out
Colorado air regulators and oil industry engineers have been on the hunt for fugitive chemical emissions from drill sites and storage facilities for years, and they are now closing in on what may be “the last of the low-hanging fruit” – pneumatic controllers.
The Air Quality Control Commission is set to take up a proposed rule in February to require non-emitting or no-bleed controllers on all new oil and gas projects and at existing sites being upgraded.
“This is the largest remaining source of emissions for us to address … the last of the low-hanging fruit,” said Michael Paules, associate director of API Colorado, an industry trade group.
The ubiquitous devices manage temperatures, pressure and liquid levels at oil and gas facilities and drill pads. The controllers run on natural gas from the well itself and every time they open and close a valve or other mechanism, they release a little bit of gas.
The methane released contributes to Front Range ozone pollution and is a powerful greenhouse gas.
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