Are you on the EPA’s methane ICR list? If so, call the LDAR experts at OTA Compression.
For several years the EPA has been ramping up efforts to trap volatile organic emissions and other gases from storage and compression sites. As of the spring of 2016 they turned their sights to methane leaks at oil and gas wells—and they’ve selected the operators of 2,757 wells for an Information Collection Request (ICR) to, in their words, “require oil and natural gas companies to provide extensive information needed to develop regulations to reduce methane emissions from existing oil and gas sources.
“In addition, the agency announced plans to issue a Request for Information to seek information on innovative strategies that can accurately and cost-effectively locate, measure and mitigate methane emissions.
Another EPA publication explains what facilities it wants to learn about: “The ICR seeks information from the following segments of the oil and gas industry: onshore production, gathering and boosting, gas processing, transmission, storage, and liquefied natural gas (LNG) import/export.”
In short, if you received one of the EPA notifications you have a set amount of time to report methane leaks—and the EPA is also asking for help in deciding how best to reduce them.
While previously regulating VOCs and related emissions the EPA discovered that a bigger issue was methane emissions at the tens of thousands of oil and gas wells across the US. By accounting for and dealing with these emissions they expect to reduce them by 510,000 short tons of methane by 2025.
Compliance is not optional, even with an upcoming administration change. OTA’s Lead, Environmental Services, Gabriel Kent, points out that changing or revoking previous administrations’ rulings is a long an challenging process. Compliance deadlines range from 30-180 days depending on the information required.
How can OTA help? Their state-of-the-art Leak Detection and Remediation teams use FLIR cameras to locate leaks that are undetectable with standard Audible, Visual, Olfactory (AVO) methods.
Compliance includes cataloging and numbering every possible leak source and supplying test results for it. The purpose of the ICR is to establish base numbers around which the EPA can build future limits.
And this is just the beginning. Does this sound overwhelming? Can you spare the people, the expense of equipment and time to first LEARN the rules then comply?
OTA Compression’s LDAR (Leak Detection and Remediation) team, experts at Quad 0-A, Section 111 (d) of the Clean Air Act and other regulations, can help you with all aspects of ICR and more. They can catalog and test your applicable equipment then give you a report satisfying all EPA requirements—no more and no less.
Simple, right? You’re making one call to OTA, sharing the overview of what you need, then logging in to the OTA website and retrieving your information. Done!
Let the experts at OTA Compression relieve you of that stress and prevent EPA fines. Call them this week.
OTA Compression is your one-stop for Quad O emission testing, smart control devices, quality process equipment, natural gas or electric wellhead compression/vapor recovery and field services. Call 972-835-6383 or 432-270-4157. See them online at www.otacompression.com.
