Natural Gas STAR
Program
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EPA POLLUTION PREVENTER
g Methane tmissions
Increasing Efficiency
aximizing Profits
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Program Overview
The Natural Gas STAR Program is one of many
voluntary programs established by the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to promote
government/industry partnerships that encourage cost-
effective, market-based approaches to reducing
greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Natural Gas STAR
engages all sectors of the natural gas industry-
production, gathering, processing, transmission, and
distribution—to identify and implement technologies and
practices to reduce emissions of methane, a potent
GHG. In developing the Program, EPA worked closely
with the natural gas industry to create a flexible,
technically sound program that is easy to administer.
The Program's Best Management Practices (BMPs),
which were selected through a collaborative process
involving EPA and natural gas industry advisers, are
widely applicable to the industry and cost-effective for
most operations.
Why Decrease Emissions?
Through use of cost-effective technologies and procedures,
companies can reduce methane emissions and therefore:
• Increase efficiency. The use of improved technologies
and procedures helps improve operational efficiency in all
sectors of the natural gas industry.
• Maximize profits. Reducing methane loss and
improving efficiency saves money that can be reinvested
or credited directly to the bottom line.
• Protect the environment. Methane, the primary
component of natural gas, is a potent greenhouse gas—
21 times stronger than carbon dioxide. Methane reduction
helps reduce climate change impacts.
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Today, the Natural Gas STAR Program is recognized
for its many successes. Since the Program's launch
in 1993, Natural Gas STAR partners have eliminated
more than 220 billion cubic feet (Bcf) of methane
emissions, resulting in approximately $660 million in
increased revenues. Membership in the Program has
grown to include nearly 100 companies, and the
Program has received endorsements from almost
a dozen major industry trade associations.
How Much is 220 Bcf?
That's enough natural gas to heat more than 3 million
homes for 1 year, and the carbon equivalent of
removing almost 20 million cars from the nation's
highways or planting 26 million acres of trees.
Natural Gas STAR provides an opportunity
for companies to take their corporate climate
commitment one step further. By reporting methane
emissions reductions to EPA, partners help build
a sustainable future and create a lasting record of
their accomplishments. They also identify themselves
as environmental leaders and strategically
position themselves as climate change issues
continue to unfold.
" Our goal is to have 100 percent of our members participate in
cost-effective programs like Natural Gas STAR. They'll help
improve our energy efficiency and reduce methane and other
greenhouse gas emissions while keeping the economy growing."
— Red Cavaney, American Petroleum Institute President and CEO
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Join the Program in
Three Easy Steps
Sign Up.
To become a partner, you simply review and sign the
Program's Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). By
signing the MOU, your company and EPA agree to
undertake the activities outlined in steps 2 & 3.
Gas STAR is Your Program
• Kou determine which activities and technologies are
applicable and cost-effective for your operations.
• You commit to participating at a level that best suits
your company and operations.
• You understand that implementation of specific
practices is not mandatory, and implementation plans
are not binding.
• You can terminate the partnership at any time with
no penalties, further obligation, or publicity.
Develop an Implementation Plan.
Once EPA receives your MOU, you will be contacted
by a program manager who can assist you in planning
your company's participation and implementation
strategy. Natural Gas STAR can also provide a variety
of tools to assist you in implementing the Program
in your operations. The first step is developing an
implementation plan—based on corporate business
objectives, available resources, and potential methane
reduction possibilities—that outlines BMPs, Partner
Reported Opportunities (PROs), and other emissions
reductions activities your company plans to implement.
EPA has developed A Hands-on Guide to Implementing
the Natural Gas STAR Program to guide you through
the program's milestones and support your company's
efforts to initiate projects that reduce methane emissions.
Also, EPA staff are always willing to personally assist
in the development of your implementation plan.
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Natural Gas STAR Key Components
Best Management Practices (BMPs)—a set of cost-effective,
widely applicable methane emissions reductions
opportunities/options, aimed at reducing leaks and process
venting from the largest sources, which were jointly identified
by EPA and gas industry representatives.
Partner Reported Opportunities (PROs)—unique activities
(e.g., practices, process changes, or technologies) that
companies have identified and implemented—in addition to
the core set of BMPs—to cost-effectively reduce methane
emissions.
" The Program fit into our methane reduction program in that
it showed us how to do the things we were already doing a
little bit better. It showed us what some of the partners were
doing; some of the equipment that they were using, rather
than equipment that we used in the past; and it showed us
that we could take account of methane emissions."
—James Frederick, Unocal Gulf Region USA
Submit Annual Progress Reports.
Following implementation, your company submits
annual reports documenting the previous year's
emissions reductions activities.
In addition to annual emissions reductions reports,
Natural Gas STAR partners are encouraged to report
historical emissions reductions actions back to 1990.
Companies that account for these historical reductions
and submit them to EPA create a permanent record
of a company's methane emissions reductions efforts.
Although all data submitted to EPA remain
confidential, partners often use emissions reductions
data to identify themselves as environmental leaders
and position themselves to meet new climate
challenges head-on.
Online data collection tools and Web-enabled annual
reporting forms allow Natural Gas STAR partners
to quickly and easily submit their emissions reduction
data to EPA. You are also free to devise your own
reporting format (e.g., tracking databases,
spreadsheets).
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" The Natural Gas STAR Program allows partners to be recognized for their methane
emissions programs, and to share with other partners information on cutting edge
technology for reducing emissions."
— David Davidowitz, Consolidated Edison Company of New York, Inc.
Natural Gas STAR Best Management Practices
Production
• BMP I: Identify and replace high-bleed pneumatic devices.
• BMP II: Install flash tank separators on glycol dehydrators.
• BMP III: Identify and implement additional activities or PROs that
can reduce methane emissions profitably.
Gathering and Processing
• BMP I: Replace gas pneumatics with instrument air systems.
• BMP II: Install flash tank separators on glycol dehydrators.
• BMP III: mplement directed inspection and maintenance (DI&M)
at gas plants and booster stations.
• BMP IV: Identify and implement additional activities or PROs that
can reduce methane emissions profitably.
Transmission and Distribution
• BMP I: Implement DI&M programs at gate stations and surface
facilities.*
• BMP II: Identify and rehabilitate leaky distribution pipes.*
• BMP III: Implement DI&M programs at compressor stations. **
• BMP IV: Use turbines at compressor stations for new installations
or when retiring reciprocating engines. **
• BMP V: Identify and replace high-bleed pneumatic devices. **
• BMP VI: Identify and implement additional activities or PROs that
can reduce methane emissions profitably.
* BMPs typically reported by distribution sector partners.
** BMPs typically reported by transmission sector partners.
Information on these technologies and practices can be found in the Natural Gas STAR Lessons
Learned and the PRO Fact Sheets located on the Natural Gas STAR Web site at www.epa.gov/gasstar.
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Benefits of Joining the
Natural Gas STAR Program
Increase Profits
Companies experience many benefits by becoming
a Natural Gas STAR partner—one of the most notable
is financial savings. Since the Program's launch in 1993,
not only have partners reduced methane emissions,
but they have saved $660 million. In 2001 alone, the
average Natural Gas STAR partner reported more than
$230,000 in savings.
Engage in Technology Transfer: The
Key to Natural Gas STAR
Partnership
Natural Gas STAR partners are at the forefront of
methane emissions reductions technology. Gas STAR
draws upon this wealth of partner-provided information
and presents its partners with many opportunities to
learn about methane emissions reductions
technologies and techniques. Resources available to
all Gas STAR partners include:
• Detailed Methane Reduction Technology Reports
• Partner Reported Opportunity Fact Sheets
• Partner Company Case Studies
• Technology Transfer Workshops
• Annual Implementation Workshop
EPA also analyzes emerging technologies to help
identify and evaluate equipment and process changes
that might lead to reduced methane emissions and
improved operations for Natural Gas STAR partners.
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Address Regulatory Issues
The Natural Gas STAR Program encourages federal,
state, and local officials to consider regulatory flexibility
that takes into account voluntary Gas STAR partner
efforts to reduce methane emissions.
Receive National Recognition
Natural Gas STAR partners enjoy a number of public
relations opportunities. EPA regularly recognizes them
through:
• Partner Updates and Bulletins. Natural Gas
STAR'S quarterly Partner Update newsletter and
periodic bulletins highlight the successes and
accomplishments of partners and the Program, and
offer news on PROs and emerging technologies.
• Case Studies. Natural Gas STAR partner case
studies help companies learn how others have
implemented Program activities—from a company's
decision to join to evaluating its BMPs and PROs
to documenting its results.
• PRO Fact Sheets. The Program develops fact
sheets on PROs to provide partners with new ideas
and basic information for evaluating the economic
feasability of implementing partner-reported methane
reduction techniques and technologies.
• Press Releases. EPA circulates press releases on
its annual recognition awards and new partners.
• Journal Articles. Articles featuring Natural Gas STAR
partner achievements and Program activities often
appear in national journals such as the
American Gas Journal, Oil & Gas
Journal, Hydrocarbon
Processing, Pipeline and Gas
Journal, and American Oil
and Gas Reporter.
• Public Service
Announcements. Natural
Gas STAR public service
announcements listing
successful partners and their
accomplishments have appeared in the
Harvard Business Review, American Gas,
and Pipe Line & Gas Industry, and other
periodicals of the American Petroleum Institute.
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Be Recognized as an Environmental Leader
One of the most notable results of joining Natural Gas STAR, aside from the cost savings,
is being recognized for making a commitment to a better environment by employing
pollution prevention techniques and sound management practices to reduce methane
emissions. Since 1993, Natural Gas STAR partners have prevented more than 220 billion
cubic feet (Bcf) of methane emissions thereby helping to protect the environment and to
create a sustainable future.
' We have been a partner since 2000, and put forth the effort to
strongly implement our program. It has paid off not only in
cost savings and environmental protection, but we also
received a Partner of the Year Award. This award from EPA is
icing on the cake."
—James Meier, Pioneer Natural Resources, USA
• Partner of the Year Award. Each year, EPA presents
a "Partner of the Year" award to one company from
each sector that made exceptional progress in
reducing methane emissions. Past recipients include:
Atlanta Gas, Bay State Gas Company, BP, Brooklyn
Union, ChevronTexaco Corporation, ConocoPhillips,
Columbia Gas and Columbia Gulf Transmission,
Consolidated Edison Company of New York, Duke
Energy Gas Transmission, Enron Transportation
Services, ExxonMobil Production Company, Kerr-
McGee Oil and Gas, Marathon Oil Company, PECO
Energy, Pioneer Natural Resources USA Inc., and
Southwest Gas.
• Other Awards. In addition to the "Partner of the
Year" award, EPA recognizes other partners for
"Continuing Excellence," identifies an annual
"Implementation Manager of the Year," and applauds
outstanding new partners as "Rookies of the Year."
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