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Ensuring protection for the land in and around oil and gas operations, as well as forging partnerships that enable environmental stewardship and increase recovery of U.S. oil and gas resources, are key aspects of the Department of Energy's Fossil Energy oil and natural gas environmental program.
Strategies to increase access to oil and gas resources on public lands managed by states and the federal government, while protecting the environment, have a particular emphasis in the DOE program. “Federal lands” constitute over 30 percent of the nation’s land, and currently provide over 25 percent of the nation’s oil supplies, and nearly 38 percent of its natural gas supplies. A large portion of new potential U.S. oil and gas supplies could come from federal lands. The National Petroleum Council, U.S. Geological Survey and others have estimated that over half of the natural gas that remains to be discovered in the United States underlies lands under the stewardship of the federal government.
Smaller Footprint Advanced Technology
The incredibly shrinking footprint of modern-day oil and gas operations provides one of the best ways of protecting the surface environment surrounding exploration and production activities. Today's typical oil rig, for example, occupies 80 percent less space than a vintage-1970s rig.
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Anadarko's ultra-small-footprint "Arctic Platform" may offer environmental benefits in regions other than just the Arctic.
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In 2004, the Energy Department completed a successful demonstration of a drilling rig that could reduce the surface footprint even more, perhaps leading to a future "zero-footprint" rig. Anadarko Petroleum Corporation's "Arctic Platform," a lightweight, 100-by-100-foot aluminum drilling platform elevated a dozen feet above the frozen tundra on specially designed steel legs, is a prototype of a future environmentally- sensitive drill rig. Based on platforms similar to those used offshore, the Arctic Platform is compact and modular, allowing it to be safely transported by air or with ultra-low-impact vehicles. The concept could one day eliminate the need for gravel pads and the temporary ice roads and ice pads that oil companies now must use on the North Slope. It could also be used in the lower-48 states in ecologically fragile areas such as wetlands. The project successfully demonstrated that leaving the temporary facility on location has had little to no impact on surrounding flora and fauna. Read DOE Announcement >
The results of DOE-sponsored studies are enabling regulators and producers on Alaska's North Slope to determine when oil and gas equipment can be moved over the tundra without risking damage. Over the past two years, the Office of Fossil Energy assisted the state of Alaska in developing a better scientific basis for determining when exploration operations can be conducted. The new ecological model is a major improvement over the prior standard that was established more than 30 years ago without the benefit of systematic scientific analysis and up-to-date information. In
December 2004, the Alaska Department of Natural Resources announced the opening of the East Coastal area of the North Slope to oil and gas exploration. The opening was the earliest since 1995 and was two weeks earlier than the previous year. The early opening was credited to this “Tundra Travel” study. It was expected that the closing of the winter season would be extended at least three weeks. Lengthening a 3-month exploration drilling season by up to one month, with no increased tundra disturbance, can enable industry to complete exploration wells within one season rather than two, and Alaskans will receive the economic benefits of oil production sooner than would otherwise occur.
Beyond Arctic environments, the Department's Office of Fossil Energy is sponsoring the development and demonstration of technological advancements such as microdrilling technologies with reduced environmental impact. Some can even be transported by helicopter to roadless drilling sites.
Managing Wastes
Technical and scientific data and innovative decision making tools developed by DOE are enabling industry to improve its environmental performance. Examples of this role are technology feasibility studies and the Drilling Waste Management System website which is interactive and provides industry easy access to
information about regulations and waste management options, ranging from onsite waste management to disposal in salt caverns.
Another category of waste management work that has been sponsored by the Department of Energy concerns the special handling of "naturally occurring radioactive materials" (NORM). Identifying and disposing of NORM wastes from oil and gas field operations involve regulatory issues at both the federal and state level. Studies funded by the Department of Energy have focused on risk assessment and disposal methods, including underground injection, landfills, and salt caverns.
Soil Remediation
Partnering with the Petroleum Environmental Research Forum (PERF), the DOE has assisted in providing the technical basis for risk assessment and risk-based regulations for addressing potential soil contamination from petroleum and petroleum waste spills. These efforts include research on ecological risk, plant and animal uptake of hydrocarbons, sediment remediation, natural attenuation of hydrocarbons in the soil, and appropriate cleanup levels for constituents of concern. The book, Risk Based Decision Making for Assessing Petroleum Impacts at Exploration and Production Sites, characterizes the results of this research. A workshop sponsored by DOE and PERF in May 2002 on the “state-of-the-art” of bioremediation for hydrocarbon impacted soil addressed bioremediation as practiced by the oil industry, toxicity assessment after bioremediation, remaining gaps in technology and science, regulatory concerns, and next steps to address these gaps and concerns.
Brine spills at oil field sites are often more difficult to clean up than oil spills. The Department of Energy has funded research at the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve in Oklahoma for a number of years to address the impacts and clean up of brine spills from past operations, most notably the characterization of oil and brine-impacted sites, the remediation of a brine spill using a subsurface drainage system, and most recently an investigation of soil ecosystem restoration following remediation of oil and brine spills and the ecological indicators of that restoration. The research employs risk assessment techniques to gauge the likelihood of damage to soil ecosystems from spills of oil and brine and to determine appropriate clean-up standards.
A DOE-funded study of ecological indicators of remediation and restoration has generated considerable interest in the industry and has directly led to additional EPA research to further develop concepts and ideas that resulted from DOE’s research. One important finding is that the most sensitive ecological indicators of soil ecosystem restoration identified in this study (nematode numbers and community structure) are also the least expensive of all the ecological indicators investigated. The American Petroleum Institute has supported this work by facilitating participation of their member companies to provide access to field sites and field assistance.
Partnerships Enabling Environmental Stewardship and Technology Progress
DOE has found partnerships to be key in achieving faster results and greater buy-in on new technology and policy concepts. DOE has supported cost-shared research with industry, collaborative research projects involving industry and national laboratories through mechanisms such as the Natural Gas and Oil Technology Partnership, and collaboration with states – individually and through organizations such as the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission that represents the governors of the nation’s oil and gas producing states, and the Ground Water Protection Council.
In the 21st century, oil and gas scientists and engineers, through professional societies such as the American Association of Petroleum Geologists, the American Geologic Institute, and the Society of Petroleum Engineers, are looking to the future. These organizations have played a key role in fostering ethical behavior and professional conduct, applying scientific principles and data for addressing environmental issues, and working actively to encourage responsible exploration and development of he world’s oil and gas resources. They serve a hub of information exchange on geologic, engineering and biological sciences, and as a source of career and corporate mentoring to enable a new generation of technology pioneers. DOE has proudly worked with these organizations in the conduct of its programs.
BLM-DOE Partnership Achieving Results
Interagency cooperation affords more certainty that national energy and environmental goals can be achieved. The Federal Lands Technology Partnership conducts environmental research that can increase access to federal lands for oil and gas exploration and production. Begun in 1998, the Partnership operates under a memorandum of understanding between the DOE and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Previously funded projects addressed potential impacts on wildlife (for example, sage grouse, big game, mountain plover), reducing surface+ impacts (for example, erosion and seismic activities on soils), minimizing compressor noise and visual impacts, water management, air quality, data management and decision tools including electronic access to resource management plans, science data for establishing conditions of access, and wildlife conservation planning.
Research ideas are solicited from BLM field offices and then reviewed by DOE and BLM for their value toward achieving the goal of increased access, and their compatibility with DOE’s research mission. DOE oil and gas environmental program provides the funding, and DOE and BLM manage projects cooperatively. The Partnership demonstrates through scientific data and the application of advanced technology that oil and gas resources and stewardship of the environment and cultural heritage are compatible.
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PROJECT INFO
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PROGRAM CONTACTS
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Nancy Johnson
Office of Fossil Energy
(FE-35)
U.S. Department of Energy
Washington, DC 20585
202-586-6458 |
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