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April, 2015  
April Highlight
Operators, Service Providers, and EFD Team/Members
   
Community Outreach and News     

Alcoa Oil & Gas  
As part of their initiative to support the local community, Alcoa participated with the Houston Children's Charity and their A Better Night's Sleep Program.
Pictured below are some of the Alcoa team volunteers. 


NOV
National Oilwell Varco partnered with Bordelon Marine to raise breast cancer awareness. NOV was part of the M/V Sheila Bordelon Boat Christening on March 20,2015. This event raised over $52,000 for Susan G. Komen. 
  
Texas A&M 

Team participating in GLO Texas Beach Spring Clean up.
Click here to learn how you can be involved!

Tenaris
Over 50 Houston area Global Trainees and other Tenaris employees volunteered at two events at the Houston Food Bank in February. Read more here! 


Have an announcement you'd like to share?
Send it to [email protected]
NSPS 0000 Enforcement Discretion
for Storage Vessels Connected in Parallel
 
On December 31, 2014, a notice was published in the Federal Register finalizing amendments to NSPS OOOO. Prior to these amendments, the NSPS were silent on the applicability determination for storage vessels connected in parallel.  However, the December 31, 2014 amendments added language to the definition of "storage vessel" that provides: "Two or more storage vessels connected in parallel are considered equivalent to a single storage vessel with throughput equal to the total throughput of the storage vessels connected in parallel."  Therefore, applicability, emissions, and control determinations conducted prior to December 31, 2014 for storage vessels connected in parallel may need to be reevaluated.

 

In light of the above information, TCEQ has chosen to exercise its enforcement discretion for Group 1 and 2 vessels to expire on April 15, 2016 to allow operators of storage vessels connected in parallel additional time to reevaluate emissions and NSPS OOOO applicability. This applies to reporting, record-keeping and control requirements. The scope of this enforcement discretion is limited to NSPS OOOO compliance and applies only to storage vessels operated in parallel that were constructed, modified or reconstructed prior to December 31, 2014.
Matagorda Beach

Texas General Land Office
Adopt a Beach
Spring Clean Up - April 18, 2015

 

Thousands of Adopt-A-Beach volunteers remove an average of 500 tons of trash each year from Texas beaches. Through two large scale cleanups, and a number of smaller ones, Texans arrive by the thousands to show their dedication to keeping Texas beaches clean.

 

Since 1986, more than 476,000 volunteers have removed 9,000 tons (more than 17 million pounds) of trash from Texas beaches and estuaries.

 

Learn more about this wonderful program and how you can help! 

EFD Field Trials Underway

 

Dimmit County, Texas. Scientists from HARC Environmentally Friendly Drilling and Texas A&M University Institute for Renewable Natural Resources are using an Open-Path Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometer (OP-FTIR) capable of measuring concentrations of substances in the air.  This effort is part of a larger field trial effort to study environmental aspects for oil and gas operations, and to demonstrate new technologies to improve environmental performance.


Contact Carolyn LaFleur for updates and more information on our field trials.
Call for Entries
2015 Texas New Ventures Competition

  

Top business teams are invited to participate in the inaugural Texas New Ventures Competition on May 28, 2015. Teams will compete on the campus of Texas A&M University for a prize pool of $150,000 in unrestricted and equity-free cash to help execute their business ideas and advance product development.

 

The Competition is open to Texas-based companies seeking to bring a new or enhanced technology to the marketplace. Participating companies must be technology- or science-focused independent ventures in the pre-seed/seed, startup, or early growth stage.

 

Online registration for applicant companies closes on April 13, 2015 with business plans due on May 4, 2015 for selected companies. Before the Competition, one-on-one consultation will be offered to help prepare selected companies.

 

Registration & more information here, including eligibility criteria.  


Sponsor the Cause that Units E&P at ATCE  

  

Rich Haut, EFD Director, is on the organizing task force of the SPE ENGenious theatre at the Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition (ATCE) in Houston, 28-30 September 2015. The organizers been tasked with recruiting companies that are currently developing newly deployed technology early in its life cycle. That is technology that
has been deployed within the last three years.

ENGenious is a fresh and exciting new activity to the show floor. Presenters will have the opportunity to showcase their technology to ATCE attendees and gain recognition through SPE marketing.

 

To apply submit your application here.  

 

The task force will review applications by 5 August 2015.
Approved applicants will be sent information to
present at this exclusive event
 

         

Esri Petroleum GIS Conference
Houston, TX        April 8-10,2015 

Rich Haut will be presenting information about the EFD GIS tool that is being developed by Latitude Geographics at the upcoming Esri Petroleum GIS Conference that will be held in Houston April 8 - 10. The GIS software being developed will help producers and regulators to standardize the process of placing oil and gas wells and supporting infrastructure while preserving environmental value.
For more information about this conference, click here.
TCEQ is Accepting Applications  
for Rebate Grants Program 

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) is now accepting applications for the Texas Emissions Reduction Plan (TERP) Rebate Grants program.  

The Rebate Grant program is limited to on-road and select non-road repower and replacement projects only. The eligible reimbursement amounts are predetermined based on default usage rates (miles/hours). A portion of the funding allocated to this program will be set aside for applications from applicants that qualify as a small business, per TERP Guidelines. Small businesses are encouraged to apply under this program. This program is non-competitive and funding is issued on a first-come basis to eligible applicants. 

Applications accepted until 5:00 p.m. on June 26, 2015 or until all funding is distributed. Copies of the Request for Grant Applications (RFGA), including the rebate funding tables, & the application forms are available here:
TERP Web site.

Contact 800-919-TERP (8377)

EFD White Papers

The Path to Dual Fuel Conversion  - HARC

 

A Comparison of Air Emission Estimation Methods for Drilling Rig Emissions - Stuver, Alonzo 

 

Upcoming Events 

Esri Conference
April 8-10, Houston, TX

NAEM Women's EHS Roundtable
April 14-16, San Antonio, TX

SPE Bakken
April 21-23 - Denver, CO

IADC Drilling Onshore
May 14 - Houston, TX

URTeC
July 20-22 - San Antonio, TX
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The Colorado School of Public Health, University of Colorado and the Getches-Wilkinson Center for Natural Resources, Energy, and the Environment has added a Public Health page to the Intermountain Oil and Gas BMP Project Site.
COME SEE US at URTeC
Booth 743

20-22 July, 2015
San Antonio, TX
PTTC-EFD 
Workshop 

Navigating the Bumps in the Road on the way to a Successful Horizontal Well

  

April 16, 2015

Lakeview Resort & Spa

Morgantown, WV

   

 

 


Energy's Crossroad:
Pinedale, WY


A documentary from
the creators of
Haynesville:
A Nation's Hunt

for an Energy Future.
Headwaters
The Energy Issue

from the  
Colorado Foundation for Water Education 
Fall 2013 

The mission of the CFWE is to promote better understanding of water resources through education and information. The Foundation does not take an advocacy position on any water issues.
Major Improvements to FracFocus Announced 

As it enters its 4th year, FracFocus, the nationwide system for disclosing chemicals used in the hydraulic fracturing process, continues to improve its performance and versatility.  
The Ground Water Protection Council (GWPC) and Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission (IOGCC), joint venture partners in the FracFocus initiative, announce the coming release of improvements to FracFocus' system functionality.  

Click here for more details!   


GWPC's  
Groundwater Communique  

 
Finalist for
Best Outreach Program
 
2014 World Oil Awards    
Environment 24/7 
MACROPRO 2015  May 7-8, 2015  Houston, Texas 

  

This workshop is a one-of-a-kind tutorial workshop and symposium that brings together participants from the chemical, coatings, polymers and oil and gas industries, to learn about the advances in fluids and polymer materials used for enhancing performance and productivity.

 Dr. Rich Haut, EFD Director, is one of the invited speakers!  

 Visit here for more information.

Distance Learning  
Master's Degree  
in Industrial & Systems Engineering 
 
Click here
for additional information. 

The EFD program, funded by federal, state and foreign government agencies, industry and environmental organizations, provides unbiased science to policy makers and identifies, develops and tests new technologies, processes and systems to reduce the environmental footprint associated with oil and gas activities, from well site selection through natural gas compression. The program, approximately $4 million per year, is engaged in research and technology transfer activities from the Western Slope of the Rockies to the Ukraine, and from the North Slope of Alaska to Columbia (South America). Research includes land, air and water issues, as well as public perception investigations. The program was honored with the Chairman's Stewards Award for Environmental Partnership at the 2009 Annual Meeting of the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission. For more information, see: www.efdsystems.org.