Project Highlights

Compressor Control Upgrades

In our operations in east-central Alberta, we installed equipment to control the air-to-fuel ratio on five engines. This reduced our natural gas consumption and therefore our carbon dioxide emissions, while also helping us meet regulated oxides of nitrogen emission levels.

Each installation reduced natural gas use an average of 15 percent, for a total savings of 2,650 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions per year.

Garrington and Percy Consolidations

We consolidated equipment in our operations in Garrington and Percy, Alberta to more efficiently use fuel and equipment. Two compressors were running at half-capacity, so we shut one down and re-directed its production to the second compressor. A smaller compressor, a dehydrator, a blow case and an incinerator were also shut down. These efforts led to a total reduction of 5,444 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions per year.

As an additional benefit of this consolidation, another operator in the area was able to shut down one of its small compressors because the pipeline’s pressure was lowered by the changes made. Other consolidations have yielded similar benefits to cost, production and the environment. The full capacity of the Percy Gas Plant was not being used, so we converted the plant from a refrigeration plant to a compressor station. Production from this new compressor station was sent to the nearby Viking Plant. This helped to improve both the efficiency of the Percy Gas Plant (now compressor) and the operating efficiency at Viking. This also resulted in an estimated 8 e³m³ per day of fuel-gas savings equivalent to 5,446 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions per year.

Natural Gas STAR

The United States Environmental Protection Agency’s Natural Gas STAR Program focuses on sharing information related to natural gas emissions reduction and energy efficiency programs. ConocoPhillips Canada has been an active participant in this program through sharing our best practices and results. In 2008 we received the International Partner of the Year Award from the Gas STAR program.

Focus on Fugitive Emissions

The term ‘fugitive emissions’ refers to the loss of hydrocarbon product, including methane, propane and volatile organic compounds to the atmosphere from pipe fittings, valves and rotating equipment seals. These are unintentional losses due to normal wear and tear on equipment. Fugitive emissions increase overall emissions to the environment and may pose a safety risk if not addressed.

ConocoPhillips Canada pioneered the use of an innovative infrared camera technology to detect leaks that are invisible to the human eye. The infrared camera continues to be a useful tool for locating small leaks at our facilities that are difficult to detect.

We have developed a program to effectively locate and address fugitive emissions that includes:

• Raising awareness about fugitive emissions management.
• Increasing monitoring to detect leaks in our operations.
• Implementing a requirement to conduct formal leak-detection surveys before major facility maintenance activities. If any leaks are identified, they can be repaired in a timely manner.

To date, we have performed fugitive emission surveys at over 300 of our facilities and have made hundreds of repairs to reduce fugitive leaks from our equipment.

The management of fugitive emissions became a regulatory requirement in 2010. We continue to work with regulators and our industry partners to improve the effectiveness of our Fugitive Emissions Management Programs.