Our Commitment To You
As we develop new wells and maintain our current wells in your community, our highest priority is to conduct our business in a manner that protects the health, safety, and welfare of communities, our employees, and the environment. We will work with you to provide up-to-date information and mitigate impacts to the greatest extent possible.
Our Best Practices and Mitigation Measures
We know our work can affect the surrounding community, so we make it a priority to be good neighbors. That means using a variety of mitigation techniques to reduce the temporary impacts that come with development. Our team designs each location after careful consideration of the area’s specific attributes. While we operate some development and construction facilities 24/7, we actively work to minimize disruptions as much as possible. For each well pad, we deploy the following strategies to mitigate possible impacts, including:
AIR QUALITY
To ensure the wellbeing of you and your family and those living and working near our operations, we take action to reduce emissions and monitor air quality.
Reducing Emissions
To reduce greenhouse gas emissions and utilize the valuable energy resources we produce, we select equipment and design our locations and procedures to minimize emissions. As you can see from the graph below, we have been successful in our efforts.
1. Oxy is the first oil and gas company in the United States to endorse The World Bank's Zero Routine Flaring by 2030 initiative. In Colorado, we have already achieved zero routine flaring.
2. We keep emissions low by adhering to Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) and the Air Quality Control Commission (AQCC) regulations. We run our drilling and completions engines using a method that’s approved by state environmental rules, specifically Regulation 7 Part B. VI.E.1. Even though the use practices included in the rule are designed for ozone season, we follow these use practices all year long in our operations to help protect air quality.
https://www.coloradosos.gov/CCR/Upload/NoticeOfRulemaking/ProposedRuleAttach2024-00086.doc
3. Our innovative production facilities reduce air emissions in several ways. First, by eliminating oil tanks, we eliminate a major source of emissions at the site, especially those that contribute to ground-level ozone and air pollution. Transporting oil off-site through a pipeline also helps reduce emissions by cutting down on the number of trucks needed for hauling. Lastly, we use compressed air to operate control devices that regulate pressure, flow, temperature, and liquid levels across more than 90% of production. Oxy has also eliminated gas driven compressor engines from permanent facility designs and adopted electrification across sites. We have extensive automation in place that ensures environmental controls are operational while facilities are active. Additionally, during ozone season, we implement extra measures such as turning off heaters in the summer to further reduce ozone forming emissions.
These efforts, and others, have made Oxy the lowest-emitting operator in the DJ Basin. We have already met and exceeded CDPHE’s targets for reducing carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) and nitrogen oxides (Nox) emissions. The targets help measure and reduce the environmental impact of our activities, protecting community health and advancing our long-term commitment to sustainability.
Monitoring Emissions
We take the protection of air quality seriously throughout every phase of development.
During drilling and completions, independent third-party experts conduct continuous air monitoring using a combination of proven and cutting-edge technologies, such as weather stations, hydrocarbon analyzers, and advanced sampling tools, to ensure the accuracy of collected data and provide meaningful insights into local environmental conditions. Strategically placed air canisters also supplement monitoring station data. These air samples are collected and analyzed according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) standards, with results compared against CDPHE health guideline values.
Air monitoring data is collected continuously and tracked 24/7 by our Integrated Operations Center (IOC), which ensures timely and effective responses. Our monitoring program includes clearly defined response and investigation levels to safeguard the health, safety, and welfare of nearby communities, our employees, and the environment.
To further reduce emissions near our production facilities, our in-house team conducts regular leak detection and repair inspections. During the production phase, trained personnel use handheld infrared cameras to inspect each site. We also deploy infrared-equipped drones and perform frequent audio, visual, and olfactory inspections to identify and address potential leaks quickly and thoroughly.
Our air monitoring program is approved by CDPHE and enforced by the Energy and Carbon Management Commission (ECMC), with monthly reports submitted to both agencies. Since 2020, we've collected over 11,500 samples - all well below the CDPHE Health Guidance Values of 9 Parts Per Billion. These monthly reports are publicly accessible and can be viewed here.
