MEC&F Expert Engineers : PROPOSED RULE: 2015 GREENHOUSE GAS REPORTING RULE REVISIONS AND CONFIDENTIALITY DETERMINATIONS FOR PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS SYSTEMS

Tuesday, November 25, 2014

PROPOSED RULE: 2015 GREENHOUSE GAS REPORTING RULE REVISIONS AND CONFIDENTIALITY DETERMINATIONS FOR PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS SYSTEMS

Proposed Rule: 2015 Greenhouse Gas Reporting Rule Revisions and Confidentiality Determinations for Petroleum and Natural Gas Systems

Proposes amendments to subpart W of the GHGRP that would add reporting of greenhouse gas emissions from gathering and boosting systems, completions and workovers of oil wells using hydraulic fracturing, and blowdowns of natural gas transmission pipelines. Also proposes reporting of well identification numbers for onshore petroleum and natural gas production and proposes confidentiality determinations for new data elements contained in this proposal.

Fact Sheet

Proposed Rule: 2015 Greenhouse Gas Reporting Rule Revisions and Confidentiality Determinations for Petroleum and Natural Gas Systems

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to amend the Petroleum and Natural Gas Systems source category (subpart W) of the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program (GHGRP). This proposed rule would add reporting of greenhouse gas emissions from gathering and boosting systems, completions and workovers of oil wells using hydraulic fracturing, and blowdowns of natural gas transmission pipelines. These sources represent areas where greenhouse gas emissions data are currently limited.

The proposed rule also adds new reporting requirements for certain emission sources to improve EPA’s ability to verify reported data and enhance transparency.

Additionally, this rule proposes confidentiality determinations for new data elements contained in this proposal.

Background

The GHGRP, mandated by Congress in the FY2008 Consolidated Appropriations Act, requires reporting of GHG data from large emission sources and suppliers across a range of industry sectors.

The GHGRP collects greenhouse gas data from facilities that conduct Petroleum and Natural Gas Systems activities, including production, processing, transmission, and distribution. For the 2013 calendar year, the EPA received annual reports from over 2,100 facilities with Petroleum and Natural Gas Systems activities. The total reported GHG emissions for 2013 was 224 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent.

The EPA has been working to enhance the quality of data from petroleum and natural gas systems because the GHGRP has been an important tool for the Agency and the public to analyze emissions, identify opportunities for improving the data, and understand emissions trends. These proposed changes build on EPA’s experience and success with electronic reporting and verification during the first three years of the GHGRP.

Proposed Revisions

Proposed revisions include:

Adding a new Onshore Petroleum and Natural Gas Gathering and Boosting segment, which would include greenhouse gas emissions from equipment and sources within petroleum and natural gas gathering and boosting systems.

Including completions and workovers of oil wells with hydraulic fracturing in the existing Onshore Petroleum and Natural Gas Production segment.

Adding a new Onshore Natural Gas Transmission Pipelines segment, which would cover emissions from blowdowns of natural gas transmission pipelines.

Requiring the reporting of well identification numbers for Onshore Petroleum and Natural Gas production facilities.

Allowing the temporary use of best available monitoring methods (BAMM) for any newly added sources to provide flexibility to new reporters.

Proposed Confidentiality Determinations

The EPA is proposing confidentiality determinations for new data reporting elements in the proposed amendments. The EPA is proposing to determine that none of these new data reporting elements are entitled to confidential protection.

More Information

For more information on the GHGRP and a prepublication version of this action, please visit our Web site: http://www.epa.gov/ghgreporting/reporters/rules/index.html.

The public comment period is open for 60 days after publication in the Federal Register. Detailed instructions on how to provide comments are located in the preamble of the proposed rule.

For more information on Petroleum and Natural Gas Systems in the GHGRP, see: http://www.epa.gov/ghgreporting/reporters/subpart/w.html.

Basic Information on the GHGRP

In response to the FY2008 Consolidated Appropriations Act (PDF) (613 pp, 1.5MB, About PDF) (H.R. 2764; Public Law 110-161), EPA issued the Mandatory Reporting of Greenhouse Gases Rule (74 FR 56260) which requires reporting of greenhouse gas (GHG) data and other relevant information from large sources and suppliers in the United States. The purpose of the rule is to collect accurate and timely GHG data to inform future policy decisions. In general, the Rule is referred to as 40 CFR Part 98 (Part 98). Implementation of Part 98 is referred to as the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program (GHGRP).

Suppliers of certain products that would result in GHG emissions if released, combusted or oxidized; direct emitting source categories; and facilities that inject CO₂ underground for geologic sequestration or any purpose other than geologic sequestration, are covered in Part 98. Facilities that emit 25,000 metric tons or more per year of GHGs are required to submit annual reports to EPA. Part 98 was published in the Federal Register (www.regulations.gov) on October 30, 2009 under Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2008-0508-2278.

Categories subject to Part 98 began reporting their yearly emissions with the 2010 reporting year. 2010 emissions were reported to EPA via the electronic greenhouse gas reporting tool (e-GGRT) in September 2011. Additional sources began reporting yearly emissions in September 2012, bringing the total to 41 source categories reporting.

In January 2012, EPA made the first year of GHGRP reporting data available to the public through its interactive Data Publication Tool, called Facility Level Information on GreenHouse gases Tool (FLIGHT), EPA will continue to update the tool and release additional data each reporting year.

To explore or download the latest emissions data or view GHGRP publications, visit the GHG Data page. If your business is or may be required to report GHG emissions to the GHGRP under Part 98, visit the For GHG Reporters page for more information about reporting requirements, deadlines, training, and the e-GGRT reporting system