MIDLAND Members of the media from across Texas participated in a tour of West Texas oil and natural gas facilities. The tour, hosted by the Texas Oil & Gas Association, included facilities at Diamondback Energy and Ovintiv.
Attendees were able to hear about and see firsthand the companies’ weatherization plans and procedures, with detailed explanations provided by Diamondback Energy’s Facilities Engineering Supervisor Arica Gonzalez and Ovintiv’s Senior Manager of Permian Production Mike Schubert.
Noting why TXOGA made it a priority to organize Thursday’s tour, TXOGA President Todd Staples said in a news release, “Demand at home and from around the world continues to grow for Texas oil and natural gas, so it’s important to demonstrate the lengths that every sector of the industry goes to be prepared for weather and other emergencies. Tour participants saw examples of operators’ extensive planning and preparations for extreme weather, which can include methanol injections, heat tracing, insulation to prevent freezing, shelters, wind walls, and for many assets, around the clock monitoring. Thank you to the personnel at Diamondback Energy and Ovintiv for opening their facilities and sharing their expertise about these vital preparedness efforts.”
Staples noted that even with preparedness plans in place, Winter Storm Uri taught painful lessons, including operators in the natural gas supply chain for natural gas power plants.
“One of the most profound lessons was that much of our industry was not eligible for critical load designation to maintain power during an electricity load shed event,” he said in the release. “Fortunately, Texas lawmakers corrected this error, and the Railroad Commission of Texas now has a process that mandates CL designation for the most critical natural gas assets and related systems. Starting December 1st, operators with facilities that are required to weatherize will share their emergency preparedness plans with the RRC, including considerations for how each operator will protect their employees, the environment and their equipment when implementing their plans.”
During the tour, Staples explained that history has shown that even when power stays on and no matter the level of weatherization, daily oil and natural gas production can drop anywhere between 10 and 30 percent during extreme weather. “This means that users who rely on daily access to natural gas must prepurchase and preplan to have the volumes they need during these rare, but inevitable times. Texas has more than 100 times the natural gas in storage than is needed for daily power generation, so with proper planning, there is more than enough natural gas to meet the needs of Texans.”
“A reliable electricity grid is vital to the oil and natural gas industry. Not only are we producers of irreplaceable fuels, but the industry includes some of the biggest electricity consumers in the state. Just like every homeowner, our processing plants, refineries, and production cannot function without electricity. Our ability to operate is directly tied to our ability to meet the nation and the world’s energy needs, no matter the temperature, and industry is doing its part to ensure that we are winter ready,” Staples said.
