stuck with the bill

Houston company to pay millions to remedy pollution concerns in Permian Basin

Apache Corp. will pay $4 million in penalties and spend more than $5 million on preventative measures to reduce emissions at its wells in the Permian Basin. Photo via Getty Images

A Houston company has reached a multimillion-dollar settlement with the federal government and the state of New Mexico to address air pollution concerns in the largest oil and gas producing region in the United States.

The agreement announced Tuesday with Apache Corp. calls for the company to pay $4 million in penalties and spend more than $5 million on preventative measures to reduce emissions at its wells in the Permian Basin, which spans parts of New Mexico and Texas.

Apache was accused in a civil lawsuit of failing to comply with federal and state requirements to capture and control emissions at some of its operations in the two states. Federal officials and regulators in New Mexico identified the alleged violations through field investigations and flyovers by helicopters outfitted with infrared cameras that can detect hydrocarbon vapors that are invisible to the naked eye.

Efforts by regulators to crack down on oil companies have ramped up in recent years through a combination of on-the-ground inspections, flyovers and now satellite imagery as they look for Clean Air Act violations across the Permian Basin and in other oil producing regions.

New Mexico Environment Secretary James Kenney said he's concerned about the compliance rate for companies operating in New Mexico, describing it as terrible.

“The ozone levels are rising, and you know, I think this is that moment where we have to hold up the mirror to industry and say, 'If you don’t like what you see, it’s a reflection of your own effort,” he said during an phone interview.

The civil complaint targeting Apache comes nearly a year after federal and state officials announced a similar agreement with another producer in the Permian Basin over violations. In 2022, an investigation by The Associated Press showed 533 oil and gas facilities in the region were emitting excessive amounts of methane.

Surveillance done by state and federal regulators in 2019, 2020 and 2022 turned up alleged violations at nearly two dozen of Apache’s sites.

The company said in an email that the consent decree announced Tuesday resolves alleged violations from years ago and that the company acted swiftly to remedy the issues. Changes have included modifications to allow for more measurement, monitoring and capture of emissions and increased site inspections and expedited maintenance timelines.

“Moving forward, the consent decree represents our commitment to continuous improvement across our facilities in the Permian Basin," the company said. "We also continue to collaborate with industry partners through organizations such as the Environmental Partnership and the U.N.’s Oil and Gas Methane Partnership in striving toward a more sustainable future.”

The agreement covers 422 of Apache's oil and gas well pads in New Mexico and Texas, ensuring that they will comply with state and federal clean air regulations and that past illegal emissions will be offset.

State and federal officials estimate that compliance will result in annual reductions of 900 tons of methane and more than 9,650 tons of volatile organic compounds, which contribute to smog.

In all, state officials said the recent consent decrees with energy companies cover about 15% of oil and gas production in New Mexico and about 9% of the wells.

While many operators in the Permian are complying with existing regulations, Kenney warned those that are skirting the rules will spur even greater federal and state enforcement over the entire industry if ozone levels continue to rise.

“Simply stated, the message is ‘Do better,’" Kenney said.

Apache's plan calls for making design improvements and installing new tank pressure monitoring systems that will provide advance notice of potential emissions and allow for an immediate response. Regular reports also will be submitted to the state.

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A View From HETI

Ten climatetech startups were named most-promising at this annual Rice Alliance Energy Tech Venture Forum. Photo courtesy Rice Alliance.

Investors at the Rice Alliance Energy Tech Venture Forum have named the 10 most-promising startups among the group of 100 clean tech companies participating in the event.

The 22nd annual event was held yesterday, Sept. 18, at Rice University’s Jones Graduate School of Business and was part of the second Houston Energy and Climate Startup Week.

The most-promising startups will receive $7,000 in in-kind legal services from Baker Botts.

The 10 most-promising companies included:

  • Houston-based Xplorobot, which has developed laser gas imaging technology for the first handheld methane detection device approved by the EPA as an alternative test method
  • Seattle-based Badwater Alchemy, a desalination company that uses nano materials to purify saline water at a fraction of the cost of traditional methods
  • San Francisco-based Ammobia, which is developing a clean ammonia production process
  • Illinois-based Celadyne Technologies, which is building hydrogen for industrial decarbonization with durable and efficient fuel cells and electrolyzers
  • Massachusetts-based MacroCycle Technologies, which converts plastic waste in the form of bottles, food trays and polyester textiles into virgin-grade mPET resin
  • Yorkshire, England-based AtoMe, a global developer of zero-carbon fertiliser products
  • Colorado-based Advanced Thermovoltaic Systems (ATS) Energy, a renewable energy semiconductor manufacturing company
  • North Carolina-based Lukera Energy, which is converting waste methane into high-value fuel
  • Midland, Texas-based AI Driller, a company that uses AI and machine learning to enable remote operations and provide historical drilling data for survey management, anti-collision monitoring and iob reporting
  • New York-based Fast Metals Inc., which has developed a chemical process to extract valuable metals from complex toxic mine tailings that is capable of producing iron, aluminum, scandium, titanium and other rare earth elements using industrial waste and waste CO2 as inputs

Arculus Solutions won the People's Choice Award. The New Jersey-based company retrofits natural gas pipelines for safe hydrogen transportation. It also won Track A: Hydrogen, Fuel Cells, Buildings, Water, & Other Energy Solutions at the Energy Venture Day and Pitch Competition during CERAWeek earlier this year.

The 100 energy technology ventures selected to participate in the forum were named earlier this year. See the full list here.

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