SALEM, Ohio — Two Pennsylvania oil and gas operators will pay over $5 million for violating the Clean Air Act, according to recent settlement agreements with the U.S. Department of Justice and the Environmental Protection Agency
XTO Energy Inc. will pay $4 million and Hilcorp Energy Company will pay $1.2 million for failing to comply with federal and state air regulations. In addition to the civil penalties, the companies agreed to reduce volatile organic compounds, or VOCs, and methane emissions at their facilities in Butler, Lawrence and Mercer counties.
XTO violations
XTO Energy Inc., a subsidiary of Texas-based ExxonMobil, failed to capture and control air emissions of methane and VOCs at 11 of its facilities in Butler County, Pennsylvania, between 2011 and 2022.
The violations were found during field investigations in 2018 and 2019. The settlement agreement, reached on Oct. 24 with the DOJ, EPA and the state of Pennsylvania, requires the company to pay a fine and implement projects to reduce emissions at 30 oil and gas well pads in western Pennsylvania and offset previous emissions through various projects.
The company will also spend at least $1.4 million to work with the DEP to identify and plug the heaviest polluting abandoned oil and gas wells in Butler County by Dec. 31, 2027. The projects, all together, will total $3 million.
Hilcorp violations
Hilcorp Energy Company, a privately-owned natural gas company based out of Texas, violated Clean Air Act violations at six of its facilities in Lawrence and Mercer counties.
The company did not comply with permits at five locations by failing to route all vapors, including VOCs and methane, to a control device from the storage tanks at each facility. It also did not obtain plan approval and a permit for one facility.
Hilcorp reached a settlement agreement on Nov. 21 with the DOJ, EPA and DEP, agreeing to pay a civil penalty and implement various projects to offset past illegal emissions.
The company will also modify 164 pneumatic controllers with non-emitting process controllers at eight of the company’s facilities, three years earlier than required by law. The projects, in total, are estimated to cost $1.65 million.
The consent decrees were filed with the U.S. District Court, Western District of Pennsylvania and are each subject to a 30-day comment period. The public comment period for the XTO settlement ends Nov. 29. The Hilcorp comment period has yet to be scheduled.
The complaints and the proposed consent decrees are available at www.justice.gov/enrd/consent-decrees.
For more information, visit www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-epa-and-pennsylvania-announce-settlements-reduce-climate-and-health.
(Liz Partsch can be reached at epartsch@farmanddairy.com or 330-337-3419.)
This settlement highlights the need for oil and gas companies to follow environmental rules. Reducing VOCs and methane is key to protecting air quality. It’s good to see XTO Energy and Hilcorp taking steps to fix past issues and improve operations. Efforts like plugging old wells and upgrading equipment are a step toward sustainability. Hopefully, other companies will follow their lead!