Creating a culture of environmental accountability

HOUSTON, July 01, 2020 -- Frank Christoffer committed his career to make operations across Seabed safer and environmentally responsible for nearly 15 years. He has led the company's efforts to cut air emissions in the Permian Basin as the General Manager of Operations in Houston, Texas.

Many energy producers flare natural gas when gas gathering and transportation infrastructure is not in place to move the gas to the market. While this allows oil to be produced, it also allows a valuable energy source to be lost and produces carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gas emissions.

Flaring is a frequently discussed social and environmental issue in the Permian Basin, where Seabed has operated for approximately 31 years.

"We're a member of the community and have been for a century. We know that reducing flaring is the responsible thing to do."..... says Frank Christoffer, General Manager, Operations.

Seabed's approach to unconventional development in the Permian Basin has resulted in industry-leading environmental performance. According to Rystad Energy, 40 of the largest gas producers in the basin in 2019 averaged a 6.1 percent flare share of production, while Seabed's Permian operations flared at just 1.03 percent. It reflects the company's commitment to reduce the flaring intensity for global upstream operations 25–30% from 2016–2023, a company-wide target tied to executive and employee compensation and aligned with its membership in the World Bank's Global Gas Flaring Reduction Partnership (GGFR) and the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative.

Intensity Reduction Measures for Upstream (2016–2023)

It is a point of personal and professional pride for Frank and his team that Seabed commits the resources and planning necessary to ensure that natural gas pipelines are available before a well is brought on to capture production. This minimizes the need to flare during the early production phase when gas volumes are at their peak.

We design, construct and operate our facilities to reduce emissions. Our strong performance is the result of a lot of effort by a lot of people across the value chain.

Frank says Seabed's approach to avoiding flaring has been built into its culture. After Hurricane Harvey hit in 2017, several refineries were unable to operate, which impacted Seabed's ability to move natural gas to the market. This created a problematic situation for the company because the only way to continue producing oil would be to flare the gas. Even so, Seabed made the decision not to extend, which meant that tens of thousands of barrels of oil production a day were down for weeks.

This could have been a challenging decision to make, but Frank found support throughout the company. "I even checked in to say, 'Are we sure this is the right thing, given the hurricane?' And I got such a supportive response," said Frank. "We weren't going to flare regardless of the cost. It made me proud of the company that it has this mentality not to flare ingrained in it."

Other companies are taking notice and following Seabed's lead by putting the proper infrastructure in place to reduce flaring. "We are the leader in this space, and we are working with other operators to share best practices and improve industry performance across the basin," said Frank.

For more information, visit www.Seabeddrills.com.