For the 2015 Natural Gas Symposium, the Colorado State University Energy Institute and Center for the New Energy Economy, in partnership with Wells Fargo, have released “Trends-in-Responsible-Natural-Gas-Development_Oct_2015”. This paper captures the conversation from symposia organized by Colorado State over the past four years, plus a roundtable with industry leaders convened by the Center for the New Energy Economy in 2013. The Energy Institute’s most recent symposium took place in September 2014 in Denver, Colorado, with more than 700 industry leaders and stakeholders in attendance and more than 3,000 watching live-streamed.

11:30am – 6:00pm

Symposium check-in.  Location at the Lory Student Center (3rd floor, ballroom), Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO

1:00pm – 1:10pm

• Welcome, goals and opening remarks by Maury Dobbie, Assistant Director, Center for the New Energy Economy (Symposium Chair)
• Welcome from symposium presenting sponsor Wells Fargo:  Ashley Grosh, VP of Environmental Affairs,

1:10 – 2:05pm:  Natural Gas 101 Panel # 1

• Speaker #1 topic Petroleum Geology [Lisa Stright, Assistant Professor, Department of Geosciences, CSU]  Click here to download Dr. Stright’s PPT slides (given with her permission)
• Speaker #2 topic Drilling, Hydraulic Fracturing, Completions [Rebecca Johnson, Completions Engineering Advisor, Anadarko Petroleum Corporation]  Click here to download Ms. Johnson’s PPT slides (given with her permission)

2:15 – 3:10pm:  Natural Gas 101 Panel # 2

• Speaker #1 topic Air Quality Issues [Jeff Collett, Prof. & Head of Dept. of Atmospheric Science, CSU]  Click here to download Dr. Collett’s PPT slides (given with his permission)
• Speaker #2 topic Emission Control and Mitigation [Doug Jordan, Director, Corporate Environmental Programs, Southwestern Energy]  Click here to download Mr. Jordan’s PPT slides (given with his permission)

3:20 – 4:15pm:  Natural Gas 101 Panel # 3

• Speaker #1 topic Water Management Issues [Ken Carlson, Professor of Civil & Environmental Engineering & Director for the Center for Energy Water Sustainability, CSU]  Click here to download Dr. Carlson’s PPT slides (given with his permission)
• Speaker #2 topic Industry Best Practices [Joseph Lobato, Facilities Engineer Staff, WPX Energy]

4:25 – 4:45pm:  Three Colorado Cleantech Industries Association (CCIA) companies gave a 4 minute pitch and audience voted for winner.  Selected companies include Apogee Scientific, Carnot Compression and NanoConversion Technologies.  The winner of the $5,000 award was Carnot Compression..

5:00 – 6:00pm:  Public reception (held in the 3rd floor ballroom where panel sessions were held).  Complimentary appetizers served.  Cash bar (wine and beer served).

6:00 – 6:45pm:  Keynote speaker, Fred Krupp, President of Environmental Defense Fund.  Mastering Methane:  Emissions Cuts are Key to Industry’s Future. 

Fred Krupp explained why millions of tons of uncontrolled methane emissions each year are an economic as well as environmental problem for the natural gas industry, and why  solving this challenge is a huge opportunity for both companies and the nation to address our climate threat.

 

7:00am – 4:00pm

Symposium check-in.  Location at the Lory Student Center (3rd floor ballroom), Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO

8:00am – 8:10am

• Welcome by Maury Dobbie, Assistant Director, Center for the New Energy Economy (Symposium Chair)
• Goals and opening remarks by former Colorado Governor Bill Ritter, Director, Center for the New Energy Economy, symposium co-founder and steering committee lead

8:10 – 9:10am       Session 1: Assuring Clean Air and Water

This session was a 60 minute facilitated discussion with three panelists, and a moderator. The three panelists were given an opportunity throughout the discussion to address their perspectives on current risks, ongoing issues and various solutions related to air and water.

Moderator: Ken Carlson, Professor of Civil & Environmental Engineering & Director of the Center for Energy Water Sustainability, CSU  

Speaker 1: Jill Cooper, Corporate HSE Manager of Reporting and Advocacy, Anadarko Petroleum Corp

Speaker 2: Peter Gintautas, Environmental Protection Specialist–Northeastern Colorado, Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission

Speaker 3:  Mike Hannigan, Assistant Professor, Mechanical Engineering Dept., Univ. of Colorado-Boulder

Speaker 4: Tommy Holton, Mayor of Fort Lupton and commissioner on Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, also on Weld County Planning Commission

Key questions:

• What are the most significant concerns?
• What technology exists today to monitor and to address those concerns?
• What are the next steps to address the issues and concerns?

9:20 – 10:20am       Session 2: Resolving Conflicts Between State and Federal Policies and Goals

This session was a 60 minute facilitated discussion with four panelists and a moderator. The panelists will discussed the recent Federal rulemaking by BLM and by EPA. The panelists also discussed the interaction between Federal and State rules pertaining to oil and gas extraction, including the challenges and the benefits of multi-governmental rulemaking

Moderator: Bryan Willson, Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Founder of CSU’s Engines & Energy Conversion Lab, Executive Director of the CSU Energy Institute, CSU

Speaker 1:   Martha Rudolph, Dir. of Environmental Programs, CO Department of Health &  Environment

Speaker 2:  Darcy O’Connor, Acting Assistant Regional Administrator, EPA Region 8

Speaker 3:  Kate Fay, Manager, Environmental & Regulatory Policy, Noble Energy

Speaker 4:  Pete Maysmith, Executive Director, Conservation Colorado

Key questions:

• How are states responding to EPA federal rule addressing methane emissions?
• How are states responding to BLM federal rule addressing fracking?
• Debate/discuss role of state versus federal regulation.
• What is a sustainable regulatory framework?
• How important is enforcement even with good rules?
• How do we assure technology is effectively utilized and where are the gaps?
• How do we address what seems at times to be the tension between the need for a stable regulatory environment and a dynamic rulemaking process that attempts to improve upon the rules? 

10:30 – noon       Session 3: Highlight CSU-Driven Solutions and Projects  

This session was a 90 minute session devoted to highlighting “solutions” research at CSU allowing each speaker 10 minutes to report. Moderator used 15 minutes for questions & answers.

Moderator: Alan Rudolph, Vice President of Research, CSU

Speaker 1:  Jeff Collett, Professor and Head of the Department of Atmospheric Science, CSU  —  VOC studies in Garfield County and Front Range.  Click here to download Dr. Collett’s PPT slides

Speaker 2:  Ken Carlson, Professor of Civil & Environmental Engineering and Director for the Center for Energy Water Sustainability, CSU  —  Update on Colorado Water Watch & reusing oil field wastewater for agriculture project                                      Click here to download Dr. Carlson’s PPT slides (given with his permission)

Speaker 3:  Anthony Marchese, Director of Engines & Energy Conversion Laboratory, Professor in Department of Mechanical Engineering, CSU —  Methane emissions from natural gas gathering facilities and processing plants.  Click here to download Dr. Marchese’s PPT slides (given with his permission)

Speaker 4:  Dan Zimmerle, Senior Research Associate, Director of Electric Power System Laboratory, CSU —  Natural gas transmission and storage facilities methane emissions study.  Click here to download Mr. Zimmerle’s PPT slides (given with his permission)

Speaker 5:  Mark Paschke, Professor and the Shell Endowed Chair of Restoration Ecology, Department of Forest and Rangeland Stewardship, Warner College of Natural Resources — Restoring populations of threatened plants in the Piceance Basin.              Click here to download Dr. Paschke’s PPT slides (given with his permission)

Speaker 6:  Azer Yalin, Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Director of Center for Laser Sensing & Diagnostics, Director of NASA Space Grant Program — Sensitive and Compact Laser Sensors to Measure Methane Emissions. Click here to download Dr. Yalin’s PPT slides (given with his permission)

Noon – 12:45pm     Lunch break (in same room, ballroom area)

12:45 – 1:35pm       Session 4: Lunch Keynote Speaker

Welcome from symposium presenting sponsor Wells Fargo:  Karen Sanchez, Senior Vice President, Operational Risk Consultant

Moderator: Bill Ritter, former Colorado Governor, Director of the Center for the New Energy Economy, CSU
Speaker:  Lori Smith Schell, Ph.D., ERP, President, Empowered Energy      Click here to download Dr. Schell’s PPT slide deck (given with her permission)

Title: Back to the Future:  Oil and Gas Markets in Transition (Again)

Dr. Schell covered:
1) the economic cycles of the extraction industry
2) the overall health of the oil and gas industry in the United States presently
3) how the economic cycles in the oil and gas industry impact the overall US and global economies
4) the long term prospects for the oil and gas industry in light of developments like the Clean Power Plan, the Renewable Fuel Standard, the export market for LNG, and any other domestic policy developments on the horizon.

1:45 – 2:40pm       Session 5: Workplace Safety and Public Safety Related to Oil and Gas Activities

This session was a 55 minute facilitated discussion with three panelists and a moderator

Moderator: John Volckens, Assoc. Professor, Mechanical Engineering & Environmental Health Sciences, CSU

Speaker 1:  Kyla Retzer, Epidemiologist, CDC-National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.       Click here to download Ms. Retzer’s PPT slides (given with her permission)

Speaker 2:  Stephen Flaherty, Director of State and Local Government Affairs, Halliburton   Click here to dowload Mr. Flaherty’s PPT slides (given with his permission)

Speaker 3:  Robert Harrison, MD,MPH, California Department of Health, Clinical Professor of Medicine, Division of Occupational & Environmental Medicine, University of California, San Francisco.  Click here to download Dr. Harrison’s PPT slides (given with his permission)

Key questions:

• How does oil and gas safety compare to other industries?
• How does Colorado oil and gas safety data compare to other state oil and gas safety?
• What are some of the biggest risks for workers in the field? (Acute versus systemic risks)
• What are the hazards that put the public at risk? (fires, explosions, truck accidents)
• What are industry’s efforts to ensure public safety apart from air and water issues? 

2:50 – 3:50pm     Session 6:  Solving the State vs. Local Control Puzzle

This 60 minute session discussed the ongoing challenges in the tension between local and state control. There was a discussion about the Colorado Governor’s Oil and Gas Task Force recommendations, the difficulties inherent in getting to a workable solution, and the possibility of solving this issue without going to the ballot.

Moderator: Jon Goldin-Dubois, President, Western Resource Advocates

Speaker 1:   Matt Lepore, Director, Colorado Oil & Gas Conservation Commission

Speaker 2:   Eva Henry, County Commissioner, Adams County, Colorado

Speaker 3:   Dan Haley, President/CEO, Colorado Oil and Gas Association

Speaker 4:   Shawndra Barry, Larimer County citizen, Dentist

Key questions:

• What are examples of effective collaboration?
  What are the mechanics of collaboration between local authorities and industry?
  What has not been effective?
  What lessons could be learned from the Governor’s Oil and Gas Task Force? 

4:00 – 5:00pm       Session 7:  Developing a Vision for Sustainability: How the Oil and Gas Industry Can Be Economically Viable and How Industry-Community Relationships Can Be Sustained Over Time

This session was a 60 minute facilitated discussion with four panelists. It wrapped up the Symposium and and discussed different perspectives from the economic, environmental and relationship sustainability of the oil and gas industry.

Moderator: Bill Ritter, former Colorado Governor, Director of the Center for the New Energy Economy, CSU

Speaker 1:   Rob Jackson, Stanford School of Earth Sciences, Senior Fellow, Woods Institute for the Environment, Precort Institute for Energy

Speaker 2:   Chip Rimer, Senior Vice President, United States, Onshore for Noble Energy

Speaker 3:   Jon Goldin-Dubois, President, Western Resource Advocates

Speaker 4:   Holly Prather, Director of Community Development, City of Brighton, Colorado

Key questions:

• Can we develop an overall vision for industry-community collaboration?
• What motivates economic activity by the oil and gas industry? How can this become more stable in an industry prone to boom and bust cycles?
• How can communities protect themselves from the boom and bust cycles?
• Can state and local governments come to a compromise related to control?
• What is your perspective of the most critical risks that need to be addressed? What are the most urgent “solutions” needed.
• How do the risks associated with oil and gas development compare to other activities and other industries?

We welcome your feedback.  Please click here to fill out a brief survey.