competitors are collaborating for environmental progress

Workers walk in a facility near Pecos, Texas, in the Permian Basin.

Chevron is among more than 100 oil and gas companies working together to accelerate the elimination of methane.

The Environmental Partnership turns five in December, and the milestone marks a moment to reflect on its progress.

The group’s current chair is Vanessa Ryan, Chevron’s methane reduction manager. She credits the success to a mutual interest in learning ways to effectively limit methane emissions.

“The Environmental Partnership companies come to the table ready to share,” Ryan said. “Every company that joins The Environmental Partnership is at a different place in their methane management journey, from those just learning about the basics to those that are very sophisticated in their methane emissions reduction strategies.”

Preventing and reducing methane emissions is important for a lower carbon future. It requires a collaborative approach from oil companies, governments and academic researchers.

Sharing in a competitive industry might seem counterintuitive, but the partners agree that the environment trumps one-upmanship.

When recent surveys across the Permian indicated higher than expected emissions at some compressors, a working group was formed. It included Chevron, other basin operators in the partnership and compressor companies who set out to investigate the emissions and identify mitigation options.

Companies belonging to The Environmental Partnership have conducted more than 1.2 million leak detection surveys and replaced more than 51,000 pneumatic controllers with lower- or non-emitting technologies.

As a founding member of The Environmental Partnership, we demonstrate our commitment to environmental performance by:

• Taking the lead in advancing new and proven technologies.
• Sharing our expertise and experiences with other partnership members.
• Identifying and implementing best practices to drive down methane emissions across the supply chain.