Ovintiv Agrees $16 Million Pollution Settlement with US Regulators

United States environmental and justice officials have asked for remediation measures and a civil penalty from Ovintiv Inc. in a settlement agreement resolving alleged Clean Air Act breaches by the Denver, Colorado-based company.

“The settlement resolves a civil suit, filed jointly by the United States and the state of Utah, alleging that Ovintiv failed to comply with federal and state requirements to capture and control air emissions and comply with inspection, monitoring, and recordkeeping requirements from 22 of its oil and gas production facilities in the Uinta Basin”, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said in a statement.

“These violations resulted in illegal emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which contribute to asthma and increase susceptibility to respiratory illnesses. Additionally, greenhouse gases, including methane, were released in large quantities, contributing to climate change”.

The oil and gas exploration and production company agreed to pay $5.5 million in civil penalty and take corrective action worth more than $10 million at 139 of its facilities across Utah.

“The settlement requires Ovintiv to invest in extensive compliance measures for the proper design of Ovintiv’s oil and gas facilities to capture all VOC emissions and send the emissions to an appropriate control device”, said the statement on the EPA website. The captured emissions will be put to productive use.

“Compliance measures also include periodic infrared camera inspections, enhanced maintenance requirements, and installation of storage tank pressure monitors at many facilities”, the EPA added.

The remediation measures will eliminate more than 2,000 tons of VOC emissions annually and methane emissions equivalent to over 50,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) annually, according to the EPA and the Justice Department.

“As climate change accelerates and wreaks havoc in communities across the nation, EPA is doing everything possible to limit the methane emissions that are among the most powerful drivers of climate change”, said David M. Uhlmann, assistant administrator at the EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance.

“Today’s settlement with Ovintiv will significantly reduce emissions across 139 facilities on Tribal and state lands and provides another example of how EPA is delivering on its climate enforcement strategy and holding companies accountable for climate pollution”.

Ovintiv declined to comment, in a reply to a request by Rigzone.

The settlement, filed before the U.S. District Court for Utah, is subject to a 30-day public comment period.

“The settlement is part of EPA’s National Enforcement and Compliance Initiative, Mitigating Climate Change”, the EPA said. “This initiative focuses, in part, on reducing methane emissions from oil and gas and landfill sources.

“Like all of EPA’s national enforcement initiatives, this initiative prioritizes communities already overburdened by pollution and other potential environmental justice concerns”.

This year as of June under the “Mitigating Climate Change” portion of the National Enforcement and Compliance Initiative, the EPA conducted 350 oil and gas investigations, 39 landfill inspections and 35 oil and gas off-site compliance monitoring activities, according to the agency.

In the first six months of 2024 the EPA concluded four oil and gas enforcement cases. Agreed measures are expected to eliminate methane emissions equivalent to 66,361 metric tons of CO2 and 10,480 metric tons per year of VOCs. Meanwhile imposed civil penalties totaled $8.46 million, according to information on the EPA website.

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