APPENDIX C Greenhouse Gas Emissions Analysis

445 Pages·2014·6.35 MB·English

APPENDIX C
Greenhouse Gas Emissions Analysis

Appendix C

OXY USA Inc.
Dominguez Oil Field
Production Facility
Greenhouse Gas and Climate Change
Technical Report

Prepared for:
City of Carson
Carson, California
On behalf of:
OXY USA Inc.
Long Beach, California
Prepared by:
ENVIRON International Corporation
Los Angeles, California
Date:
August 2012
Project Number:
03-25072I

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Appendix C
OXY USA Inc. – Dominguez Oil Field Production Facility
Greenhouse Gas and Climate Change Technical Report

Contents
Page
Glossary v
1 Introduction 1
2 Project Description 2
3 Existing Conditions 3
3.1 Greenhouse Gas Pollutants 3
3.2 Baseline Emissions from Existing Operations 5
4 Regulatory Context 7
4.1 Federal 7
4.1.1 April 2007 Supreme Court Ruling 7
4.1.2 Corporate Average Fuel Efficiency Standards 7
4.1.3 Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 8
4.1.4 Reporting Requirements 8
4.1.5 Clean Air Act Permitting for Greenhouse Gases 9
4.1.6 Clean Air Act – Section 111 - New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) 9
4.1.7 Oil and Gas sector NSPS and NESHAPS 10
4.2 Regional Agreements 10
4.2.1 Western Regional Climate Action Initiative (WCI) 10
4.3 California Legislation 10
4.3.1 Executive Order S-3-05 (Statewide GHG Targets) 11
4.3.2 Assembly Bill 32 (Statewide GHG Reductions) 11
4.3.2.1 AB 32 Cap and Trade Requirements 11
4.3.2.2 AB 32 – Other Measures Affecting Oil & Gas 12
4.3.2.3 AB 32 GHG Reporting Requirements 12
4.3.3 Low Carbon Fuel Standard 12
4.3.4 Senate Bill 1368 (GHG Emissions Standard for Baseload Generation) 13
4.3.5 Senate Bills 1078, 107 and 2 (Renewables Portfolio Standard) 13
4.3.6 Senate Bill 375 (Land Use Planning) 13
4.3.7 Energy Conservation Standards 13
4.3.8 Senate Bill 97 (CEQA Guidelines) 14
4.4 Local Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) Interim GHG Threshold 15
4.5 City of Carson Policies 15
5 Impact Assessment 17
5.1 Thresholds of Significance 17
5.2 Methodology 17
5.3 Construction Activity Emissions 17
5.4 Operational Emissions 19
5.5 Life Cycle Analysis 21
5.5.1 Life Cycle Emissions Impact Methodology 21
5.5.2 Energy Consumption and Demand 23
5.5.3 Crude Recovery And Transport 24
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Greenhouse Gas and Climate Change Technical Report

5.5.4 Life Cycle Emission Impact Results 24
5.5.5 Project Life Cycle Emissions – Additional Considerations 27
5.6 Climate Change Effects 28
5.7 Impacts Summary 28
6 Project Design Features 30
7 References 31
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List of Tables
Table 1. Baseline (Existing Oxy Operations and Warehouse) GHG Emissions 5
Table 2: Annual GHG Emissions Related to Project Construction 18
Table 3. Oxy Project Operation Direct and Indirect GHG Emissions 20
Table 4: Crude Oil Feedstock Mix into California Refineries 23
Table 5. Calculated GHG Intensities – Base Case and Project Case (g/MJ) 25
Table 6: Net Change in Emissions from Project – CA Waterflood Oil in Lieu of Imported Oil to
Refineries 26
Table 7. Summary of GHG Emission Impacts from Project 29
List of Appendices
Appendix A: Construction Emission Estimates
Appendix B: Baseline and Project Emission Estimates
Appendix C: GHG Life Cycle Model Information Tables
Appendix D: Evaluation of California Crude Oil Demand and Life Cycle Implications

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Greenhouse Gas and Climate Change Technical Report

Acronyms and Abbreviations
BPD barrels oil per day
CARB California Air Resources Board
CCR California Code of Regulations
CEQA California Environmental Quality Act
CF tetra fluoromethane
4
CFC Chlorofluorocarbons
CFR Code of Federal Regulations
CH Methane
4
CNRA California Natural Resources Agency
CO Carbon Dioxide
2
CO e Carbon Dioxide Equivalent
2
GHG Greenhouse Gas
GWP Global Warming Potential
HFC Hydrofluorocarbons
IPCC Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
LCFS Low Carbon Fuel Standard
msl Mean Sea Level
MT Metric Tonnes
N O Nitrous Oxide
2
NGL Natural Gas Liquid
NGO Non-Governmental Organization
NHTSA National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
NRDC Natural Resources Defense Council
NSPS New Source Performance Standard
PFC Perfluorocarbon
ppb parts per billion
Project Dominguez Oil Field Development Project
PSD Prevention of Significant Deterioration
RFS The Renewable Fuel Standard
Site The Project site
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Acronyms and Abbreviations
SB Senate Bill
SBCCOG South Bay Cities Council of Governments
SCAG Southern California Association of Governments
SCAQMD South Coast Air Quality Management District
SCE Southern California Edison
SCS Sustainable Communities Strategy
SF Sulfur Hexafluoride
6
USEPA United States Environmental Protection Agency
VOC Volatile Organic Compound

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Greenhouse Gas and Climate Change Technical Report

Glossary
Carbon Intensity:
A measure of the direct and indirect GHG emissions associated with each of the steps in the full
fuel cycle of a transportation fuel (also referred to as the “well-to-wheels” for fossil fuels, or
“seed or field-to-wheels” for biofuels). Depending on the circumstances, GHG emissions from
each step can include carbon dioxide (CO ), methane (CH ), nitrous oxide (N O), and other
2 4 2
GHG contributors. Moreover, the overall GHG contribution from each step is a function of the
energy that the step requires. Thus, carbon intensity is typically expressed in terms of grams of
CO per mega-Joule (grams CO /MJ).
2 2
Recovery Efficiency:
The fraction of oil in place that can be economically recovered with a given process.
Direct Energy:
The amount of energy required during the crude recovery stage.
gCO /MJ:
2
Grams of CO released per one megajoule of energy.
2
gCO /mmBtu:
2
Grams of CO released per one million Btus of energy.
2
Crude Recovery:
Accounts for crude oil extraction, production, separation up to the point where crude is ready to
transport to the refinery.
TEOR (Thermal Enhanced Oil Recovery):
A technique used for extraction of heavy oil using heat to make less viscous oil, thinning it
enough that it will flow in to wells and increase the amount of petroleum that may be recovered
from a well.
Water Flood:
The secondary oil recovery method in which water is injected back into the reservoir usually to
increase pressure and thereby stimulate production.
Gas Injection Enhanced Production:
A secondary oil recovery method that involves injecting natural gas, nitrogen or CO into the
2
reservoir. The gases can either expand and push through the reservoir, or mix with or dissolve
within the oil, decreasing viscosity and increasing flow.
Primary Oil Recovery:
The process of pumping out the oil that flows naturally to the bottom of the oil well due to gravity
and pressure of the reservoir.
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Greenhouse Gas and Climate Change Technical Report

Energy Consumption and Demand:
Energy used and needed during the crude recovery stage. Crude oil is produced using different
technologies, each of which requires different amounts of energy.
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Greenhouse Gas and Climate Change Technical Report

1 Introduction
This report presents the results of ENVIRON International Corporation’s (ENVIRON)
greenhouse gas (GHG) assessment of the Dominguez Oil Field Development Project (Project).
The Project would involve drilling wells and producing oil and gas from the Project Site. The
Project Applicant is OXY USA Inc. The Project site (Site) is owned by the Carson Dominguez
Properties, LP. Equipment installed at the Site would include vessels and tanks for storing and
processing the oil and gas.
The Project will use directional drilling to extract oil and natural gas resources from the
subsurface and distribute them via pipeline and tanker truck for off-site treatment and refining.
The Project site was chosen to consolidate drilling and production operations at a previously
developed industrial site located near existing pipelines, thereby limiting the need to construct
additional internal and offsite pipelines and related infrastructure, and to develop local oil
reserves to minimize emissions of criteria pollutants and GHGs associated with the
transportation of foreign crude oil to local refineries. All crude produced by the Project is
expected to be refined at Southern California refineries and that none of the produced crude oil
is expected to be exported.
Compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) is required because the
Project requires discretionary approval from the City of Carson for a Development Agreement.
Therefore, this Draft GHG Technical Study Report provides the basis for preparation of CEQA
documentation with the City of Carson as the lead agency under CEQA. This report evaluates
the GHG emissions and climate change issues associated with the Project. Activities from
construction and operation would affect emissions of GHG in the immediate Project area and
the surrounding region. This report includes a description of the affected environment including
a discussion of the state of climate change science and the regulatory setting, predicted impacts
of the proposed Project and mitigation measures to address the impacts.

Introduction 1 ENVIRON
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