Industry has made great strides in protecting the environment while increasing oil and natural gas production in the U.S. Producers, however, still face daunting challenges.

The Environmentally Friendly Drilling (EFD) program addresses:

• New low-impact technologies that reduce the footprint of drilling activities
• Light weight drilling rigs with reduced emission engine packages
• On-site waste management
• Site access
• Systems to fit the needs of specific development sites and provides stewardship of the environment
• Education

In 2005, Texas A&M University and the Houston Advanced Research Center started up the EFD program to provide unbiased science and develop solutions to address issues associated with oil and gas development. Featuring an international research team, the program has had many accomplishments and has successfully brought together government agencies and regulators, industry, academia, environmental organizations, a variety of associations and the public. As a RigZone reporter recently stated,

“No other organization in the oil and gas area has ever been able to successfully link this broad spectrum of stakeholders, providing opportunities for communication between groups that normally do not communicate very well.”

A testament to the program’s success is the number of speaking invitations and the large number of publications in a broad variety of media. Engaging sponsors and all stakeholders, the EFD team has accomplished it all by being objective and using sound science to reach our goals.

Our EFD sponsors fund the program for three years, having the option to renew their membership on an ongoing basis. In addition to the financial support, our sponsors help us manage the overall effort, participating in meetings and research efforts. In return, our sponsors enjoy the following benefits:

• Access to EFD Alliance – EFD expert teams can be established to work with members on specific issues.
• Quarterly Advisors Meetings.
• Engagement in EFD Projects.
• Voice in Program Direction.
• Access to Reports, Review Meetings, etc.
• Networking with Environmental Organizations.
• Networking with Community Groups.
• Communication via EFD Team with Regulators, Legislators, Agencies.
• Direct Focus of Membership Fee – Consortium members may decide where their fees may be used.

The partnership identifies new technologies and transfers them to areas that must incorporate new practices to address environmental concerns. Regional partners optimize technologies to fit the needs of their locale. Partners routinely come together to discuss progress with the sponsors/advisors.

Technology Transfer activities include the human dimension of technology incorporation in societal areas. Educating and informing is directed toward the industry, regulators and the public. The outcome of the program is expected to result in greater access, reasonable regulatory controls, lower development cost and reduction of the environmental footprint associated with operations. The program will increase the public’s and regulatory agencies’ acceptance to operate in environmentally sensitive areas, create jobs and add significant reserves to the U.S. 

To inform the public of the industry’s environmental advancements in technology, the program is developing an EFD Scorecard to measure performance concerning environmental tradeoffs. A computer based model to select complementary environmentally friendly technologies will assist industry in deciding the most appropriate technologies to be applied. 

The EFD program includes a University/National Laboratories Alliance to fund and transfer critical new technologies that accelerates development of domestic reserves in a safe and environmentally friendly manner. The research is aimed specifically at technologies that can be used in environmentally sensitive areas that are currently off limits to drilling and production.