Newfield Receives Earth Day Award From Utah Board of Oil, Gas and Mining
Newfield Exploration is proud to announce receipt of its second environmental "Earth Day" Award from the Utah Board of Oil, Gas and Mining (UBOGM). The award was presented Wednesday, April 24, 2013, in Salt Lake City, Utah, by UBOGM officials to Daryll Howard, vice president - Rocky Mountains, in recognition of Newfield’s efforts to protect and preserve the environment.
"Our Earth Day Award program honors industry efforts that exceed regulatory requirements placed upon them," explained UBOGM Board Chairman James T. Jensen. "These mining and oil and gas companies have worked hard to protect and restore the environment while providing the natural resources our society needs and we want to recognize those efforts."
UBOGM presented Newfield with the 2013 award for its development of its Sand Wash water treatment facility, a state-of-the-art water recycling plant in Myton, Utah that helps conserve the region's fresh water resources by recycling up to 10,000 barrels of water per day.
Prior to development of its Sand Wash facility, injection facilities did not have the ability to treat pit water, flowback water from hydraulic fracturing activities or production water high in iron sulfide. With the construction of its Sand Wash facility in 2011, Newfield now treats produced water, removing oil and gas byproducts and treating it so the water can be re-injected into the oil-producing formation at a later time, helping to enhance oil recovery while conserving valuable water resources.
As Newfield’s development in the Uintah Basin grows, the facility has the capacity to treat and recycle up to 18,000 barrels of water per day.
"We pride ourselves on maintaining the highest possible standards in protecting the environment and the health and safety of our employees and community in all areas of our operations," said Howard. "Our water treatment facility plays an important role in our preserving fresh water, a precious resource, not only to us, but to everyone residing in the Uintah Basin and out west."
Newfield has focused on several other environmental initiatives in the area including the design and construction of Gas Oil Separation facilities that reduce Volitale Organic Compounds (VOCs) and Nitrogen Oxides (NOx) emissions as well as reducing truck traffic in the field. To further reduce its footprint, the Company uses existing roads where possible and utilizes existing well pads to reduce new surface disturbance.
Newfield won its first Earth Day Award in 2011 for cooperative efforts with landowners in the Uintah Basin.
The essential requirement for receiving an "Earth Day" Award is that a company, organization or individual must voluntarily perform work that significantly enhances or improves the environment even though such action is not required by law. The UBOGM has presented Earth Day Awards since 1991. Newfield was one of four companies recognized for its environmental efforts.
Our Newfield Foundation in Action: Profile of Shared Blessings
Shared Blessings is a non-profit charitable organization that provides clothing, food, furniture and household goods to people in McAlester, Oklahoma and the surrounding area. Along with support from area churches, businesses, civic organizations and individuals, the Newfield Foundation has made grants over the last three years for nearly $20,000 in donations.
"Besides being open on weekdays, we also are open one afternoon/evening a week to help those who are working, or looking for work during the day," said Scott Walker, executive director. Scott Walker said. "We provide basic human needs and ask anyone in need to contact us for help."
Shared Blessings also participates in a Nutrition Club. This cooperative effort of area schools, churches, civic clubs and the organization aims to end weekend hunger in the lives of children. The club provides a sack of ready to eat food for children to take home each weekend. This ensures that children have enough to eat while away from school. The program continues to deliver food throughout the summer months.
The ministry is also gearing up for its annual "Back to School Bash." "We are hoping to have 1,000 backpacks full of school supplies to give out to area children this year," Walker said. ‘New this year, we are asking for a $1 donation for each backpack given to a child."
"Shared Blessings is an important part of the McAlester community," said Darryl Wright, Production Superintendent of McAlester and the employee sponsor of the organization. "Donation boxes will be distributed to area businesses soon for school supply donations. These donations will help fill the backpacks of area children. Shared Blessings believes in meeting the needs of children who are all too often the innocent victims.
Newfield Supports Native American Festival
Special NFX Video Celebrates Ute Pow Wow in Utah
Newfield was the largest sponsor of the 2012 Ute Pow Wow at the Fort Duchesne Pow Wow grounds in Utah. The primary dance events were held in June.
This year was a landmark for Newfield as it represented a Five-Year Anniversary for Newfield and the Ute Tribe in working together to develop Tribal lands through mineral development while also working to improve the local community.
Newfield prepared a video that was shown to the Ute Tribe during the recent 5th anniversary celebration held at the reservation.
More than 500 competitive Native American dancers from around the country came to this year's Ute Pow Wow and endured 100 degree heat for honor, awards and cash prizes in a variety of categories. Each dancer competed in traditional "regalia," which represents their heritage and is usually handmade by the dancer or his, or her family. The dancing lasts all day and into the night to the beat of traditional drums and native songs.
Newfield Water Treatment In Utah
Two Processes Used in NFX Treatment
Newfield’s Uintah Basin water treatment operations in Utah began in April 2011. The company’s state-of-the-art Sand Wash facility consists of two processes.
This includes "conventional treatment" to water readily suitable for water flood injection. Conventional treatment can process up to 10,000 barrels of water per day of produced water (the fluid that comes out of well bore consisting of oil, gas and water). The produced water is separated at the well pad from the oil and gas. The produced water is currently trucked to the Sand Wash facility for treatment and is eventually re-injected into the producing formation for enhanced oil recovery.
Another process at Sand Wash is the “Environmentally Clean Systems” (ECS) treatment of produced water that requires additional processing before reinjection.
The facility can recycle up to 18,000 barrels per day of this produced water that would be otherwise unusable for enhanced oil recovery. The ECS process allows the Company to more comprehensively remove "solids" and residual oil from the water so there is no "plugging" of geologic formation that might impact permeability.
Newfield currently operates the Sand Wash and six other facilities (and one yet to be built). These additional facilities are similar to Sand Wash but only Sand Wash has ECS.
Utah Gov. Tours Newfield
Utah Gov. Gary Herbert visited Newfield's offices in Pleasant Valley on April 27, 2011 and Talked about His Support for Oil and Gas Development on Federal Lands
(By Steve Puro, Unitah Basin Standard)
Utah Governor G. Herbert with Newfield Daryll Howard tour Monument Butte Water Treatment Facility.
Gov. Gary Herbert visited the oil fields of the Uintah Basin on Wednesday and made a stop at Utah's No. 1 producer of crude oil - Newfield Production Co.
Others joining the governor were U.S. Rep Jason Chaffetz, state Sen. Kevin Van Tassell, state Rep. Kraig Powell, commissioners from Uintah and Duchesne counties and other elected officials throughout the region.
Herbert met with Newfield employees prior to the beginning of the company's annual clean up day. In his remarks, he referred to the "ripple effect" that work by Newfield has in creating new jobs in related industries.
"What happens here with Newfield is of significant importance to the Basin area and to our state's economy," the governor said.
Herbert identified all the workers as stewards of the land. On their days away from work, he said, they all enjoy a high quality of life provided by the ecologically friendly practices they employ on the job.
"There is an ability for us to have an appropriate balance where we access in environmentally sensitive ways our natural resources and still take care of the environment," he said. "I applaud the efforts here. You are producing 22,000 barrels of oil a day and reducing the ozone impact by producing more and impacting less."
He also congratulated Newfield for using "good old common sense" through the use of existing roads, the opening of new wells from active sites and the reduction of its "footprint" on the land.
Herbert's visit included a tour of a new wastewater treatment plan south of the Newfield main office.
"I'm very impressed with the gas and oil separation facilities," Herbert said. "The water that is utilized here becomes polluted (and) is then cleaned and recycled. What a wonderful idea."
In his closing remarks, the governor shared that Forbes magazine has named Utah the best place in America for business and careers. He also foreshadowed the state's plan to sue the federal government over Interior Ken Salazar's order in December 2010 that created a new "wild lands" designation for public lands.
"We're going to challenge this designation, I'm here to tell you," Herbert said. "We're sending a message to Washington that this is not right and not fair."
At the conclusion of the governor's visit, more than 600 volunteers and Newfield employees set out to collect garbage and debris across the Pleasant Valley area.
