America's Energy Savers

8/14/2019 America's Energy Savers

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A M E R I C A ’ S E N E R G Y S A V E R S





It’s also a daily practice of America’s oil and natural

gas industry.

Energy efficiency helps companies manage costs,

strengthening their competitiveness and bringing more

affordable energy products to consumers. It helps improve

the environmental performance of the industry, including

reducing greenhouse gas emissions associated with

climate change. And it increases the energy resources

Americans depend on for a high quality of life.

It may seem paradoxical that energy efficiency has

become a hallmark of America’s biggest energy providers.

But refinery managers are as committed to saving energy

as snow-belt homeowners. And oil and natural gas

producers monitor their energy consumption as carefully

as Americans at the pump.

America is vastly more energy-efficient today than a

generation ago. The U.S. oil and natural gas industry

is striving to do its part to build on that progress.

ENERGY EFFICIENCY IS A CORE VALUE.

The Oxford English Dictionary records the first

use of the word “efficiency” in literature in 1593.

The U.S. is becoming more energy efficient, when measured

by how much energy is consumed for every dollar of domestic

economic production.



Refineries generate energy from the heat given off by

their operations. The process is called co-generation (also

known as combined heat and power.) The heat creates

steam that powers turbines that generate electricity. That

electricity is then used to help power the refinery itself.

Think of a hybrid electric car that captures energy from

its braking to help recharge its batteries.

Sometimes enough electricity is generated at refineries to

help supply other electricity users — much as homeowners

with solar panels sometimes produce excess electricity,

which they sell back to the electric grid.

The incentives for investing in co-generation are huge, and

benefits are substantial. Energy accounts for 44 percent of refiner operating costs. The U.S. Environmental Protection

Agency estimates that co-generation can provide a 50-

percent improvement in overall energy efficiency resulting

in a 35-percent fuel savings.

BETWEEN 1980 AND 2005,

OIL AND NATURAL GAS

INDUSTRY CO-GENERATION

CAPACITY GREW OVER

NINE-FOLD.

Between 1980 and 2005, oil and natural gas industry

co-generation capacity grew over nine-fold, and in 2005

the industry produced more electricity than 17 medium-

sized coal-fired power plants (each with 600 megawattcapacity).

C O - G E N E R A T E T O C O N S E R V E





In 2002, API (American Petroleum Institute) member refiners

pledged to steadily improve their energy efficiency over the

next decade as part of a program to reduce greenhouse gas

emissions. In 2006 alone, the energy savings produced were

equivalent to the gasoline consumed by more than 530,000

cars or the electricity used by 950,000 homes.

A P L E D G E F O R G R E A T E R E F F I C I E N C Y

530,000 CARS950,000 HOMES



One of the most energy-efficient buildings

is one built underground where insulation

provided by the earth minimizes heat loss.



Indeed, technology often drives energy efficiency

improvements.

Oil and gas exploration companies employ computers to

turn seismic vibrations into 3-D and 4-D images that helppinpoint the location of oil and natural gas, reducing the

number of wells drilled and energy used to drill them. In

fact, in the last 17 years, the exploration drilling success

rate has nearly tripled, growing from 26 percent in 1990

to 71 percent in 2007.

Remotelyoperated vehicles — submersibles — help deepwater

operators install, inspect and repair underwater facilities

with less energy use. Other remote control technology

allows offshore production platforms to operate unmanned

saving energy and dollars.

T E C H N O L O G Y

TECHNOLOGY IS AS MUCH A FIRST PRINCIPLE OF THE U.S.

OIL AND NATURAL GAS INDUSTRY AS ENERGY EFFICIENCY.

“Smart pigs” with ultrasonic sensors travel inside buried

pipelines, detecting corrosion, cracks, and dents. This

helps reduce energy-intensive excavation that might

otherwise be necessary.

The wheel is mankind’s oldest and most important

energy saving technology.



E F F I C I E N C Y

A new solvent extraction system that operates without

using tremendous heat or pressure makes it possible to

re-refine used lubricating oil with one-third less energy.

Pipeline companies use higher grades of steel for pipelines,enabling the transport of natural gas at higher pressures

with less energy.

Refineries, pipelines and terminals use more sensitive

monitoring devices to detect and eliminate fuel and emission

leaks and to keep temperatures, pressures and operating

conditions optimal. Less energy is consumed and less is

lost.

A Google search of the

phrase “energy efficiency”

produces more than 17

million hits.



Clean-burning with low greenhouse gas emissions, natural

gas heats homes, powers vehicles and fires electricity

generation. It is also used as a feedstock in many plastic,

chemical and fertilizer manufacturing processes.

In cooperation with the U.S. Environmental Protection

Agency (the Natural Gas STAR Program), API member oil

and natural gas companies have been installing new

equipment and changing management practices to

eliminate the leaking, venting and flaring of natural gas,

preventing wasted energy.

The program has fostered more efficient management of

our natural gas resources. According to the EPA, “Natural

Gas STAR partners have eliminated more than 577 billion

cubic feet of methane emissions through the implementation

of more than 120 cost-effective technologies and practices.”

For the average person, at a speed above 4.5 miles per hour,

running becomes more energy-efficient than walking.

NATURAL GAS WILL BE

AN IMPORTANT PART OF OUR ENERGY LANDSCAPE

FOR MANY DECADES.

S A V I N G N A T U R A L G A S





Used engine oil is like used paper, glass and metal. It canbe recycled, either burned as fuel or re-refined for reuse in

engine oil, in both cases extending our energy supplies.

Re-refining of used engine oil takes from 50 percent to 85

percent less energy than refining engine oil from crude oil.

The U.S. oil and natural gas industry promotes recycling of

used oil through a variety of means including the website

www.recycleoil.org, and many service stations, repair

facilities and quick lubes accept it.

Two gallons of recycled used engine oil can generate

enough electricity to run the average household for almost

24 hours.

RE-REFINING OF USED ENGINE

OIL TAKES FROM 50 PERCENT

TO 85 PERCENT LESS ENERGY

THAN REFINING ENGINE OILFROM CRUDE OIL.

The ruby-throated hummingbird

is the Hummer of the avian

family, consuming twice its

weight in food each day.

E N E R G Y I S V A L U A B L E : R E C Y C L E I T



To locate a nearby used

oil collection center,

visit www.Earth911.org.



ALL OF US NEED TO WORK

TOGETHER TO USE ENERGY MORE EFFICIENTLY .That’s why the U.S. oil and natural gas industry is helping

Americans learn more about energy and energy-efficiency —

and even going into communities to help them put energy

efficiency tips into practice.

Working in partnership with Rebuilding Together through

its Energy Efficient Homes Initiative, the industry is

providing money and hands-on assistance to thousandsof low-income homeowners, helping make homes more

energy-efficient by installing better windows, ENERGY STAR

appliances and other energy-saving upgrades. In 2008,

some 10,000 residences are being given an energy

efficiency overhaul with major sweat equity and financial

assistance from oil and natural gas companies and

hundreds of industry employees.

The industry is also leveraging the Internet to help

Americans become more energy-efficient. Please visit

www.energytomorrow.org, which includes educational

games and information on using energy more wisely athome and on the road. While there, don’t forget to test

your “Energy IQ.”

Also, please visit www.sixdegreechallenge.org, a partnership

of the Alliance to Save Energy, API and others, that was

created to help educate consumers about energy efficiency

in the home. And click on www.drivesmarterchallenge.org,

a creation of The Drive $marter Challenge, to calculate how

to get more miles to the gallon.

The heart is the most efficient machine

in the world, circulating about one million

barrels of blood in a lifetime.



E N E R G Y E F F I C I E N T N E I G H B O R S



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Washington, DC 20005-4070

USA

Phone 202-682-8000

www.api.org

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either trademarks or registered trademarks of API in the United

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America's Energy Savers