VALVE MAGAZINE Spring 2024

INDUSTRY NEWS

Interior Department Finalizes Rule Reducing Oil and Gas Waste on Tribal Lands The Department of the Interior announced a final rule from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) that will curb the waste of natural gas during the production of oil and gas on federal and tribal lands. This final rule modernizes regulations that are more than 40 years old, and will hold oil and gas companies accountable by requiring measures to avoid wasteful practices and find and fix leaks, while ensuring that American taxpayers and tribal mineral owners are fairly compen sated through royalty payments. The rule is expected to generate more than $50 million in additional natural gas royalty payments each year to the federal taxpayer and tribal mineral owners, while conserving billions of cubic feet of gas that might otherwise have been vented, flared or leaked from oil and gas operations. This conserved gas will be available to power American homes and industries. “This final rule, which updates 40-year-old regulations, furthers the Biden Harris administration’s goals to prevent waste, protect our environment and ensure a fair return to American taxpayers,” says Secretary Deb Haaland. “By leveraging modern technology and best practices to reduce natural gas waste, we are taking long overdue steps that will increase accountability for oil and gas operators, and benefit energy communities now and for generations to come.” The final rule responds to a series of U.S. Government Accountability Office reports highlighting revenue lost due to the BLM’s outdated regulations. Several states — including Colorado, New Mexico, Pennsylvania and Wyoming, as well as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) — have taken steps to limit venting, flaring and/or leaks from oil and gas operations either for purposes of preventing waste, as is BLM, or improving air quality. The BLM rule is separate and distinct from the EPA rule and ensures that operators can comply with applicable state, tribal or federal rules while meeting these commonsense requirements.

First Corporate Green Bond for Nuclear Energy from Constellation Constellation, the nation’s largest producer of carbon-free energy, issued the first corporate green bond in the United States that can be used to finance nuclear energy projects. Constellation will use proceeds from the $900-million, 30-year term offering for investments such as mainte nance, expansion and life extensions of its clean, reliable nuclear power generation that reduce or avoid carbon emissions, or provide other environmental benefits. A green bond is a financial instru ment that is issued specifically to finance projects or activities that deliver positive environmental or climate impacts. It enables investors to actively support investments that promote sustainability and help address envi ronmental challenges. “Elected officials on both sides of the aisle, climate and sustainability advocates and the general public are increasingly recognizing the value nuclear energy delivers, not only for its unmatched reliability but for its positive environmental impact as a clean energy resource. The strong market response shows the investment commu nity agrees nuclear energy is a unique clean-energy technology that will play a critical role for decades to come and is a safe, long-term investment,” says Dan Eggers, executive vice president and CFO, Constellation. “With the nation’s first-ever corporate nuclear green bond issuance as part of our long-term financing mix, Constellation and the market have again confirmed: Nuclear investments are long-term sustainability investments.” Learn more about Constellation’s sustainability performance in its 2023 sustainability report.

Metal Processing International and Oklahoma Custom Coating Rebrand as ecoat.us Metal Processing International and Oklahoma Custom Coating, two leading companies in metal processing and coating services, announced their rebranding as ecoat.us, effective immediately. With this rebranding, ecoat.us aims to better reflect the company’s commitment to sustainable and advanced electrocoating practices, while continuing to provide excep tional service to its customers. The name change aligns with the compa ny’s mission to be at the forefront of advanced electrocoating solutions. Under this new brand, ecoat.us will continue to provide a comprehensive

range of metal processing and coating services, including but not limited to electrocoating, powder coating, metal cleaning and surface treatment. Ecoat.us will retain the same owner ship and management personnel as its predecessor companies.

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VALVE MAGAZINE

SPRING 2024