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Managing Our Emissions
Reducing Emissions from Our Products
Managing Our Emissions
Like all energy companies, ChevronTexaco's operations produce emissions such as sulfur oxides, nitrogen oxides, volatile organic compounds and carbon monoxide, which can contribute to local and regional air pollution.
Through our Operational Excellence Management System, we require our business units to track current air emissions, forecast future emissions, and minimize the environmental and health risks associated with those emissions. We do not collect corporatewide, nongreenhouse gas air emissions data.
ChevronTexaco designs new facilities using guidelines and processes to minimize air emissions once the facilities are operating. We also add emission control equipment to existing facilities. In many cases, this control equipment is installed to comply with local and national governmental requirements, although in some instances we have gone beyond regulatory requirements. In most of our U.S. marketing terminals, for example, we have installed controls that typically reduce volatile organic compounds emissions beyond what is required by regulations.
In the United States, our refineries have made improvements in controlling emissions of volatile organic compounds and nitrogen oxides over the past several years. The net increase in sulfur oxide emissions over the period is primarily due to variability in refinery operations and the types of crude oils processed.
Reducing Emissions from Our Products
In addition to air emissions from our own operations, we also are working to minimize the air emissions produced when our fuel products are used. ChevronTexaco has undertaken a range of activities to develop such cleaner fuels:
- We have been an industry leader in gasoline detergent additive technology, which reduces vehicle emissions by reducing engine deposits. Since 1973, U.S. automakers have used Chevron gasoline with our deposit control technology to help certify their vehicles comply with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency emission standards.
- Company researchers have worked extensively with oil and auto industry research organizations to characterize engine emissions, the effects of vehicle design and fuels on these emissions, and the effects of these emissions on air quality.
- We have worked with the U.S. EPA in its efforts to reduce sulfur content of fuels to reduce emissions from combustion of these products. ChevronTexaco plans to produce low-sulfur fuels well ahead of EPA deadlines.
- Outside the United States, ChevronTexaco plans to deliver low-sulfur products in specific markets in Asia, the Middle East and Africa.
- We have been an advocate of producing unleaded gasoline ahead of government mandates and have worked on this issue with governments in Vietnam, South Africa and Kenya.
- We are members of the International Petroleum Industry Environmental Conservation Association and the American Petroleum Institute, both of which are working with the Partnership for Clean Fuels and Vehicles. This global partnership, established in 2002 at the World Summit for Sustainable Development, is supporting the phaseout of lead from fuels around the world and the reduction of sulfur in gasoline and diesel fuel as advanced vehicle emission controls are introduced.
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