Documents, Tools and Resources
Quick Finder
One of the primary goals of the Natural Gas STAR Program is to provide guidance to industry partners in identifying and prioritizing cost-effective ways to reduce methane emissions from oil and natural gas operations. Natural Gas STAR provides tools and resources to assist partners in identifying and prioritizing new methane emission reduction opportunities, quantifying emission reductions, collecting and managing data, and administering the Program. This page provides a summary of the free, technical information, resources and services available.
- Technical Resources, Information and Tools
- Program Administrative Forms and Online Reporting Tool
- Technical Support and Services
- Fact Sheets and Program Materials
Technical Resources, Information and Tools
- Technical Documents on Natural Gas STAR Recommended Technologies and Practices — To promote technology transfer and share industry best practices, Natural Gas STAR provides information on cost-effective methane emission reduction opportunities through a variety of technical documents.
- Technical Document Translations — Natural Gas STAR technical documents are available in several languages including Chinese, Russian, and Spanish.
- Reports, White Papers and Technical Articles — These technical articles and additional resources may be of use to Natural Gas STAR partners and others, and include information about options for reducing methane emissions and other Natural Gas STAR related issues.
- Natural Gas STAR Program Videos — Videos covering various topics including information on new technologies, benefits of Natural Gas STAR Program participation, and highlights of the significant efforts and achievements of Natural Gas STAR partners.
- Nodal Analysis Tool — This tool gives users easy access to information on cost-effective technologies and practices that reduce methane emissions in the oil and gas industry. Also displays interactive flow diagrams of the oil and gas industry.
- STARtracker Software — Donated by Devon Energy, STARtracker can be hosted on individual companies' Web servers and will allow each user to input and access data from any location and catalog methane emission reductions across the company. This tool is geared towards production companies but can be adapted for other sectors.
- Emissions Reduction Quantification Reference Guide (XLS) (456K, About MS Excel ) — This guide outlines various methodologies for quantifying the methane emission reductions achieved by a particular technology or practice. Where applicable, the guide provides viable calculation methodology options for direct measurement, engineering calculation, and/or emission factors for Natural Gas STAR recommended technologies and practices.
- Greenhouse Gas Equivalency Calculator — Did you ever wonder what reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 1 million metric tons means in everyday terms? This calculator allows users to translate common units of measure, such as pounds of methane or metric tons of carbon dioxide, to everyday terms including greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from passenger cars or carbon sequestered by pine forests.
Program Administrative Forms and Online Reporting Tool
- Index of Natural Gas STAR Program Forms — Includes implementation plan forms, annual reporting forms, and memoranda of understanding (MOU) forms.
- Natural Gas STAR Online Reporting System — Allows Natural Gas STAR partners to submit their annual reporting data electronically to EPA.
- Table of Sunset Dates/Technologies and Practices by Industry Sector (PDF) (6pp., 80K, About PDF) — Natural Gas STAR designates the maximum length of time that emission reductions can accrue as “sunset dates.” Partner companies may either report the corresponding methane emission reductions each year up to the allowable sunset date, or allow EPA to automatically roll-up their reductions for the designated period of time.
Technical Support and Services
- Partner Challenge — The Partner Challenge effort is designed to assist partner companies in identifying and implementing new methane emission reduction opportunities by developing estimates of methane emissions, identifying and prioritizing emission sources, and proposing economically and environmentally beneficial mitigation activities.
- EPA Program Managers and STAR Service Representatives — EPA’s Natural Gas STAR Program Managers and STAR Service Representatives are assigned to each partner company to provide implementation assistance, facilitate access to Program information, and enhance the overall participation experience. To find your assigned Program Manager and/or STAR Service Representative, visit the Natural Gas STAR partners page and look in the table for your company's listing.
- Natural Gas STAR Service Provider Directory — Provides information on service and technology providers that can facilitate methane emission reduction activities.
Fact Sheets and Program Materials
- Natural Gas STAR Program Fact Sheet (PDF) (4 pp, 1.1 MB, About PDF) — This fact sheet provides a quick snapshot of the Natural Gas STAR Program and why reducing methane emissions is so important in today’s market place and environment.
- Natural Gas STAR Industry Sector Presentations — These presentations provide general information about Natural Gas STAR Program goals, benefits and accomplishments, partner case studies, and recommended methane emission reduction technologies and practices:
- Production (13 pp, 276K, About PDF)
- Gathering and Processing (13 pp, 272K, About PDF)
- Transmission (13 pp, 278K, About PDF)
- Distribution (13 pp, 281K, About PDF)
- International (16 pp, 3 MB, About PPT)
- Natural Gas STAR Industry Sector Fact Sheets — These fact sheets provide an overview of the technologies and practices with the largest reported methane emissions reductions by Natural Gas STAR partners:
- Production (PDF) (2 pp, 358K, About PDF)
- Gathering and Processing (PDF) (2 pp, 382K, About PDF)
- Transmission (PDF) (2 pp, 354K, About PDF)
- Distribution (PDF) (2 pp, 350K, About PDF)
- Natural Gas STAR Quick Reference Guide (PDF) (2 pp, 1 MB, About PDF) — This fact sheet provides an overview of the resources, tools, and technical assistance that the Natural Gas STAR Program provides to its partners.
- Natural Gas STAR Accomplishments Report (PDF) (9 pp, 3.4 MB, About PDF) — This report presents an overview of all the programmatic accomplishments on an annual basis.