| Environmental,
Health & Safety Policy
XTO Energy Inc. is committed to protecting the environment
and the health and safety of employees, contractors, local
communities, and others who may be impacted by our business
activities. To accomplish this goal, we conduct our operations
in a manner that protects human health and safety, minimizes
adverse environmental impacts, and mitigates unavoidable impacts
on the environment. It is XTO's policy to comply with all
applicable environmental, health, and safety laws and regulations
and to apply responsible standards where laws and regulations
do not exist. To accomplish this goal, we provide leadership,
training, technical and legal support, and feedback on environmental
and safety performance to our employees. We understand the
importance of respecting the environment and preventing injury
to people, and we promote open discussion of XTO's goals in
this arena.
XTO's Operations Philosophy
When XTO acquires properties, we look for properties with
multiple reservoirs and future development potential. Typically,
we drill new wells and complete all the reservoirs within
a particular wellbore simultaneously, commingling the production
from different zones. The result of this approach, which often
differs from the approach of other exploration and production
companies, is that XTO drills fewer wells to produce the same
reserves. Consequently, we develop reserves with less surface
disturbance, fewer pits, and fewer tank batteries than many
of our peers.
Global Climate Change
The Board of Directors and management of XTO Energy regularly
review the risks associated with the Company’s operations.
We take our responsibilities regarding the environment seriously
and are committed to protecting the environment. Although
the scientific debate regarding the impact of human activities
on global warming continues, the Company recognizes that it
is an important issue.
The Board of Directors has directed management to form a
Climate Change Committee composed of employees representing
a variety of disciplines within the Company. This committee
is designed to address greenhouse gas emission issues, including
assisting management in monitoring the science of climate
change and making recommendations to help develop emission
reduction programs. Additionally, the committee is evaluating,
and will be implementing, a program to measure emissions at
Company-operated facilities to obtain baseline information.
Baseline information will be posted on the Company’s
website when available and updated annually.
The Company is also a partner in the Natural Gas STAR Program,
a voluntary greenhouse gas emission reduction program for
the upstream oil and gas industry, which is administered through
the Environmental Protection Agency on behalf of the President’s
Global Climate Change Initiative. Through this program, the
Company is helping to formulate a plan for the reduction of
methane emissions from current operations. The Company intends
to continue to participate in voluntary programs that address
greenhouse gas emissions.
EH&S Initiatives
Incident Reporting Database: XTO has an
intranet-based incident reporting system that requires
initial reporting of spills, injuries, fires or explosions,
vehicle incidents, theft, vandalism, and any
notifications to agencies or landowners. The database automatically
e-mails a notice of the incident report
to the appropriate operations managers so they can respond appropriately.
Individual Emergency Response Plans (ERPS) by Area:
A company-wide template for responding to
emergencies
using the Incident Command System adopted by the federal government
has been rolled
out. Each district office is now customizing
the plan for each specific operating area. We expect to have
fully developed ERPs by year-end.
Wetland Mitigation Bank: XTO has a permitted
315-acre wetland mitigation bank in the Navasota River
Basin of Texas where we are particularly active. The acreage
will be deed-recorded in perpetuity to prevent
the loss of these wetlands. When our operations disturb
a wetland, we will set aside anywhere from
3 to 7.5 acres of protected wetland for
every acre we disturb.
Environmental, Health, & Safety Management System:
We are working on development of an
Environmental, Health, & Safety Management System (EH&S-MS). The
system will provide a structure
which will help us achieve
our EH&S goals. Standards, procedures, and practices will
be referenced
in the management system and will be used to implement our
EH&S policy.
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