How Sun Oil Company is Conserving Energy in Field Operations
Authors: Oxford W.F. , Moncrief J.B. 
Published: December 2007

American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers, Inc.

This paper was prepared for the 49th Annual Fall Meeting of the Society of Petroleum Engineers of AIME, to be held in Houston, Texas, Oct. 6–9, 1974. Permission to copy is restricted to an abstract of not more than 300 words. Illustrations may not be copied. The abstract should contain conspicuous acknowledgment of where and by whom the paper is presented. Publication elsewhere after publication in the JOURNAL paper is presented. Publication elsewhere after publication in the JOURNAL OF PETROLEUM TECHNOLOGY or the SOCIETY OF PETROLEUM ENGINEERS JOURNAL is usually granted upon request to the Editor of the appropriate journal provided agreement to give proper credit is made. provided agreement to give proper credit is made. Discussion of this paper is invited. Three copies of any discussion should be sent to the Society of Petroleum Engineers office. Such discussions may be presented at the above meeting and, with the paper, may be considered for publication in one of the two SPE magazines.

The energy crisis has caused hardships in every sector of American society. The American consumers have been asked to make sacrifices, and in most cases the response has been heartening. Individuals are lowering their thermostats, slowing down on highways, modifying travel plans, and paying more for heating oil and gasoline.

As a result of the President's energy messages, Sun Oil Company undertook implementation on Energy Conservation programs to enable us to use the energy we have more effectively. Our Energy Conservation strategies involve three levels of attack:

One is identifying energy consumption in converting fuel to energy in our operations. The second level involves documenting what has already been accomplished, thus providing methods for finding and stopping wasteful operations in existing facilities. The third level involves setting of Energy Conservation goals.

The purpose of the Energy Conservation Program is to identify, develop, and Program is to identify, develop, and implement programs designed to conserve energy usage throughout Sun Oil Company and its subsidiaries. These programs are meant to aid in establishing an energy conservation ethic among our people to increase their awareness so they can effectively perform their responsibilities in a different environment. The Program will be conducted in harmony with performance of the Company's primary purpose of providing energy supply. primary purpose of providing energy supply. An Energy Conservation Program was organized to itensify, develop, and quicken the implementation of programs throughout Sun Oil Company and its Subsidiaries. The published objectives of our program are to: published objectives of our program are to:Optimize the use of energy consistent with sound operating practices.Function as a responsible citizen within society by insuring that energy conservation is a "way of life" throughout our operations.Effectively communicate our accomplishments to our people, customers, suppliers, and the general public.Actively perform as a leader on energy conservation in industry.