BY GUS MORGAN

“I was emissions before emissions was cool,” says Milind Bhatte, in an ode to the early '80s hit country song by Barbara Mandrell.  

He should know — having moved to Nashville, the Country Music Capital of the World, as his first stop after leaving India.

“I have been working in this space for more than 30 years. It is very heartening to see all the interest and the attention this is getting recently. It is the most exciting time to be an environmental person right now.”    

Measuring Lower 48 emissions 

For more than 32 years, Milind, who holds a doctorate in chemical engineering from Vanderbilt University, has dedicated himself to roles involving environmental compliance, focusing primarily on air-quality issues.

At ConocoPhillips, Milind is using his expertise and experience to make a positive environmental impact within the company’s Lower 48 business units, doing his part to help the company achieve its environmental goals. As Methane Measurement Manager, Milind plays a key role in the Lower 48 Environmental & Sustainable Development organization, which also focuses on compliance, a critical component of the company's license to operate.

“ConocoPhillips has been reducing its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for a long time now. But we have set new targets around reducing methane, greenhouse gases and flaring. And those targets have to be translated back into individual activities and projects that the company implements.”

These emissions-reduction undertakings must be carried out across many Lower 48 well sites and facilities, old and new. 

“It's a challenge, but we recognize that reducing our emissions is an important part of how we operate as an oil and gas company.”

Milind manages a team responsible for helping the Lower 48 business units measure and report their operational GHG emissions, including methane. Milind’s team is divided into two groups. One group is charged with implementing the measurement and reporting standards of the Oil and Gas Methane Partnership (OGMP) 2.0 Initiative, a voluntary program, to the Lower 48 assets. His second group is responsible for reporting the company’s GHG emissions to government regulators.

“Our OGMP 2.0 membership demonstrates our commitment to reducing our methane emissions. The measurement-based reporting framework of this program goes beyond current industry regulations to increase the accuracy and transparency in our methane emissions reporting, and it will also help us with mitigating our emissions. Implementing OGMP means doing some measurements across our sites now." 

"OGMP is not just about measuring emissions. Measurement is a means to an end. It is all about mitigation. We have teams across Lower 48 working diligently to reduce our emissions, both with retrofits to existing sites and incorporating emission mitigation technologies in new designs."  

Those teams are actively implementing what's known as the Lower 48 Emissions Reduction Strategy, a plan that outlines key actions for each business unit to meet its emissions goals.

“At ConocoPhillips, we do the right thing. We have a bunch of passionate professionals in this organization who care about fulfilling our environmental promises. I would not work for a company that chooses to ignore issues, and at ConocoPhillips, when we find out we have problems, we take steps to fix them. ConocoPhillips is not the kind of company that states a goal and then doesn't plan to meet it.”

Space, the final frontier

While Milind is always thinking about environmental issues at work, he savors his weekly reading time handling physical books at the Cinco Ranch Library.

“Since our only son is on his own in NYC, our evenings are often free. Preeta and I often visit the library on the only two days it is open in the evenings. Right now, I'm interested in all things space and evolution and how life came to be. Is there life out there? Absolutely. The big question is can biological beings work their way across the universe? That's the hard part.”