Doug Jordan started his career as an air quality inspector in 1985 and began work at companies in the energy sector eight years later. He currently is Senior GHG/Methane Specialist with Chevron, and his career includes stops at Teocalli Exploration, Western Midstream, Newfield/Ovintiv, SWN, Enterprise Products, El Paso Corporation, Tennessee Gas Pipeline, and other energy companies.
He’s attended GPA Midstream’s annual convention since 2000 and has been an active member and leader of the Environmental Committee during the same time period. Jordan has received several of GPA Midstream’s Service Awards including Citation for Service (2016), Committee Leader (2014, 2024), and Committee Volunteer Award (2014, 2023).
He chairs the association’s Environmental Committee, which monitors environmental issues, particularly those related to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and equivalent state agencies where midstream operations could be affected. Under Jordan’s leadership, the Environmental Committee coordinates member company volunteers in the critical work of developing a midstream industry position on key industry issues, creating action plans, and filing in-depth comments in response to proposed regulations.
Earlier in 2024, Jordan sat down with Midstream News to discuss his career path, work with GPA Midstream, and why he sees tremendous value in midstream professionals getting involved in the association’s committee work.
What brought you into the energy industry?
DOUG JORDAN: In college, I studied environmental sciences, remote sensing, and kind of figured that I would start out working for an environmental agency like the EPA. In 1985 I was driving to Houston and saw a car that said Texas Air Control Board. Whoa! I looked it up and saw that's like the state EPA for Texas. I started looking for a job posting in the newspaper and saw a position for an air quality inspector for a local agency, applied for the position, and ended up being hired into the position. Wow.
Then in 1993 one of the people I trained at the agency had joined a company called Tennessee Gas Pipeline. And you know, 93 is when the rules from the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 started coming out. Title 5 Permits, Quad Z, Quad J, NOx SIP call, etc. I mean, people think it's busy today. It was busy back then, and they needed an airhead. And so, he brought me into Tennessee Gas, and that’s how I got into the energy sector.
Why have you stayed in the industry side of things?
DJ: I’ve worked in each of the employment sectors. I worked as an inspector; I worked in consulting. I've worked in industry, and I've stayed in industry because I really like being connected to the assets. As a consultant, your job is to get the permit for that compressor, and then you're done. As a regulator, you inspect to make sure they're complying with the permit and regulatory requirements. But when you're working in the industry, you get the whole package from the front-end regulatory advocacy, facility design through permitting and then ongoing compliance. I have also worked in the Production, Midstream, and Mainline segments of the oil and gas value chain, but I always gravitate towards midstream operations and GPA Midstream.
Describe a memorable professional experience. What's a career highlight or project that you really found challenging and successful?
DJ: On the professional front, receiving the GPA Midstream Citation for Service Award in 2016 and the Committee Chair Award in 2014 and 2023 are certainly highlights. They reflect my commitment and dedication to GPA Midstream, my leadership of the Environmental Committee, and the respect and support of my colleagues and peers.
For a personal career highlight, back in 2015 to 2017 I was involved in an initiative with EPA and China to help China develop a greenhouse gas emissions inventory and implement greenhouse gas emissions mitigation measures. This included hosting China regulatory and industry operator representatives and U.S EPA representatives on tours of SWN’s U.S. operations.
When it came time for the project closure meeting in 2017, the Chinese government asked EPA if they could bring me over as a US industry rep, because they saw how I interfaced with the agency — working with them, not against them, and maintaining a friendly relationship. They were trying to get the same thing established in China, which I thought was odd, because I thought, well, the China companies are owned by the government. If the government says, “Thou shalt do,” you would think they would.
It was an experience, and at the same time, an honor to be invited and to go to Beijing and represent the US and the industry in that way. I still have the visa.
What do you see as the biggest challenges facing oil and gas generally, and midstream specifically?
DJ: The big challenge is ongoing regulations, and more recently, the connectivity of the regulations. Subpart W ties to Quad Ob and Quad Oc, which ties to the Waste Emissions Charge rules. In the 40 years of doing this work, I haven’t seen regulations overlap or interrelate nearly as much. There’s a lot of duplication, and yet it's not all the same. The challenge isn't going to be just complying with the material components — converting to instrument air or putting on controls — the compliance challenge is the inconsistencies between the regulations, changing interpretations, and administrative elements like record-keeping and reporting. It's almost like our profession is shifting into environmental accounting.
And the election results are likely to lead to still more changes, which makes 2025 a great time for midstream professionals to get involved with Environmental Committee or other GPA committees.
How has involvement with GPA Midstream advanced your career or helped achieve your career goals?
Interfacing with my peers and being able to meet has been critical. The reason we created the Environmental Committee and started the quarterly meetings was to establish a round table type meeting, where we could get together, even though we worked for different companies, and talk about the challenges we're facing, complying with the myriad of regulations and just learning from each other.
You know, I might read a rule one way, but somebody might read it another. By talking about it, we come out with a better understanding or interpretation of the regulation. That kind of interaction created a network. We all know each other and support each other.
For me personally, working on work groups, or being the vice chair, or the chair, assisted in developing leadership and people skills. Without a doubt, it's given me that opportunity, plus a lot of engagement with the agencies as we've gotten more involved in writing comments to rules and whatnot. So, the exposure representing GPA for the industry and at the federal level was — and is — a big career booster.
How would you describe what the Environmental Committee does for midstream?
One benefit the Environmental Committee provides for midstream is our review and active engagement on the proposed rules and the rulemaking process and earning respect from the agency by providing solutions while trying to minimize impact to our industry.
When a new proposed regulation comes out, we set up a work group and break down that rule and its requirements. Usually it’s a short time frame — typically 60 days to review and comment. That may seem like plenty of time, but the Quad Ob and Quad Oc rules were 2000 pages of preamble and text, and that didn't include the technical supporting documentation. So, you've got 60 days to read 2000 pages and try to assess what it means, and what the challenges are.
Most of the work groups meet weekly to keep things on track, and those meetings might be one to two hours. The people leading that, or the people really involved in those work groups, are doing more time than just that one hour weekly meeting because they're gathering data, compiling the comments, etc.
A long time ago, when there were just a handful of us, we submitted mostly “me too” letters supporting the comments prepared by other trade associations. Starting around 2008 or 2009, we reached a critical mass of engaged Environmental Committee members, so we started doing more substantive comments of our own. On the Quad Ob and Oc rule, our comment letter was over 65 pages. The people at EPA who steered Quad Ob and Oc and Subpart W have complemented GPA over and over, because not only do we respond and provide comments, we also try to provide solutions and options.
Another significant benefit to midstream that the Environmental Committee provides is offering a forum for open communications and networking. Our Environmental Committee meetings are generally roundtable format where we discuss new regulations, interpretations of the regulations, and how people are complying with the regulations.
Why should individuals with member companies get involved with GPA or GPSA?
DJ: Engagement, knowledge, participation, and friendship. I know people that carve out four to five hours of their day to call in or attend Environmental Committee meetings, but they say it's the best four to five hours they could use to try to stay on top of the myriad of things going on. This is the case, especially if you're with a smaller company where you might be doing environmental, safety, and health along with other responsibilities, and then trying to do the deep dive into a 2000 page proposed rule. So, if you call into the Environmental Committee meeting, you get a snapshot by your peers that are experts in the landscape. It also builds or expands one’s network to where you are not the “lone wolf” and can turn to others in the network for questions, discussion, solutions.
Also participating in GPA or GPSA is an opportunity to build friendships…even family. Having been active on the Environmental Committee for over 20 years, many of the members are more like family than just friends or peers. And having attended the annual conference year over year over year, I've gotten to know people outside of the environmental group that are friends and family as well…So a benefit is more friends and family.
What's something you wish people outside the industry knew about the midstream?
DJ: How vital we are to their everyday life. Without us, the gas wouldn't be processed, it wouldn't flow. You'd have to burn coal or do something. We're that middle ground between the wellhead and the refineries and other industries that make your lipstick, make your tires, the gasoline in your car, and so on.
Final question, what's a fun fact about you that people would never guess?
DJ: I think a lot of people don't know that I was a calf roper. I grew up in Pawhuska, Oklahoma. I lived right across the street from the Osage County fairgrounds, and the home of the Ben Johnson Memorial Steer Roping contest as well as Cavalcade Rodeo. So, I grew up around a lot of good ropers.
I keep a pigging string in my office. Do you know what that is? No? the pigging string is what you use to tie up a calf’s legs after you rope it so they can’t get up. I hang it up in my office just to see if anyone that visits my office knows what it is.
Click here to learn more about GPA Midstream committees and get involved.
