New Report Shows Global Adoption of API Standards

WASHINGTON, October 4, 2022 – The American Petroleum Institute (API) today released a new report that finds API standards are widely used across the globe, with regulators and companies relying on them to enhance environmental, health, safety and operational performance in the natural gas and oil industry. 

“API standards are globally recognized for their technical rigor in enhancing safety, environmental protection and operational efficiencies,” said API’s Senior Vice President for Global Industry Services Anchal Liddar. “We are international leaders for the natural gas and oil industry and this report shows the impact of our standards worldwide.” 

2022 API Standards: International Usage and Deployment examines the use of API standards not only in national laws and regulations, but also in policy guidance, national standards, technical manuals and industry practices. In the 31 countries analyzed in the report:

• There were 1,102 references to API standards across upstream, midstream and downstream sectors, showing their broad use by regulators and companies across the globe.
• More than 62% of the references to API standards were found in national standards and technical regulations. 
• Approximately 37% of API standards references were within best practices or technical and operational manuals issued by regulators or national oil companies. 

The report highlights that as energy demand continues to grow, there are opportunities for the U.S. natural gas and oil industry to collaborate with global companies, standards development organizations and governance agencies on the adoption of standards and technical practices. By incorporating globally-accepted standards into national policies, the industry can help reduce trade barriers and bolster economic growth while meeting demand for reliable and sustainable energy. 

Methodology: The 31 markets outside of the United States were chosen based on the current presence of the natural gas and oil industry, expected growth regions and legislative considerations, such as the general use of standards in technical regulations by governments. For each market, API examined publicly available laws and regulations, databases of national standards and technical regulations, and operational manuals and industry practices to identify specific uses of API standards.

API represents all segments of America’s natural gas and oil industry, which supports more than 11 million U.S. jobs and is backed by a growing grassroots movement of millions of Americans. Our approximately 600 members produce, process, and distribute the majority of the nation’s energy, and participate in API Energy Excellence®, which is accelerating environmental and safety progress by fostering new technologies and transparent reporting. API was formed in 1919 as a standards-setting organization and has developed more than 800 standards to enhance operational and environmental safety, efficiency and sustainability.

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