Oil and Gas Investor Magazine: Natural Gas Companies Plug Leaks, Easily Surpass 2025 Goal
Natural Gas Companies Plug Leaks, Easily Surpass 2025 Goal
Darren Barbee Senior Editor, Oil and Gas Investor Hart Energy
Sunday, November 25, 2018 – 6:00pm
A coalition of natural gas companies, including E&Ps, midstream and downstream operators, far exceeded its target for reducing methane emissions eight years ahead of schedule.
In November, Our Nation’s Energy Future (ONE Future), an alliance of 16 companies, reported its 2017 methane intensity—the ratio of net emissions to throughput volumes—was 0.55%, surpassing its initial goal to reduce emissions to 1% by 2025. In 2012, the overall natural gas industry’s methane intensity was 1.44%.
The One Future companies collectively account for 10% of U.S. natural gas production, 32% of gas transmission miles and 9% of distribution. Other companies, including oil and gas majors, have entered similar groups in order to increase profitability and to demonstrate their stewardship of the environment.
“Today’s report validates that through targeted investment in abatement technologies, we can significantly reduce methane emissions across the natural gas supply chain,” said One Future Executive Director Richard Hyde. “We are demonstrating that natural gas can indeed meet the growing energy needs of our country in a sustainable manner, and as our coalition continues to grow, we look forward to helping new members across the country achieve their methane reduction goals.”
One Future’s protocols were developed in partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy and its results were independently reviewed by the National Energy Technology Laboratory and by Innovative Environmental studies.
One Future’s operators span the production and distribution cycle in the Williston, Green River, Anadarko, Permian, Appalachian basins and other areas. Operators include Antero Resources, Apache Corp., EQT Resources, Hess Corp. and Southwestern Energy.
Southwestern Energy’s focus on natural gas emissions led it in September to sell gas to New Jersey Natural Gas, a distribution company serving over half a million customers throughout New Jersey. Southwestern adopted One Future’s methane leak/loss rate goal of 0.36% of gross production by 2025 and surpassed it, with a 0.19% methane intensity, the company said.