What do the annual emission intensity numbers really mean?

November 27, 2018: What do the annual emission intensity numbers really mean?

ONE Future announced that it had released its 2017 annual emission intensity numbers. The results showed that the intensity was 0.552% significantly surpassing our 2025 goal of 1%. I have received questions over the last several days asking: was the goal too low; are these numbers real; and what do you do now?

We set our goal in 2014 when the EPA national emission intensity was 1.44%. At the time, many were saying that for natural gas to be sustainable and competitive against other fossil fuels, methane emission intensity needed to be at or below 1%, so that is where we set our goal. At the time we believed that 1% by 2025 was actually a stretch goal.

As you can see from the report posted on our website, the numbers are real and we are proud that the investment of time and resources has paid off. The numbers reported include the emissions that ONE Future members report to the EPA through the Greenhouse Gas Inventory and also include additional emissions not reported because they fall below reporting thresholds. In addition both the National Energy Technology Laboratory and Innovative Environmental Solutions have independently reviewed the numbers.

ONE Future members will continue to work to reduce methane emissions. We believe that our results show that a performance-based approach to reducing emissions works and will continue to be a leader in finding and deploying innovative technology that is cost effective in emissions abatement.

ONE Future also wants to encourage other members of the natural gas industry to join us in reducing methane emissions. As an industry we have demonstrated we are able to meet the growing energy needs of our country, however, in order to ensure that natural gas is a sustainable long-term fuel source, the entire natural gas value chain needs ensure they are doing their part in reducing methane emissions.

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