Cheniere to collaborate on GHG emissions initiative

Cheniere Energy, the largest LNG producer in the US, is to collaborate with five natural gas producers and several leading academic institutions to implement quantification, monitoring, reporting and verification (QMRV) of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions performance at natural gas production sites.

It is hoped the initiative will improve the overall understanding of upstream GHG emissions and further the deployment of advanced monitoring technologies and protocols. It will also support Cheniere’s climate strategy initiatives, including the company’s plan to provide Cargo Emissions Tags (CE Tags) to customers beginning in 2022.

The producers participating in the project are Aethon Energy, Ascent Resources – Utica, EQT Corporation, Indigo Natural Resources and Pioneer Natural Resources.

The collaborative R&D initiative will utilise multiple ground-based, drone, aerial and satellite monitoring technologies to establish baseline emissions levels. The project will monitor sites for CO₂ and fugitive and vented methane emissions. The initiative will also verify emissions performance and identify opportunities to reduce emissions. The initial effort will cover production wells in the Haynesville, Marcellus, Permian and Utica basins that collectively produce approximately 360mn cf/d of natural gas.

The project is supported by researchers from the Payne Institute for Public Policy at the Colorado School of Mines, Harrisburg University of Science and Technology, SLR International and other emissions monitoring technology providers, including Montrose Environmental, SeekOps, Bridger Photonics and GHGSat.