ESG Certifications Gain Momentum in the Industry

Abstract

Responsibly sourced gas (RSG), differentiated natural gas (DNG), independently certified gas (ICG)—these are some of the terms energy professionals might be hearing or reading about lately. As the international community sets itself upon a path to net-zero emissions as part of the fight against climate change, natural gas is seen as a great enabler of the energy transition to nonemitting sources. Experts believe natural gas could help drastically reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by replacing coal—when burned, it emits about half the carbon dioxide (CO2) compared to coal. However, that comes with a caveat: The assumption of lower emissions from natural gas holds true only when the issues of methane leaks and flaring are addressed. Methane is a very potent GHG. Its global warming potential (GWP), defined as a GHG’s ability to trap heat in the atmosphere compared to CO2, is more than 80 on a 20-year timespan, as shown in the figure. In other words, a single molecule of methane can trap 80 times more heat than an equivalent molecule of CO2. Luckily, methane dissipates from the atmosphere much more quickly than CO2. Its GWP goes down to 28 in a 100-year timespan and so on. This phenomenon presents a great opportunity for the oil and gas industry to drastically reduce overall emissions that are typically reported on a CO2-equivalent basis, while improving operations. After all, methane emissions represent leaks of a valuable commodity that could otherwise be sold. So, while regulators across the globe are coming up with ever more stringent methane policies, some industry participants opt to showcase their good performance in more proactive ways. One such way is by getting their production certified via voluntary certification programs. Currently, there are four main voluntary certifications tailored to the oil and gas industry that have at least some kind of methane emissions requirements. - Project Canary’s TrustWell - The MiQ Standard - Equitable Origin’s EO100 Standard for Responsible Energy Development - S&P Global Platts/Xpansiv Methane Performance Certificate (MPC) Independent Energy Standards Corporation (IES) was the original developer of the TrustWell certification and its origins date back to 2016. IES subsequently merged with Colorado-based continuous emissions monitoring company Project Canary in August 2020. TrustWell certification evaluates data points within 24 operational categories covering such aspects as environmental programs, spill prevention, waste management, emergency response, and well integrity. This certification is often paired with Canary-manufactured methane-continuous-monitoring sensors, although the company claims to be technology-agnostic. The TrustWell Low-Methane Verified Attribute covers the methane emissions aspects of the certification such as the requirement for methane intensity to be below a certain level and leak detection and repair requirements, among others. TrustWell was a pioneering certification framework with first certificates issued in 2018. Since then, many companies have certified at least some of their assets with TrustWell. Among them are Southwestern Energy, Range Resources, Flywheel Energy, Antero Resources, Seneca Resources, and others. The MiQ Standard was created and is maintained by MiQ, a not-for-profit partnership between RMI (formerly the Rocky Mountain Institute) and SYSTEMIQ, a global sustainability consultancy. MiQ started working on its standard in 2019 and, after several rounds of stakeholder reviews, the first MiQ certificates covering upstream onshore production were issued in late 2021.