Certification of natural gas as responsibly sourced continues to gain traction in the energy industry, with Chevron joining ExxonMobil’s XTO Energy, Laredo and Chisholm Energy in testing certification programs.
Chevron this week announced it had received Project Canary’s highest ratings on operational and environmental performance at five sites in the Midland Basin and in Chevron’s Mustang Development Area in the DJ Basin of Colorado. Of the 85 wells analyzed by Project Canary, 82 received the highest “Platinum” status and three the second-best “Gold” status. The five sites involved produce a total of approximately 80 million cubic feet of natural gas per day.
“The initial pilot phase will last through 2022 and next steps will be informed by the experience and learnings of the pilot,” Catie Matthews, public and government affairs advisor in Chevron’s Mid-Continent Business Unit, told the Reporter-Telegram by email. “We expect the pilot to help verify our strengths and identify opportunities to further improve methane performance, familiarize us with the certification process, and grow our understanding of the current RSG market.”
Chevron plans to market RSG from the certified assets in the second half of 2022.
Chris Romer, chief executive officer and co-founder of Project Canary, told the Reporter-Telegram in a telephone interview that he was excited by Chevron’s leadership in the Permian and DJ Basins.
“It’s great to have a leading producer like Chevron accelerate the responsibly-sourced gas market,” he said. “Their commitment to transparency is the foundation of the energy transition.” He said he expects many other Permian Basin producers will now follow Chevron’s lead.
Increasing the certification of natural gas as responsibly sourced will not only provide the world with needed fuel that has been verified as clean carbon but will produce great jobs in Midland, Romer said.
“We can cut methane emissions and have a healthy environment and have affordable energy,” he said. “It’s been done in Colorado and now it’s being done in the Permian Basin.”
What’s also exciting to him is that markets are recognizing the viability of certifying natural gas through the actions of blue-chip companies like Chevron, he added.
“There will be lots of buyers and that will be good for the Permian Basin,” he said.
Romer estimates that 40 percent of the natural gas produced in the US will be certified by the end of the year and will come from most of the nation’s producing basins.
