US producer EQT joins international methane initiative
EQT, the largest US natural gas producer, said June 23 it had joined an international initiative committed to lowering methane emissions.
EQT said it joined the UN-backed Climate and Clean Air Coalition's Oil & Gas Methane Partnership, which targets methane emissions in line with the Paris climate accord. Together, industry participants represent more than 30% of global oil and gas production.
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“Reducing methane emissions is a foundational component of our mission to be the operator of choice for all of our stakeholders, a responsibility we embrace as the country's largest producer of natural gas,” EQT CEO Toby Rice said.
EQT in April expressed support for two resolutions in the US Congress that would repeal the 2020 Methane Rescission Rule from the Environmental Protection Agency. In 2020, the EPA loosened standards on emissions of methane and volatile organic carbons from new oil and gas facilities, part of the Trump administration’s effort to break up bureaucracy for the benefit of US energy dominance.
Instead, EQT said it was supporting a return to earlier rules in place before Trump came to office as a uniform federal standard.
EQT’s announcement followed a similar commitment to have the majority of its production in the Marcellus shale basin certified as responsibly-sourced gas (RSG) by the end of this year.
"Natural gas is capable of playing a key role in accelerating a sustainable path to a low carbon future, both domestically and abroad,” Rice added. “To position natural gas as a decarbonising commodity of choice, however, it is incumbent on industry participants to embrace a modernised approach that deploys best available technology for emissions measurement and management."