Southwestern Energy signs emissions monitoring agreement

Southwestern Energy, a leading U.S. producer of natural gas and natural gas liquids with a large presence in Pennsylvania and Appalachia, announced Wednesday that it has signed an agreement to monitor emissions and obtain independent responsibly sourced gas (RSG) certification.

Under the terms of the agreement, Southwestern (SWN) will use Project Canary’s TrustWell’s stringent standards and continuous monitoring across its existing and future unconventional wells throughout the Appalachian basin. The agreement expands SWN’s existing Project Canary relationship, which began in 2017. The agreement is expected to increase SWN’s certified gross production to over 3 Bcf per day when completed.

“Creating sustainable value through responsible energy development is a core value of SWN. We are proud to have been first-movers in ESG, including leading performance, disclosure, and transparency. This includes emissions performance leadership through rigorous operational design standards and methane reduction initiatives, returning more freshwater to the environment than is used in our operations, and robust chemical disclosure management,” Southwestern Energy President and Chief Executive Officer Bill Way said.

The certification process is scheduled to start in July and to be completed by early 2022. Project Canary will also install its Canary X continuous emissions monitoring devices on all SWN’s pad locations throughout Appalachia.

“In 2017, we saw the potential for a differentiated market that values responsibly sourced gas, and today, we add another milestone by becoming the largest independent producer to certify and continuously monitor its entire base production,” Way said. “Natural gas is a clean, reliable, and affordable source of energy and, as a leading producer of natural gas, we are proud to be a part of a lower carbon future.”