REX emissions initiative targets carbon neutral gas pipeline transportation capacity

Tallgrass Energy's Rockies Express Pipeline is seeking to designate a portion of its 4.4 Bcf/d of bidirectional capacity to carry what it describes as carbon neutral gas, the operator said Sept. 28 as it launched a certification initiative with Colorado-based Project Canary.

Gas and LNG producers, and now pipeline companies, are increasingly looking for ways to show their commitment to reducing GHG emissions, or at least quantify those emissions, amid the global energy transition to cleaner burning fuels.

Project Canary has arrangements with over 20 upstream and midstream companies related to its emissions monitoring and certification technology. In a statement, Tallgrass said its arrangement will allow REX to be the first pipeline to implement real-time emissions detection and monitoring across all of its compressor stations.

In addition to detection and monitoring, the certification standards will be focused on environmental stewardship and operational excellence. The effort will begin during the fourth quarter of this year and be completed by mid-2022.

According to Tallgrass, REX, which connects markets in the US Midwest with key producing basins in the Rockies and Appalachia, will be the first pipeline to differentiate carbon neutral transportation capacity for its customers across its footprint. REX will dedicate specific capacity to moving certified responsibly sourced gas, Tallgrass said.

While North American fossil fuel interests are increasingly being pushed by customers to verify that their supplies are produced responsibly and being transported via low emissions pipeline systems, not everyone in the industry is convinced that all the initiatives being announced can be achieved. What constitutes a carbon neutral supply of gas or LNG cargo has raised questions.

"I don't know what a carbon neutral shipment of energy is," Tellurian Executive Chairman Charif Souki said during a Center for Strategic and International Studies event in Washington on Sept. 28. "But what I do know is LNG contains carbon. So, it depends on how you define the words 'carbon neutral.'"

The developer of the proposed Driftwood LNG export facility, which will transport feedgas to the facility via pipeline from Louisiana's Haynesville shale, is unsure that becoming truly carbon neutral is feasible, at least for LNG producers.

"If you simply mean offsetting your emissions, I'm all for it," Souki said. "That means plant trees or do carbon sequestration."

He added, "When there is confusion, there is opportunity for abuse. You have to codify all this. We will offset our emissions. I don't know that we will ever be carbon neutral."