Southwestern Energy Co. plans to complete third-party certification for all of its natural gas production in the Haynesville Shale, partnering with environmental performance analysis firm Project Canary, the companies announced Feb. 8.
As part of the commitment, Southwestern will install Project Canary continuous monitoring sensors at the well pad level, which executives highlighted as a selling point.
"The ability to monitor emissions from our operations at the pad level is a clear differentiator and will allow Southwestern to efficiently and effectively reduce emissions," Southwestern President and CEO Bill Way said in a statement.
Southwestern has historically operated in Appalachia and in Arkansas' Fayetteville Shale, only recently expanding into Louisiana's Haynesville and Bossier shales with two acquisitions in 2021. The company completed its $1.9 billion purchase of Indigo Natural Resources LLC in September and its $1.8 billion acquisition of GEP Haynesville LLC in December.
Southwestern's Haynesville production averaged around 1.7 Bcf/d, as of the company's Nov. 4, 2021, third-quarter earnings presentation, with executives expressing expectations that harnessing synergies and scale from the two acquisitions could lead to higher production.
Certified gas in the Haynesville Shale
Southwestern expects that the Haynesville certification process will be completed by the end of 2022.
Including Southwestern, Haynesville gas producers have committed to certify just over 6 Bcf/d of gas production by the end of 2022. Of that total, 1.2 Bcf/d has been completed, according to company announcements.
Haynesville gas production has averaged 13.7 Bcf/d year to date, data from S&P Global Platts Analytics shows.
Other Haynesville producers that have signed up for third-party gas certification include Comstock Resources Inc., Chesapeake Energy Corp. and BPX Production Co., the U.S. onshore shale unit of BP PLC. The full volume of gas undergoing third-party certification is likely higher, with some companies waiting to receive the certification results before making their efforts public. A number of pilot programs have not disclosed the volumes involved or expected completion dates.
A pioneer of certified gas
Southwestern Energy was an early adopter of third-party gas certification, inking the country's first publicly announced deals in 2018 and 2019. Denver-based Project Canary's predecessor, IES, served as the certifier for these early transactions.
"Beyond the clear ESG sustainability benefits, we believe that responsibly sourced gas will ultimately lead to enhanced margins and improved economics from greater access to global markets," Way said in the company's Nov. 4, 2021, third-quarter earnings call.
The producer partnered again with Project Canary in June 2021 to certify all of its Appalachia gas production, with the process expected to reach completion by March. After the completion of its Haynesville and Appalachia certification efforts, the company expects to have more than 5 Bcf/d of certified gas to market.
Kelsey Hallahan is a reporter for S&P Global Platts. S&P Global Platts and S&P Global Market Intelligence are both owned by S&P Global Inc.
