BP's U.S. onshore wells in the Haynesville Shale have ranked among the best performing wells for methane emissions, as the company took the opportunity to become the latest major international energy producer to differentiate its natural gas through MiQ.'s certification.
BPX Energy, the onshore unit of BP, was awarded an A grade on Dec. 8 by MiQ for its methane emissions performance from its South Haynesville Basin wells across Texas. The audit was performed by MiQ's independent certification system. With such an audit in place, operators can differentiate themselves through methane-emissions performance. MiQ currently certifies about 10 Bcf/d or around 2.5% of the global gas market and 11% of U.S. gas production.
According to the management of MiQ, the company aims to bring forward a market where certified natural gas can be traded around the world in the same way as other traditional commodities, ultimately providing incentives to lower overall emissions of methane. And now, as a result of its certification system's innovative and independently audited nature, operators, buyers, and even regulatory agencies can viably support methane reduction in a global context.
As for BPX, its South Haynesville Facility is composed of 70 wells, and MiQ will issue one certificate per MMBtu of certified natural gas. Buyers and traders will be able to order these certificates through BP's account at the MiQ Digital Registry before the end of the year.
About 0.2 billion cubic feet of natural gas is produced by BPX's South Haynesville facility each day; these well sites have been certified using the MiQ Standard, which determines the facility's methane emissions from "A" to "F". As low as 0.05% methane concentration corresponds to an A grade, while 2% corresponds to an F grade.
Following such success, BPX is now looking closely into its Haynesville, Eagle Ford, and Permian basins assets to find additional opportunities for certification.
In accordance with all MiQ certifications, the BPX's facility received an independent A grade from an auditor. In this case, GHD, one of eight accredited auditors by MiQ, verified the company.
In order to compile its data for audit, BPX utilized multiple methane monitoring technologies. A few examples include a drone and fixed-wing aircraft that can be equipped with OGI cameras, as well as ground-based cameras. Additionally, BPX measured methane emissions from targeted sources using field-measurement devices.
