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EQT rolls out four-year net-zero plan

Most of EQT's fields are in the Marcellus formation
Most of EQT's fields are in the Marcellus formation

Pittsburgh-based EQT, an independent natural gas producer and pipeline operator, says it intends to bring its net carbon emissions down to zero in just four years.

The company unveiled its net-zero agenda last week, saying in a statement covering its 2020 ESG report that it had “announced targets to achieve net-zero Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in its production segment operations by or before 2025.” This plan is in line with EQT’s effort to “continuously improve the way it produces environmentally responsible, reliable and low-cost energy,” it declared.

In practical terms, the statement said, the company will seek to bring the Scope 1 GHG emissions intensity of its upstream production operations down to less than 160 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) by or before 2025. This would represent a decline of approximately 70% on 2018 levels and 21% on 2019 levels, it said.

“EQT’s methane intensity for 2020 is approximately 81% lower than the 2025 target set by the ONE Future Coalition for the production segment,” it added.

Additionally, EQT said it intended to cut Scope 1 methane emissions to less than 0.02%. This marks a 65% drop on 2018 levels and a 19% drop on 2019 levels, not including the 2020 annualised emissions arising from its acquisition of Chevron Appalachian’s assets, it stated.

The company did not comment further on its plans for reducing Scope 2 GHG emissions. It did offer further details on its efforts to reduce emissions in 2020, though. It noted, for example, that it had reduced diesel consumption by 23mn gallons as a result of switching all of its hydraulic fracturing (fracking) operations to electric last year. Additionally, it said it had begun a process that would allow it to replace all of its gas-powered pneumatic devices by 2023. These devices accounted for about 53% of the Scope 1 GHG emissions generated by the company’s upstream operations, it explained.

Toby Z. Rice, EQT’s president and CEO, expressed satisfaction with these initiatives. “The actions that we have taken in the last year have set EQT on the path to be net zero by 2025, if not sooner,” he remarked. “Bolstering this ambition is our ability to leverage technology and innovation that not only improves our operational efficiencies but lessens our environmental impact.”

EQT is the largest producer of natural gas in the Appalachian basin. Most of its assets lie within the Marcellus formation.