Approach to Climate Change & Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Equitrans recognizes that climate change is one of the most critical issues facing our company and society. The effects of climate change require global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and build resiliency to impending impacts on our business.
Methane emissions are one of Equitrans’ largest contributions to climate change. Methane is the main component of natural gas, which we process and deliver to customers. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) acknowledges methane has a more significant impact to climate change than carbon dioxide. We understand the implications our business has on the environment and commit to reducing our impact on the environment through strategies, policies, and procedures.
Our understanding of climate change and its implications are increasing every year. On April 22, 2021, the U.S. announced a new commitment to cutting the country’s GHG emissions up to 52% by 2030. Equitrans understands that our natural gas operations are necessary to meet our nation’s growing demand for reliable energy, and we are committed to taking the necessary steps to reduce our carbon footprint.
In comparison to other fossil fuels, natural gas has a significantly lower GHG emission rate when combusted, yet Equitrans believes a sustainable future lies in our ability to continue to do better. We work diligently to exceed regulatory requirements to reduce GHG emissions and are transparent in our emissions reporting. We are committed to reducing our carbon footprint and strive to achieve major reduction targets in the coming years. Equitrans hopes to achieve our targets and goals through our reduction strategies detailed throughout this report and in our Climate Policy.
Below are Equitrans’ Scope 1, 2, and 3 GHG emissions for 2019 and 2020. The Scope 1 carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide emissions increased in 2020 due to increased fuel usage when compared to 2019. While there was an increase in methane emissions associated with fuel combustion in 2020, the total Scope 1 methane emissions decreased due to fewer pipeline and compressor blowdown events, which primarily emit methane. The methane intensity was similar for 2019 and 2020. We began implementing projects in 2021 to reduce methane emissions and will incorporate projects in future years to reduce all GHG emission types.
|
Scope 1 Direct Greenhouse Gas Emissions (Metric Tons CO2e)(1) |
2019(2) |
2020 |
|
Carbon Dioxide (CO2) |
1,478,689.9 |
1,593,691.8 |
|
Methane (CH4) |
276,825.3 |
265,640.8 |
|
Nitrous Oxide (N2O) |
804.1 |
863.4 |
|
Hydrofluorocarbons (HFC) |
8,248.0 |
8,349.8 |
|
Total |
1,764,567.3 |
1,868,545.8 |
(1) Scope 1 emissions are direct emissions from owned or controlled sources. Includes emissions for 100% of the Eureka Midstream assets. Our Scope 1 emissions calculations included zero (0) values for PFCs, SF6, and NF3.
(2) The 2019 Scope 1 emissions above are now inclusive of gathering operations, additional pigging activities, metering & regulating stations, and storage fields that were not accounted for in the values published in the 2020 Corporate Sustainability Report.
|
Scope 2 Indirect Greenhouse Gas Emissions (Metric Tons CO2e)(3) |
2019(4) |
2020 |
|
Carbon Dioxide (CO2) |
16,244.4 |
17,596.6 |
|
Methane (CH4) |
42.1 |
49.4 |
|
Nitrous Oxide (N2O) |
56.4 |
67.9 |
|
Total |
16,342.9 |
17,713.9 |
(3) Scope 2 emissions are indirect emissions from the generation of purchased energy. Includes emissions for 100% of the Eureka Midstream assets. Our Scope 2 emissions calculations included zero (0) values for HFCs, PFCs, SF6, and NF3.
(4) The 2019 Scope 2 emissions values were revised after the publishing of the 2020 Corporate Sustainability Report. The values above reflect the corrected emissions.
|
Scope 3 Other Indirect Greenhouse Gas Emissions (Metric Tons CO2e)(5) |
2019(6) |
2020 |
|
Carbon Dioxide (CO2) |
185,258,061.0 |
213,152,739.8 |
|
Methane (CH4) |
97,761.5 |
112,481.7 |
|
Nitrous Oxide (N2O) |
92,524.3 |
106,455.9 |
|
Hydrofluorocarbons (HFC) |
65,087.0 |
65,105.8 |
|
Total |
185,513,433.8 |
213,436,783.2 |
(5) Scope 3 emissions are other indirect emissions that occur in the value chain. Our Scope 3 GHG emissions assume all gas delivered by Equitrans is combusted. Our data does not account for gas from Equitrans’ gathering systems which may also flow through an Equitrans transmission system, which may be double counted. Our Scope 3 emissions calculations included zero (0) values for PFCs, SF6, and NF3.
(6) The 2019 Scope 3 emissions values were revised after the publishing of the 2020 Corporate Sustainability Report. The values above reflect the corrected emissions.
*Includes 100% of the Eureka Midstream assets. The 2019 Scope 1 emissions values were revised after the publishing of the 2020 Corporate Sustainability Report. The values above reflect the corrected emissions.
Current Regulatory Requirements
The federal New Source Performance Standard, 40 CFR 60 Subpart OOOOa, or Quad Oa, is currently the only federal oil & gas specific regulation relevant to our operations. Quad Oa was the first regulation to monitor GHG emissions.
Quad Oa affects Equitrans’ reciprocating compressors, pneumatic controllers, storage vessels, and fugitive emission components at compression stations. Every applicable Equitrans operation complies with Quad Oa in 2020. Additionally, we have expanded our leak detection program in some areas that would otherwise not be subject to a leak detection requirement.
The EPA mandates companies to report GHG emissions for each facility that emits 25,000 metric tons or more of CO2e each year. To satisfy this federal requirement, an annual report is submitted on facility-wide GHG emissions, which must be calculated following the EPA’s reporting rules detailed in 40 CFR 98 Subpart W. Equitrans identifies and reports emissions to the EPA for all of its facilities that emit 25,000 metric tons or more of CO2e. Excluding Quad Oa, none of Equitrans’ GHG emissions are under emissions-limiting regulations.
State regulatory requirements regarding methane emissions are included in air permits from environmental agencies. Methane and Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) are present in natural gas. The Clean Air Act governs and controls VOCs, and subsequently methane.
The state of Pennsylvania regulates compressor stations located in the state and requires a Pennsylvania General Permit (GP-5) for certain facilities. The GP-5 includes methane requirements and applies to compressor stations, processing plants, and transmission stations. Equitrans currently has twenty GP-5 permits.
Ohio and West Virginia mandate methane emissions, in addition to criteria air pollutants, to be reported to their respective state environmental agencies.
Greenhouse Gas Reduction Strategies
Equitrans constantly looks for ways to lower our GHG emissions from our assets. We partner with groups which strive to limit emissions such as the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America’s Methane Commitment and the American Petroleum Institute’s Environmental Partnership. Another group Equitrans takes part in is the ONE Future Coalition. The ONE Future Coalition is a group of natural gas companies whose aim is to reduce methane emissions intensity to one percent throughout a company’s value chain by 2025.
ONE Future Efforts – Equitrans’ Intensity Calculation by Segment*
*Includes 100% of the Eureka Midstream assets.
One of the main ways Equitrans reduces GHG emissions is through our Leak Detection and Repair (LDAR) team. The team looks for natural gas leaks using an infrared camera and, when found, acts quickly to repair any leaking components or areas. Equitrans documents all leaks and checks each repaired leak to ensure our pipeline integrity.
Equitrans routinely schedules blowdowns or venting of accumulated gas not suitable for production. Before venting excess gas into the atmosphere, where possible, Equitrans first recycles the discharge gas at our compressor stations. To recycle the gas safely, Equitrans utilizes suction pressure. The pressure of suction is less than pipeline pressures, ensuring the discharge gas moves into compressors, rather than the atmosphere.
New compressor stations prevent natural gas from emitting into the atmosphere through pneumatic controllers that operate with instrument air systems rather than natural gas, to further limit GHG emissions. Older pneumatic controllers can bleed over six standard cubic feet of methane per hour. Equitrans proactively replaces old pneumatic controllers with newer, lower-emitting controllers to limit excess emissions.
Equitrans also practices “work stacking” as a method to reduce emissions by limiting the number of required station shutdowns. This process is the “stacking” of maintenance and outage activities that would typically require multiple blowdowns but are planned and executed concurrently to reduce the number of shutdowns.
Another method Equitrans utilizes to reduce emissions is hot tapping. This is the process of connecting new pipelines to pressurized pipelines while allowing gas to continue to flow during the procedure. Hot tapping allows gas to remain within the pipe, eliminating the need for the pipeline to be blown down and vent emissions to the atmosphere.
Evaluating Our Emissions Performance
We strive to limit GHG emissions. Over the years, Equitrans continues to decrease our environmental footprint through updating equipment, employing best practices, and ensuring our equipment remains above industry standard. Equitrans takes part in multiple sector associations dedicated to lowering Company emissions and bettering our environmental footprint.
In 2020, Equitrans continued our climate change journey by developing our baseline GHG emissions based on 2019 actual operations. The Greenhouse Gas Protocol was used to determine the baseline scope 1, 2, and 3 GHG emissions within our operational boundary. Going forward, this baseline will be used as the starting point to measure against any future emission reduction targets. While this was an important first step for our climate aspirations, we understand there will be changes to the baseline and will make any updates following the Greenhouse Gas Protocol. The graphic below displays a breakdown of the 2019 baseline by equipment and emission type.
*Includes 100% of the Eureka Midstream assets.
Having established our baseline, we are formulating options to reduce GHG emissions. Equitrans is currently working to exceed our climate aspirations of a 50% reduction in methane emission by 2030 and a 50% reduction in total GHG emissions by 2040. We are analyzing multiple options, including equipment replacement, operational changes, and technological innovations, to decrease our emissions. Equitrans is constantly evaluating its operations by identifying potential emission points to implement new and improved standard operating procedures and designs resulting in GHG mitigation. We have formed an internal multi-disciplinary Greenhouse Gas Committee to identify cost-effective methods to reduce methane emissions and emissions of other co-benefit pollutants. The Committee is also working to improve emissions-related data to better identify target areas for emissions reductions and to drive future reduction actions.
Equitrans is preparing to turn our climate aspirations into specific emission reduction commitments during the second half of 2021. We will continue to be transparent about our climate journey and will publicly announce these commitments and proposed steps to meet these commitments. Further, once the emission reduction commitments are announced, we will regularly report our emissions to track against the reduction targets. As our efforts evolve, we commit to exploring and embracing new technologies, innovative approaches, and collaborative partnerships to do our part in addressing climate change for the benefit of all. We continue to hold environmental impact as one of our top concerns, and transparently report emissions to ensure accountability and aspire to mitigate our environmental impact in order to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.
Emissions Targets
Emissions Targets
