In January 2023, along with EQT Corporation and Equitrans Midstream Corporation, Chesapeake formed the Appalachian Methane Initiative (AMI) — a coalition committed to enhancing methane monitoring and facilitating methane emissions reductions throughout the Appalachia Basin.
In its first year, the coalition organized a pilot program to monitor emissions across the Appalachian Basin, conducting more than 1,700 surveys of gas facilities and 60 surveys of non-gas facilities. The coalition engaged third parties for strategic consulting, methane surveys and data collection and analysis.
AMI recently announced the successful completion of the program and shared the results in a comprehensive report.
Key findings include:
- The largest single contributor to total emissions is associated with coal mine operations – either coal mine vents or direct emissions from the mine. Individual emitters from coal mine vents exhibited emissions over 5,000 kg/h, orders of magnitude higher than the single highest observed emissions rate from any oil and gas sources.
- For on-pad gas operations, condensate tanks and compressors were among the largest sources. Pinpointing the largest sources in gas operations allows for targeted, large-scale emissions reductions efforts throughout the Basin. For each AMI-specific emissions source, the AMI companies conducted causal analysis investigations. That causal analysis data can then be leveraged in emissions reductions efforts.
- Non-oil and gas operations consistently contribute to the majority of as-measured emissions in the AMI pilot region: 76% in Q2, 53% in Q3 and 73% in Q4.
Given the success of the 2023 pilot program, AMI expanded its membership to include Ascent Resources, CNX Resources, MPLX LP and Seneca Resources.
To learn more, read the press release or full report.
