bp Expands Natural Gas Certification to 100% of its U.S. Onshore Upstream Operations

• bpx energy, bp's U.S. onshore upstream business, expands MiQ certification to all U.S. onshore facilities in Texas and Louisiana.
• Independent certification is occurring for 1.1. billion cubic feet per day (bcf/d) of bp's U.S. onshore natural gas production and has been third party audited against MiQ's Standard.
• The MiQ Standard assesses methane emissions management across three criteria: methane emissions intensity at a facility level; monitoring technology deployment; and company practices.
• Portfolio-wide certification positions bp as a leader in the growing market for certified natural gas.

LONDON, March 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- MiQ, the non-profit global leader in methane certification, today announced that it has independently audited and certified bp (NYSE: BP) as the first energy major in the U.S. to verify the methane intensity of its entire U.S. onshore portfolio of natural gas. 

MiQ certification provides an industry leading transparent, verified method for evaluating the emissions performance of bpx's operations to purchasers of its natural gas. As demand for independently certified gas from utilities and industrial users increases, bp's commitment to certify its entire U.S. onshore upstream portfolio positions it as a market leader.

Dave Lawler, bpx energy CEO said: "When we launched our certified natural gas pilot with MiQ in 2021 we endeavored to lead in this space. Today's announcement makes clear we are serious about achieving our ambition. MiQ certification provides the market with clear, transparent and verifiable data that highlight how bpx is committed to operating assets with low methane intensity."

The certification, completed in March 2023, gives bpx energy a more granular understanding of its methane intensity and source emissions, which enables ongoing and additional methane emissions reduction. MiQ's peer-reviewed, market-based certification is already creating transparency on methane emissions, differentiating the supply of natural gas, and helping operators make the right investments to further reduce emissions.

Georges Tijbosch, MiQ CEO, said: "Before MiQ launched there was no transparency on which natural gas producers were prioritizing the reduction of methane from their operations. This move from bpx represents a seminal step forward for the industry and gives bpx and its customers full transparency on methane emissions." 

This commitment follows an initial certification at bpx energy's South Haynesville facility in December 2021. Certification now includes natural gas facilities in the Eagle Ford, Haynesville and Permian basins.

As part of the certification process, these facilities are independently audited by one of 11 auditors accredited by MiQ to verify the methane emissions intensity of bpx's natural gas portfolio. Leveraging data from this process enables ongoing, measured performance and helps the company assess where best to invest capital to continue to improve asset performance.

MiQ currently certifies approximately 4% of the global gas market and 17% of U.S. gas production.

About bpx energy 

With operations in Texas and Louisiana, bpx energy, a subsidiary of BP P.L.C. (NYSE: BP), is a premier U.S. onshore oil and gas producer and a leader in reducing methane emissions. In 2022 our world-class unconventional oil and gas assets in Texas and Louisiana produced an average of 325,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day. We also announced our aim to reach zero routine flaring in our onshore operations by 2025. We plan to accomplish this by investing significantly in infrastructure that enables us to eliminate some of the largest sources of emissions and keep more gas in the pipeline for our customers. For more information on bpx energy and bp in America, visit www.bp.com/us.

About MiQ

MiQ is an independent not-for-profit established to facilitate a rapid reduction in methane emissions from the oil and gas sector. MiQ is the fastest growing and a globally recognized methane emissions certification standard. Certification allows global society to credibly differentiate gas based on its methane emissions performance, providing a market mechanism that incentivizes methane reduction. MiQ's vision is to create a market where certified natural gas can be traded like other historical commodities, ultimately creating incentives to drive down methane emissions across the board.

About Independently Certified Gas

Independently certified gas (ICG) is natural gas produced by companies whose operations are independently verified by third-party auditors. This clear, neutral assessment of natural gas provides operators with the information they need to drive down their emissions. The MiQ standard is enabling the growth of a market for ICG to accelerate the reduction of methane emissions from the oil and gas industry.

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SOURCE MiQ