Northeast Natural Energy Marcellus Production Reverified by Equitable Origin

Assets Receive Highest Grade for ESG Performance Awarded to Date

MORGANTOWN, W.Va., Nov. 30, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Northeast Natural Energy (NNE), a West Virginia-based Marcellus Shale natural gas producer, has just become the first producer globally to receive an "A" letter grade from Equitable Origin (EO) for the ESG performance of its West Virginia assets. This was the result of a voluntary reverification audit conducted by Responsible Energy Solutions LLC in 2023.

A pioneer in differentiated natural gas production, NNE became the first producer in the United States to certify an asset to EO's independent voluntary standard for high-ESG performance at the site level in 2021.

"Northeast Natural Energy is committed to the continuous improvement of every aspect of our business, and I am very proud of our team and the work they have done to receive this high grade on our company's overall performance within the EO100™ framework," said Mike John, president and CEO, Northeast Natural Energy. "Equitable Origin's assessment provides a holistic analysis of our asset. Going through this certification and reverification process makes us a better company, and we look forward to the challenge to continually improve year over year."

Equitable Origin-approved expert third-party assessor Responsible Energy Solutions LLC independently evaluated NNE's operations against the principles of the EO100™ Standard, including corporate governance and ethics; social impacts, human rights, and community engagement; occupational health and safety and fair labor standards; and environmental performance.

"Today, we congratulate NNE on becoming the first producer in the world to receive an "A" grade for a producing asset under our certification process. We are pleased to recognize the hard work and leadership they have demonstrated by achieving higher levels of performance over time through participation in our program, "said Jason Switzer, CEO of Equitable Origin.

Annually, the assessors undertake reverification audits to assess conformance to the standard and progress by NNE on a Continual Improvement Plan that is a requirement for certification. These findings are subject to a rigorous external peer review.

"Having completed our third annual assessment for Northeast Natural Energy, our team has seen continuous improvement that reflects a culture of excellence at NNE," said Roy Hartstein, founder and president, Responsible Energy Solutions LLC. "Through the review of thousands of pages of documents and dozens of interviews with NNE staff, contractors, and external stakeholders, we have found that culture reflected in action and results from the field through the senior leadership."

About Northeast Natural Energy

Northeast Natural Energy, LLC is a privately owned energy company headquartered in Charleston, W.Va. that focuses on the development of dry, pipeline quality natural gas in the Appalachian Basin. The company operates 40,000 contiguous acres in north central West Virginia, developing and producing reserves from the Marcellus Shale. Learn more at www.northeastnaturalenergy.com.

About Equitable Origin

Equitable Origin is a non-profit organization that was founded with a vision to create a market-based mechanism to recognize and reward responsible energy producers and to empower energy purchasers through independent, site-level certification. The EO100™ Standard for Responsible Energy Development is grounded in a set of comprehensive, globally applicable ESG indicators developed with extensive stakeholder input. Certification against the EO100™ Standard promotes best practices and drives improvements in ESG performance while enabling a market for certified responsible energy with a premium price for differentiated production. To learn more, visit www.energystandards.org.

About Responsible Energy Solutions

Responsible Energy Solutions, LLC is the leading US assessor for both the Equitable Origin and MiQ standards. The RES team of experts provides consulting services that include certification gap assessment and preparation, certification assessment, emissions management strategy development and environmental due diligence across all segments of the oil and gas value chain. For more information, visit www.res-solutions.net.

SOURCE Northeast Natural Energy