Uniper, Vermilion Energy and Rockpoint Gas Storage Canada Ltd. Complete Certified Natural Gas Supply Agreement in Canada

CALGARY, AB, Dec. 16, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- A consortium of energy industry companies has finalized an innovative gas supply agreement that will bring responsibly sourced natural gas, as certified by Equitable Origin's EO100™ Standard for Responsible Energy Development, to end users. The supply agreement between international energy company Uniper, Calgary-based gas producer Vermilion Energy and Rockpoint Gas Storage on behalf of its wholesale natural gas supplier, Access Gas Services, is the first of its kind for Rockpoint and Uniper.

"Rockpoint Gas Storage is committed to the energy transition," said Sheri Doell, Vice President, Origination and Renewable Energy. "Through our downstream owned company, Access Gas Services, Rockpoint is able to connect our customers to responsible gas producers who are committed to ESG leadership."

As part of the agreement, Uniper will offtake EO100TMcertified natural gas from Vermilion Energy and manage supply to Access Gas Services, a wholesale supplier that provides natural gas and related services to commercial, industrial and institutional customers in Canada.

"Demand for transparency in energy production practices and alignment with Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) principles is on the rise," said Rob Van Horne, Head of North American Gas Origination, Uniper. "We believe natural gas transactions validated by credible certification standards are the wave of the future, and we're pleased to be working with two forward-thinking organizations on this one."

The natural gas produced by Vermilion Energy is certified under the Equitable Origin EO100TM Standard for Responsible Energy Development. Equitable Origin is a non-profit organization that supports responsible development of energy and natural resources. Certification under the EO100TM Standard is based on an independent assessment of criteria related to ESG factors, including corporate governance; transparency and ethics; human rights; social impact and community development; Indigenous People's rights; fair labor and working conditions; and climate change, biodiversity and environment.

Vermilion Energy is one of the first natural gas producers in Canada to have its operations certified under the Standard. It achieved certification earlier this year for its West Pembina Operations after progressing through Equitable Origin's site-based certification program.

"We are very pleased to have achieved this rigorous certification through Equitable Origin, which supports our goal to deliver responsibly produced natural gas to the market. Our partnership with Uniper and Rockpoint further demonstrates our commitment to delivering solutions that support the energy transition," said Curtis Hicks, President, Vermilion Energy.

About Rockpoint Gas Storage Canada Ltd
Rockpoint Gas Storage began commercial operation of its assets over 20 years ago and has grown to become the largest independent owner and operator of natural gas storage in North America. Rockpoint Gas Storage is owned by Brookfield Infrastructure Partners, L.P. (Brookfield). In Alberta, Rockpoint owns and operates the AECO HubTM (154 Bcf) and Warwick Gas Storage (21 Bcf). Rockpoint owns and operates both Wild Goose Storage (75 Bcf) and Lodi Gas Storage (31 Bcf) located in California and Salt Plains Gas Storage (13 Bcf) in Oklahoma. Rockpoint also has a 49.99% membership interest in the Tres Palacios facility in Texas (34 Bcf). In addition to its gas storage assets, Rockpoint, through its subsidiary, Access Gas Services, provides gas management services to commercial, industrial, and institutional customers throughout Canada

About Access Gas Services
Established in 2006, Access Gas Services is an integrated energy company combining innovative products and solutions with a business approach built around the highest ethical standards and core values that are fundamental to its success. Access Gas helps customers across Canada to manage their natural gas costs through leading edge procurement strategies, innovative products and dedicated customer service.

About Vermilion Energy
Vermilion is an international energy producer that seeks to create value through the acquisition, exploration, development and optimization of producing assets in North America, Europe and Australia. Our business model emphasizes free cash flow generation and returning capital to investors when economically warranted, augmented by value-adding acquisitions. Vermilion's operations are focused on the exploitation of light oil and liquids-rich natural gas conventional resource plays in North America and the exploration and development of conventional natural gas and oil opportunities in Europe and Australia.

Vermilion's priorities are health and safety, the environment, and profitability, in that order. Nothing is more important to us than the safety of the public and those who work with us, and the protection of our natural surroundings. In addition, Vermilion emphasizes strategic community investment in each of our operating areas. We have been recognized as a strong performer amongst Canadian publicly listed companies in governance practices, a Climate Leadership level (A-) performer by the CDP, and a Best Workplace in the Great Place to Work® Institute's annual rankings in Canada and Germany. Employees and directors hold approximately 5% of our outstanding shares and are committed to delivering long-term value for all stakeholders. Vermilion trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol VET.

About Uniper
Uniper is a leading international energy company, has around 12,000 employees, and operates in more than 40 countries. The company plans for its power generation business in Europe to be carbon-neutral by 2035. Uniper's roughly 35 GW of installed generation capacity make it one of the world's largest electricity producers. The company's core activities include power generation in Europe and Russia as well as global energy trading and a broad gas portfolio, which makes Uniper one of Europe's leading gas companies. In 2019, Uniper had a gas turnover of 220 bcm. In addition, Uniper is a reliable partner for communities, municipal utilities, and industrial enterprises for planning and implementing innovative, lower-carbon solutions on their decarbonization journey. Uniper is a hydrogen pioneer, is active worldwide along the entire hydrogen value chain, and is conducting projects to make hydrogen a mainstay of the energy supply. The company is based in Düsseldorf and is currently Germany's third-largest publicly listed energy supply company. Together with its main shareholder Fortum, Uniper is also Europe's third-largest producer of zero- carbon energy.

In North America, Uniper conducts sales, trading and marketing activities across a range of energy commodities in all major markets. The company provides reliable solutions to assist customers in meeting their decarbonization and wider energy needs. Uniper's North America operations are located in Houston, Chicago and Calgary.

This press release may contain forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by Uniper SE Management and other information currently available to Uniper. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could lead to material differences between the actual future results, financial situation, development or performance of the company and the estimates given here. Uniper SE does not intend, and does not assume any liability whatsoever, to update these forward-looking statements or to modify them to conform with future events or developments.

SOURCE Uniper, Vermilion Energy and Rockpoint Gas Storage Canada Ltd.