November 2018

Features

INGAA Board Affirms Commitment to Minimizing Methane Releases

Members of the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America (INGAA) have long worked to minimize methane emissions. Recognizing the increased concern about climate change, INGAA’s Board of Directors on July 19 formally affirmed its commitment to minimize methane emissions from their interstate natural gas transmission and storage facilities through a series of voluntary pledges. 

[Related story: Improving Methane Emissions from Natural Gas Transmission, Storage]

Through these methane emissions commitments, INGAA’s members embrace the following core principles to 1) minimize emission from interstate natural gas pipelines and pneumatic controllers; 2) minimize emissions from natural gas storage and compressor stations; and 3) develop effective practices and information sharing protocols related to detecting and reducing methane emissions.

“For some time, our industry has worked to reduce product releases on our system and to minimize other methane emissions,” said INGAA President and CEO Don Santa. “In many ways, these principles are about continuously improving existing practices and finding new and innovative ways to minimize methane emissions from interstate natural gas transmission and storage operations in a prudent and environmentally responsible manner. Our members commit to doing this while both maintaining pipeline integrity and safe operations and minimizing adverse impacts to customers and communities.”

INGAA’s methane commitments include pledges such as: installing air-driven, low-bleed, or intermittent pneumatic controllers when installing new pneumatic controllers, unless a different device is required for safe operations; minimizing emissions during maintenance, repair and replacement of pipelines; replacing rod packing on all transmission and storage reciprocating compressors; conducting leak surveys at member-owned and member-operated transmission  and storage compressor stations and natural gas storage wells; and committing to transparently reporting methane emissions.

The following companies made this voluntary commitment:

• Alliance Pipeline
• Boardwalk Pipelines, LP
• Cheniere Energy
• Con Edison Transmission
• Dominion Energy
• DTE Midstream
• Enable Midstream Partners
• Enbridge
• EQT Corp.
• Iroquois 
• Kinder Morgan
• Millennium Pipeline Co.
• National Fuel Gas Co.
• National Grid
• NextEra Energy Resources
• ONEOK, Inc.
• Pacific Gas & Electric
• Piedmont Natural Gas
• Sempra LNG & Midstream
• Southern Company Gas
• Southern Star Central Gas  
• Tallgrass Energy
• TransCanada Corp.
• UGI Energy Services
• WBI Energy 
• The Williams Companies