Department of Energy will not Develop Certified Natural Gas Standard Amid Focus on International Emissions Framework

S&P Global Commodity Insights

July 21, 2023

The US Department of Energy does not plan to develop a standard for natural gas certified as low in greenhouse gas emissions and is focused instead on working with other nations to form a common approach toward tracking emissions across the natural gas supply chain, an agency spokesperson told S&P Global Commodity Insights July 21.

"DOE is not introducing or endorsing any natural gas certification measures or standards, but instead is working with natural gas importing and exporting countries to develop an agreed approach to MMRV [measurement, monitoring, reporting and verification] that provides consistency and accountability in the marketplace," the DOE spokesperson said in an email responding to questions.

Certified gas, also known as differentiated gas or responsibly sourced gas, is natural gas production that has undergone third-party certification of its performance against certain environmental, social, and governance metrics, with a heavy emphasis on having lower methane emissions. But the US has yet to coalesce around a single standard, and industry players in recent months have questioned whether the DOE would look to develop one.

The comments from the DOE came just days after the United States issued a joint statement with Korea, Japan, Australia and the European Commission pledging to accelerate mitigation of methane from the LNG supply chain.