Private exploration and production (E&P) operator Poco Holdco LLC received Project Canary’s highest possible environmental assessment rating for most of its Denver-Julesburg (DJ) Basin operations in Colorado.
The E&P, a branch of private energy investment and management company Providence Energy Ltd., clinched Denver-based Project Canary’s “Platinum” certification for 22 operated horizontal wells at two wellsites.
“Poco’s facilities have been engineered to minimize our carbon footprint and materially reduce or eliminate methane emissions through our innovative facility design and direct delivery of products to underground pipelines,” said COO Frederick Witsell.
Project Canary spent 2022 analyzing 600 aspects of Poco’s wells and facilities in the DJ related to climate attributes, engineering principles and social performance of individual wells.
"The gas market continues to evolve,” said Project Canary Chief Commercial Officer Tanya Hendricks. “Buyers are signaling that molecule characterization using low-methane and other climate attributes differentiate U.S.A.-natural gas at a time when access, affordability, and reliability are crucial, while also meeting climate goals.
“Operators like Poco are intentional about reducing their environmental footprint by constructing pads differently from the start, and then ensuring high standards by continuously monitoring for emissions.”
Poco said it is expecting to work with the environmental assessment program in the second quarter on an additional facility under construction. The new facility is expected to add four wells, bringing Poco’s total wellsite facilities to three.
“Our facilities not only produce and deliver responsibly sourced energy, but they are also monitored 24/7 for safe and secure operations,” Witsell added. The Platinum rating indicates a commitment to environmental, social and governance principles, he said.
In 2019, Gov. Jared Polis signed Senate Bill 19-181 into law. It directed the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC) to ensure the oil and natural gas industry protects public health, environment and wildlife. The COGCC now works with the state’s Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) to collect data and address air emissions related to oil and gas operations in the DJ Basin.
COGCC and CDPHE in January 2022 reported that a single well in the DJ produced 0.38 tons/year of methane, and 1.37 tons/y of volatile organic compounds (VOC). A COGCC spokesperson told NGI it is expecting to put out its second annual report next month.
Poco, which has its operations focused on the DJ, said it is “committed to reducing its facility footprint and eliminating VOC and related emissions…”
According to the company, its facilities “are virtually zero emission” as a result of fewer pressure vessels, connection points and emission sources “traditionally seen throughout the DJ Basin.”
Parent company Providence engages its renewable energy staff with Poco’s oil and gas projects, according to Providence. The two companies aim to apply renewable resources, “whether those be on-site implementations and/or off-site’ renewable energy credits, to achieve a net zero emissions profile in all our activities in the State of Colorado,” according to Dallas-based Providence.
Providence owns or manages nearly two million gross acres of minerals, with interests in more than 10,000 producing wells. In 2010, Providence began investing in renewable energy resourcing, including wind, hydroelectric generation and alternative fuel-based power generation.
