MiQ has awarded an A grad to BP's U.S. onshore business, BPX Energy, on Dec. 8 for the methane emissions performance of South Haynesville Basin wells in Texas.

With this certification, BP becomes the latest major international energy producer to differentiate its natural gas through MiQ.

MiQ aims to bring transparency to an opaque market, drive demand for certified natural gas, and help operators differentiate themselves through methane-emissions performance. Its ground-breaking, independently audited certification system gives operators, buyers—and eventually regulators—an opportunity to support methane reduction globally.

MiQ will issue one certificate for each MMBtu of certified natural gas from the 70 wells that make up BPX's South Haynesville Facility. These certificates will be ready for delivery to buyers and traders of certified natural gas through BP's account at the MiQ Digital Registry, with first issuance expected in early December 2021.

BPX's South Haynesville Facility produces about 0.2 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day. These well sites have been certified using the MiQ Standard, which grades a facility's production from "A" to "F" based on its methane emissions. An A grade represents very low methane intensity (<0.05%) while F represents up to 2%.

BPX is assessing further certification opportunities across its U.S. onshore operated portfolio in the Haynesville, Eagle Ford, and Permian basins.

As with all MiQ certification, a third-party auditor independently awarded an A grade to the BPX facility. GHD, one of eight auditors accredited by MiQ, provided verification for the facility.

BPX provides its certification data through a combination of advanced methane-monitoring technologies. These include Optical Gas Imaging (OGI) cameras mounted to drones and fixed-wing aircraft, and ground-based cameras. BPX also used data from field-measurement devices to quantify methane emissions from targeted sources.