TULSA, Okla.—Highlighting its focus on corporate responsibility and sustainability, Williams (NYSE: WMB) June 11 announced that it has joined Our Nation’s Energy Future Coalition (ONE Future), a natural gas industry-led organization dedicated to voluntarily achieving meaningful reductions in methane emissions across the natural gas value chain.
“Williams is proud to partner with ONE Future and the other member companies in demonstrating our ongoing commitment to environmental responsibility,” said Alan Armstrong, Williams’ president and CEO. “As an industry leader that handles approximately 30% of the nation’s natural gas, Williams supports effective, voluntary programs to reduce emissions.”
Read: On A Mission To Mitigate: Industry Vs. Methane Leaks
Williams continues to make strides in reducing greenhouse gas emissions from its operations. Since 2012, reported methane emissions from Williams’ gas processing plants and transmission compressor stations have been reduced by more than 53%, even while increasing throughput at these facilities by 21%.
As a Natural Gas STAR Program member since its inception in 1993, Williams successfully implemented and reported pressure-reduction using recompression to lower gas-line pressure before pipeline maintenance. In 2018, this recompression program resulted in a reduction of pipeline blowdown greenhouse gas emissions by 83.5% at Williams.
Additionally, in August 2018, Williams and other members of the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America made a commitment to continuously minimize methane emissions from interstate natural gas transmission and storage operations.
“Williams is a strong addition to our coalition,” said Richard Hyde, executive director, ONE Future. “Their proven dedication to environmental stewardship should provide good thought leadership for the organization’s growth as we work to identify new methods for reducing methane emissions.”
Williams is the 17th company to join ONE Future since the organization began in 2014. ONE Future was formed when eight companies came together with a focus to collectively achieve a science-based average rate of methane emissions across its facilities to 1% (or less) of total natural gas production by 2025. The organization now includes companies accounting for some of the largest natural gas producers, transmission and distribution companies in the U.S.