Natural gas pipeline and storage provider DT Midstream Inc. (DTM), with a portfolio that includes 900 miles of regulated interstate pipelines, said Wednesday it would join a rapidly growing project aimed at better understanding the energy industry’s role in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

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A day later, Houston-based Kinder Morgan Inc. (KMI), one of the largest energy infrastructure companies in North America, jumped aboard as well. 

The companies said they partnered with Cheniere Energy Inc., the largest U.S. producer of liquefied natural gas (LNG), in an effort to study emissions. They also aim to develop new protocols to capitalize on technology and bolster clean energy supplies.

The project, which includes a swelling slate of midstream companies as well as academic researchers, involves quantification, monitoring, reporting and verification (QMRV) of emissions at natural gas gathering, processing, transmission and storage systems. Earlier this week, Williams joined the Cheniere-led effort. It followed several others, including Aethon Energy Management, Ascent Resources Utica LLC, EQT Corp., Indigo Natural Resources LLC and Pioneer Natural Resources Co.

“Joining this collaborative is one of the many steps our team has taken to position DT Midstream on a path to net zero by 2050,” which is also the federal standard, said DT Midstream CEO David Slater. “It will also serve as an important step towards providing a carbon neutral pathway for customers interested in reaching Cheniere’s LNG export terminal.”  

The QMRV endeavor incorporates ground-based, aerial and drone emissions monitoring technologies. Data would be collected over several months and then be independently analyzed by researchers from Colorado State University and the University of Texas. The goal is to develop and test protocols at facilities operated by participating companies.

KMI said it enrolled selected assets across multiple pipelines that deliver natural gas to Cheniere’s Sabine Pass and Corpus Christi LNG facilities. “We believe our collaboration in this project further demonstrates our dedication to better understanding the GHG emissions from our facilities and supporting the needs of our customers,” said KMI’s Kimberly Watson, interstate natural gas president.

The project in the United States comes on the heels of recent decisions by major global players to track LNG emissions and provide carbon-neutral cargoes. Cheniere officials said the natural gas sector is moving with haste in the United States and globally to minimize emissions. 

“Collaboration with our midstream partners is a vital part of Cheniere’s efforts to measure and verify our emissions and look for opportunities for reductions across our value chain,” said Cheniere’s Scott Culberson, senior vice president of gas supply.  

For DT Midstream, the effort comes amid the company’s aim to ramp up investments in new projects over five years. The company said earlier this year that it would invest between $1.2 billion to $1.7 billion as part of the multi-year growth plan, with an emphasis on the Haynesville Shale.

The company said it has executed new agreements to connect increasing Haynesville supply to growing LNG export demand. That demand has swelled this spring amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The war galvanized European countries to wean themselves off Russian gas and, in turn, call for more U.S. exports.

The United States already was poised to have the world’s largest LNG export capacity in 2022 before Russia in February launched an offensive on Ukraine. American exports of the super-chilled fuel have hovered near record levels through much of this year.

DTM said new undertakings include a program that would use electric compression supplied by renewable generation. It would employ carbon capture and storage technology to minimize emissions. This should help both DTM and its LNG clients meet low-carbon initiatives, it said.

The company also is working to advance the delivery of hydrogen.