Tom Shepstone
Natural Gas NOW

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Range Resources just put out a 2018 Corporate Sustainability Report that highlights just how fast and how far it has gone in reducing emissions and impacts.

We have often noted here how the natural gas industry is always three steps ahead of its opposition with respect to technology and advancements. A new “2018 Corporate Sustainability Report” from Range Resources demonstrates this with compelling data. The company is, in fact, on a path to zero emissions, which is quite astounding.’

Yes, you read that correctly. Here’s what Range Resources has announced:

At Range, we have a commitment to sustainable operations that keep our people and environment safe. This includes a target of zero emissions across our operations through innovative emissions-reducing technologies and practices ranging from a robust leak detection and repair program to specialty engineering that enables enhanced emission capture and control on site.

Our commitment to water recycling and water storage and transfer facilities has also further reduced traffic and associated emissions, providing a positive impact on our air, water and community alike.

That’s an impressive target and what makes it even more impressive is the progress that’s been made already:

Range Resources achieved, just in the last year, an 8% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions simultaneously with an 8% increase in production. This happened because of a 11% reduction in emissions intensity (the amount of emissions per unit of production). That’s a remarkable performance but it’s not all; Range has also reduced the company’s leak ratio over the last three years by 70%.

The company is also reducing other environmental impacts. Consider the following:

• Range generated 9,992,458 barrels of flowback and produced water from its Appalachian operations in 2018 and reused 99.56% of it to hydraulically fracture new wells.
• Even better, Range was able to take reuse water from other operators, such that it managed to reuse a total of 153% of its own flowback and produced water.
• Some 45.4% of the water Range used to hydraulically fracture new wells was reused water from its own or other operators’ previously developed wells.

These are startling statistics and indicate Range is well along on the sustainability path. It is also proving its goal of zero emissions is one it can actually achieve. By reducing leaks 70% in just three years and total greenhouse gas emissions by 8% in one year where it grew production by the same amount, the company has bounded ahead toward that laudable goal. It’s no pie in the sky. It’s real and it’s happening now.