Published February 27, 2024
By Christine Reed
The Center for Energy Regulation and Policy Analysis (CERPA) in the School of Energy Resources (SER) has released a white paper examining the challenges and opportunities facing exports of Wyoming natural gas to decarbonizing western markets in California, Washington, Oregon, and Nevada.
Authored by Senior Research Professional for Energy Policy Esther Wagner, and in collaboration with Melissa Firestone, an energy economist working under contract with CERPA, the paper provides an overview of natural gas production in Wyoming, explains the challenges facing exports of the State’s natural gas posed by other states’ energy policies, and describes how Wyoming is uniquely positioned to prosper in this new energy landscape given the low-carbon attributes of its natural gas resource.
“Though Wyoming remains a major producer and exporter of natural gas, we have seen a decline in production over the years that can be directly attributed to the enactment of renewable and net-carbon neutral policies in the majority of Wyoming’s export markets,” says Wagner. “We believe that Wyoming is uniquely positioned to thrive in a changing market and continue to provide a premium product that meets the decarbonization demands in consumer states. This paper is an important resource in providing a full picture of the different factors at play and also the superior properties of Wyoming natural gas.”
The analysis concludes that even though the State exports most of its natural gas to California, Washington, Oregon, and Nevada that have adopted environmental policies that disfavor natural gas, Wyoming holds significant advantages to defend the State’s existing market share and create new markets through its low-methane intensity natural gas.
The paper also includes recommendations to assist with increasing the proportion of differentiated natural gas produced by Wyoming operators through the State’s policy and research leadership in the areas of certification, carbon capture, use, and storage (CCUS), and hydrogen produced from natural gas.
“For Wyoming to remain a competitive exporter of natural gas, it is imperative that we understand the dynamics of the market and determine what factors are driving it,” says CERPA Director Kara Fornstrom. “Decarbonizing regulations at both the federal and state level of our natural gas consumers are largely outside of our control. What we can control, however, is what we do with that information to help our natural gas producers adapt and remain leading natural gas producers in the U.S.”
To download the paper, research brief, as well as other resources released by CERPA, visit the website www.uwyo.edu/ser.
About CERPA
The Center for Energy Regulation & Policy Analysis at the School of Energy Resources is dedicated to producing meaningful, high quality, impartial analysis to inform policymakers and stakeholders about issues critical to the economic development of Wyoming’s energy resources. Through collaboration with other SER Centers of Excellence, CERPA addresses emerging policy and regulatory issues by fostering the exchange of information and engages with stakeholders to inform various audiences about the importance of Wyoming’s energy resources.
