Published February 13, 2025
By Christine Reed
The Center for Energy Regulation and Policy Analysis (CERPA) in the School of Energy Resources (SER) has released a new white paper exploring Certified Natural Gas in Wyoming.
Authored by Senior Research Professional Esther Wagner, the paper is centered on maintaining and expanding Wyoming’s natural gas export markets.
“Wyoming natural gas can have a competitive advantage in markets that are seeking natural gas with low carbon methane intensity,” says Wagner. “Even with a shift in the federal focus regarding the greenhouse as emissions associated with natural gas production and use, state and regional focus will likely remain the same. Wyoming is well-positioned to meet the demands of those markets with certified natural gas.”
Certified natural gas — also known as differentiated natural gas — is natural gas sold based on its verifiable environmental properties. As leaders in the industry, Wyoming producers are actively meeting certified natural gas criteria and were among the first to achieve the coveted “gold standard” emissions rating.
In order to provide clarity on the reasoning behind the standard and why it is relevant to Wyoming moving forward, the white paper explains the purpose of certification, provides information on the process and components of certified natural gas, differentiates between certification programs and voluntary frameworks, and addresses the slow growth of certified natural gas to date.
“Given the critical role that natural gas production plays in Wyoming’s economy, it is important for Wyoming policymakers to understand the challenges and the opportunities of natural gas certification and how it may preserve the State’s market share and potentially expand exporting prospects,” adds Wagner.
The paper concludes by recommending ways that certified natural gas can help Wyoming remain competitive in markets with greenhouse gas reduction policies and goals such as state advocacy, increased data collection, and improved accuracy of emissions estimates.
“There has been a lot of great work done in the area of emissions reduction and monitoring – both industry-led and at the state level – that will allow Wyoming to be competitive in this space,” says CERPA Director Matt Fry. “Wyoming has a real opportunity to utilize and expand on that existing knowledge base, which could provide us access to new U.S and global natural gas markets.”
To download the paper, research brief, as well as other resources released by CERPA, visit the website www.uwyo.edu/cerpa.
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.
