Williams (WMB) & Cheniere to Quantify, Report GHG Emissions

The Tulsa, OK-based pipeline operator, The Williams Companies, Inc. WMB, recently declared that it would partner up with Cheniere Energy, Inc. LNG, the largest producer of liquefied natural gas in the United States, along with other natural gas midstream firms, methane detection technology providers and top academic establishments to implement the quantification, monitoring, reporting and verification (QMRV) of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions at the natural gas gathering, processing, transmission and storage systems.

The objective of this collaboration is to enhance the complete understanding of GHG emissions and increase the use of advanced technologies and protocols to enrich clean energy supply and delivery for Williams and its customers.

Williams’s announcement builds on its collaboration with Context Labs, which came up last month, due to which Context Labs furnishes end-to-end emissions data for the certified natural gas it transports, with utilization now in progress in the Haynesville Shale. Context Lab’s technology allows WMB to offer varied services to its customers.

Per Williams, the midstream QMRV program, which encompasses a combination of ground-based, aerial and drone emissions monitoring technologies, will be carried out by the global emissions researchers from Colorado State University and the University of Texas. The data will be collected over at least a six-month period and independently examined.

The measurement protocol developed by the research group and Cheniere will be field tested at the facilities run by the firms taking part, including Williams’ Transco pipeline – the highest-volume natural gas transmission system in the United States.

Principal investigator in the project from Colorado State University, Dan Zimmerle, mentioned that the emission quantification involves scientifically arduous procedures that are exclusive to each segment of the industry and that this R&D project will scrutinize the emissions performance at multiple midstream facilities not only by short-duration spot checks but also over a longer period of time.

Houston, TX-based Cheniere Energy Inc. is primarily engaged in businesses related to liquefied natural gas through its two business segments: LNG terminal and LNG and natural gas marketing. The company, through its controlling interest in Cheniere Energy Partners L.P., owns and operates the Sabine Pass LNG terminal in Louisiana – North America’s first large-scale liquefied gas export facility.

Founded in 1908, The Williams Companies, Inc. is a premier energy infrastructure provider in North America. WMB’s core operations include finding, producing, gathering, processing and transporting natural gas and natural gas liquids. Boasting of a widespread pipeline system of more than 33,000 miles of pipelines, Williams is one of the largest domestic transporters of natural gas by volume.

Williams currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). Some other similar-ranked stocks from the energy space that warrant a look include Imperial Oil IMO and Devon Energy DVN. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Imperial Oil is valued at around $34.5 billion. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Imperial Oil’s 2022 earnings has been revised about 22.3% upward over the past 60 days from $4.84 per share to $5.92.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for IMO’s 2022 earnings is projected at $5.92 per share, up approximately 113% from the projected year-ago earnings of $2.78. Imperial Oil’s shares have gone up 106.5% in a year.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Devon Energy’s 2022 earnings is projected at $7.61 per share, up about 115.6% from the projected year-ago earnings of $3.53. Devon Energy’s stock has rallied 225.9% in a year.

Devon Energy beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings in all the trailing four quarters, the average being around 18.5%. DVN is valued at around $42.9 billion.

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