Measuring Our Impact
We use performance metrics to measure our progress, recognize trends and identify opportunities for improvement. Our climate-related metrics help to inform the action steps needed for us to achieve our net zero GHG emissions (Scope 1 and 2) goal by 2035.
Defining Our Metrics
- Scope 1 emissions: Direct GHG emissions that occur from Chesapeake’s operations; most often these sources are from flared hydrocarbons, other combustion, process emissions, fugitive emissions and other vented emissions
- Scope 2 emissions: Indirect GHG emissions associated with the purchase of electricity to support our operations
- Scope 3 emissions: Indirect GHG emissions from the combustion and use of the oil and natural gas we produce
- Methane intensity: The ratio of direct methane emissions to gross natural gas produced
- GHG intensity: The ratio of direct GHG emissions released to gross annual production
- Routine flaring volume: The amount of natural gas flared from the primary separator; flaring is the regulated and controlled combustion of natural gas
- Routine flaring intensity: The percentage of natural gas flared from the primary separator
Our Performance
All data is for calendar year 2021 unless otherwise stated and includes Powder River Basin due to our ownership in 2021 and our Vine assets per our acquisition completion date of Nov. 1, 2021.
The EPA regulates all of our operations, including emissions, and we report Scope 1 emissions to the EPA’s GHG Reporting Program as required by law. The reporting of certain other emissions, such as Scope 2 and Scope 3 emissions, is not required, but we voluntarily report them in this analysis. We consult with a third-party organization to review and verify our GHG emissions, GHG intensity and methane intensity to help ensure reporting accuracy.
Scope 1 GHG Emissions
As reported under the EPA’s GHG Reporting Program
2021 2020 2019 2018 2017
Scope 1 GHG emissions (gross) (million metric tons CO2e) 1.83 1.86 2.81 2.55 3.22
GHG intensity (metric tons CO2e/gross mboe produced) 4.5 6.0 8.2 7.2 9.1
Methane intensity (volume methane emissions/volume gross natural gas produced) 0.07% 0.13% 0.17% 0.16% 0.19%
Given the dynamic and complex nature of our business, it’s understood that GHG emissions occur from several different sources. The Sustainability Accounting Standards Board, in its standard disclosures for our industry, identified five distinct pathways to the atmosphere that are incorporated into Chesapeake’s corporate sustainability performance data.
In addition to providing added transparency to our stakeholders, disclosing source types helps us to identify the technologies and design solutions that best mitigate these.
Routine Flaring
| Metric | 2021 |
|---|---|
| Gross annual volume of flared gas (mcf) | 293,595 |
| Flaring intensity – gross annual volume of flared gas (mcf)/gross annual production (mcf) | 0.01% |
| Flaring intensity – gross annual volume of flared gas (mcf)/gross annual production (boe) | 0.001 |
Scope 2 GHG Emissions
| Metric | 2021 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|
| Scope 2 emissions (gross) (million metric tons CO2e) | 0.057 | 0.063 |
Scope 3 GHG Emissions
As an independent, upstream company, Chesapeake has limited control over the final use and consumption of our oil and natural gas production. For enhanced transparency, we’ve reported our estimated indirect Scope 3 emissions on an equity basis using Category 11 of the Estimating petroleum industry value chain (Scope 3) greenhouse gas emissions reporting guidance by IPIECA/API (2016). The calculation methodology applies the EPA’s emission factors for listed fuel types. The estimated emissions reported represent the indirect end use GHG emissions of the products created from our crude oil and natural gas.
Chesapeake recognizes that stakeholder demand for reporting Scope 3 indirect emissions is rapidly evolving; however, it’s important to note that emissions-estimation methodologies are uncertain and subject to double counting along our value chain. Double counting may occur when emissions already captured by other entities are reported in their Scope 1 or Scope 2 emissions.
| Metric | 2021 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|
| Scope 3 emissions (million metric tons CO2e) | 59 | 57 |
