PureWest Energy LLC plans to participate in the Colorado State University (CSU) Energy Institute's Advancing Development of Emissions Detection (ADED) program, which builds on PureWest’s ESG focus by validating its industry-leading emissions management approach, according to PureWest CEO Chris Valdez.

“The PureWest culture is centered on teamwork, innovation and transparency, and this partnership with the experts at Colorado State University’s Energy Institute will further enhance field monitoring and leak detection technologies and solutions, ultimately leading to an even more sustainable future for our stakeholders and the entire industry,” Valdez commented in a company release on May 26.

Based in Denver, PureWest Energy is an independent natural gas producer with operations in the Rocky Mountain region covering more than 126,000 gross (115,000 net) acres in and around the prolific Pinedale and Jonah Fields of Wyoming's Green River Basin.

The collaborative research program with CSU will focus on PureWest’s evaluation of multiple continuous emissions monitoring (CEM) technologies in field testing sites in Pinedale, Wyoming. PureWest has coordinated with seven different CEM companies to install their solutions at an operating location for a two-month research period.

During this period, CSU will release measured quantities of methane from different points on the wellpad to evaluate factors that impact emissions monitoring solutions, such as challenging weather conditions, variations in wellpad sizes and variations in well equipment and designs.

Following the field-testing phase of its ADED study, CSU’s Energy Institute will compare field-testing results to controlled-testing results, with analyses and solutions to be included in publication following the conclusion of the study.

“We’re excited to partner with PureWest Energy, an established ESG performance leader, as we expand our ADED study into field operations of the oil and gas industry,” said CSU research scientist Dr. Clay Bell. “Leveraging controlled test results from our survey and continuous monitoring protocols, we aim to understand how these solutions can improve efficiencies in emissions measurement and reporting to aid the industry in reducing its footprint.”

In addition to the new partnership with CSU’s Energy Institute, PureWest recently became a recipient of the university’s Center for Energy Water Sustainability and Project Canary’s Freshwater Verified Attribute as part of their participation in the joint research program.

Together with CSU, PureWest also engages with Project Canary, a third-party climate technology and environmental attestation company, for certified responsibly sourced gas (RSG) assurance and to monitor activity at a variety of facilities to bolster capabilities and advance monitoring technology. That engagement began in 2020 and resulted in a Platinum designations for much of PureWest’s RSG, Project Canary’s highest rating classification, contributing to PureWest’s first-ever industry market offering of Scope 1 and 2 carbon-neutral certified RSG.

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