Shale gas drillers face increasing market pressure to have their product certified as "responsibly sourced," even though gas awarded the designation might not fetch a premium price reports Bill Holland with Market Intelligence post-Hart Energy’s DUG East Conference on Dec. 8.

Industry players have begun responding to concerns over greenhouse gas emissions in the natural gas supply chain by competing to offer the cleanest supplies, and certification offers a way to assure buyers that drillers are limiting methane emissions at their production and gathering operations.

Two private Appalachian shale gas drillers used the conference to roll out announcements they are seeking certification from Project Canary Inc., a widely used auditor of methane emissions. One of these groups is BKV Corporation.

Chris Kalnin, CEO of BKV, commented that the certification debate misses the point. Kalnin's fund, Kalnin Ventures LLC, with the backing of Thai energy company Banpu Public Co. Ltd., hopes to create the "energy company of the future" using technology and M&A to control the product from start to finish.

Click here to read the article and learn more about Kalnin’s ambitious goals for BKV to become completely net-zero.