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Toby Rice has emerged in the past year as the most visible and forceful advocate for the U.S. natural-gas industry. He has also led the industry’s efforts to reduce carbon and methane emissions while lowering
EQT
’s
drilling costs, improving its credit rating, and leading a consolidation in the prolific Marcellus gas-producing region of Pennsylvania.
“This industry is not just digging holes in the ground to make a profit,” Rice, 40, tells Barron’s. “We’re working to achieve a higher purpose, which is to provide energy security to the world while reducing the impact on the climate. The opportunity in front of us is tremendous.”
Rice’s efforts have raised the profile of EQT, the top producer of natural gas in the country. When Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D., Mass.) accused gas producers of “corporate greed” in late 2021, Rice wrote a letter pointing out that gas prices were below the 20-year average that year.
Rice’s crusade is to replace coal with natural gas in worldwide electricity production. He calls the coal-to-gas switch outside the U.S. “the largest green initiative on the planet,” given the prevalence of coal in international electricity generation. Gas has half the carbon emissions of coal.
The U.S., he argues, can play a critical role due to the country’s huge gas reserves. Rice wants to see a quadrupling in U.S. export capacity of liquefied natural gas by 2030 to help reduce overseas coal consumption. That means greater government support for new pipelines and LNG facilities. Rice also is moving to reduce EQT’s methane emissions by 65%, relative to 2018 levels by 2025.
Write to Andrew Bary at andrew.bary@barrons.com
Read More: EQT’s Boss Is Working Toward a Greener Planet Through Natural Gas