Energy & Science
Permian Oil Fields Leak Enough Methane for 7 Million Homes
- Researchers find largest methane plume over U.S. oil fields
- Permian may account for 10% of global methane pollution growth
Methane gas is flared just off U.S. Route 285 near Carlsbad, New Mexico.
Photographer: Steven St John/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Enough gas to supply 7 million homes is leaking into the atmosphere above oil fields in Texas and New Mexico—the largest plume of climate change-driving methane pollution ever recorded over a U.S. oil field, a new study from Harvard University and Environmental Defense Fund shows.
The methane over the Permian Basin emitted by oil companies’ gas venting and flaring is double previous estimates, and represents a leakage rate about 60% higher than the national average from oil and gas fields, according to the research, which was published Wednesday in the journal Science Advances.