Intensity of Methane Emissions by US Oil and Gas Industry Declined: Report
While the intensity of reported greenhouse gases has dropped, the study finds some companies are still emitting at a high rate.
An oil refinery, owned by Exxon Mobil, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Photographer: Barry Lewis/In Pictures/Getty Images
The intensity of methane emissions from oil and gas production fell 28% between 2019 and 2021 among the industry’s 100 biggest emitters. Greenhouse gas emissions intensity — which includes carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide and methane — dropped 30%, according to an analysis of public data published today by the nonprofits Clean Air Task Force and Ceres, and ERM Group Inc.
The organizations’ goal in pursuing the study, the third annual version, is to make it easier to compare greenhouse gas emission data that regulated companies submit annually to the US Environmental Protection Agency. The oil and gas industry’s CO2 emissions mostly come from burning fossil fuels during the production process or flaring methane, which converts methane to carbon dioxide. Methane is 81 times more powerful than CO2 in the medium term (20 years).