Feds Are Downplaying #MethaneLeaks in America’s Biggest #OilField, Satellite Data Suggests

A report found #MethaneEmissions in the #PermianBasin to be nearly four times higher than #EPA estimates. A senator wants an explanation.

By Ellyn Lapointe
Published March 20, 2026

"#FossilFuel extraction is a known source of #methane leaks, releasing large amounts of this potent #GreenhouseGas into the atmosphere. Yet the Environmental Protection Agency appears to be drastically underreporting emissions from the nation’s largest oil-producing region.

"Nearly half of U.S. oil comes from the Permian Basin in West #Texas and southeastern #NewMexico. The region generates more than $100 billion annually for the U.S. economy, and apparently, a whole lot of methane, too. A recent report from #MethaneSAT—a methane-sensing satellite that observed Earth from March 2024 to June 2025—found emissions from the Permian Basin to be nearly four times higher than the EPA’s official estimates."

Read more:
https://gizmodo.com/feds-are-downplaying-methane-leaks-in-americas-biggest-oil-field-satellite-data-suggests-2000736269

#BigOilAndGas #Oiligarchy #BigOilLies #BigGasLies #USPol #TrumpSucks
#TrumpsEPA #EPAFail #ClimateChange
#GlobalWarming

#Colorado’s #OilAndGas industry is vastly underestimating #methane emissions

Jennifer Oldham
Thu, February 26, 2026 at 6:00 AM EST

Excerpt: "A unique aerial measurement campaign found that emission inventories compiled by energy companies to account for planet-warming methane leaking from equipment on Colorado oil and gas production sites undercount such #pollutants by at least two times.

"Results from the $3.25 million project, led by a team of university researchers and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, provided officials for the first time with a more complete picture of the invisible pollutant emitted from well pads. #FossilFuel extraction is the state’s second-largest source of methane pollution, which has a global warming potential roughly 80 times that of carbon dioxide during a 20-year period."

https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/colorado-oil-gas-industry-vastly-110014181.html

#BigOilAndGas #Oiligarchy #BigOilLies #BigGasLies #MethaneEmissions #MethaneLeaks #USPol #TrumpSucks #TrumpsEPA #EPAFail #ClimateChange #GlobalWarming