Oil and gas companies are missing significant methane emissions. Here’s how to fix that.

This policy brief argues that self-reported methane emissions from US oil and gas operators are significantly underreported, which undermines climate progress and the effectiveness of the Inflation Reduction Act's (IRA) Waste Emissions Charge. The author advocates for the integration of empirical data and remote sensing to capture 'super-emitting' events and ensure accurate financial penalties and mitigation efforts.

• Self-reported methane emissions inventories by large US oil and gas operators are significantly underreported because federal guidelines rely on simplistic assumptions of routine operations and fail to account for site-specific equipment, malfunctions, and 'super-emitting' events.
• Analysis suggests that 2021 Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program (GHGRP) emissions underestimate US oil and gas sector emissions by more than a factor of two. This undercount may increase to a factor of four if methane's 20-year global warming potential is used instead of the EPA's 100-year standard.
• Empirical studies in the Permian Basin and New Mexico show a vast discrepancy between reported and actual emissions. In the Permian Basin, measured methane intensities from super-emitting events alone were on average over six times higher than GHGRP reports, while emissions in New Mexico were found to be 6.5 times larger than EPA estimates.
• The data gap in methane reporting leads to significant lost revenue for the IRA's Waste Emissions Charge. For a sample of Permian Basin operators, using GHGRP inventories would collect approximately $2 million in fees, whereas using measured super-emitting data would yield an estimated $210 million, representing a loss of approximately $208 million.
• The EPA and the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Association (PHMSA) have proposed revisions to Subpart W to improve accounting, including a new “other large release events” category for super-emitters, updated emission factors, and increased transparency. These regulations are expected to be effective in 2025, following the 2024 implementation of the Waste Emissions Charge.

APA

RMI (2023). Oil and gas companies are missing significant methane emissions. Here’s how to fix that. https://rmi.org/resources/oil-and-gas-companies-are-missing-significant-methane-emissions-heres-how-to-fix-that/

Chicago

RMI. Oil and gas companies are missing significant methane emissions. Here’s how to fix that. 2023. https://rmi.org/resources/oil-and-gas-companies-are-missing-significant-methane-emissions-heres-how-to-fix-that/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=RMI |title=Oil and gas companies are missing significant methane emissions. Here’s how to fix that. |date=19 October 2023 |url=https://rmi.org/resources/oil-and-gas-companies-are-missing-significant-methane-emissions-heres-how-to-fix-that/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{rmi2023oil, author = {{RMI}}, title = {{Oil and gas companies are missing significant methane emissions. Here’s how to fix that.}}, institution = {RMI}, year = {2023}, month = oct, url = {https://rmi.org/resources/oil-and-gas-companies-are-missing-significant-methane-emissions-heres-how-to-fix-that/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }