Methane Emissions in Permian Basin Fall as Drillers Plug Leaks
- Emissions of the gas dropped by 26% in 2023, S&P Global says
- Decline comes amid Biden rules that face a threat with Trump
Oil and gas operations are the largest industrial source of methane pollution in the US.
Photographer: Callaghan O'Hare/BloombergMethane emissions in the largest US oil basin plunged 26% last year as companies tightened operations and deployed new technology to stop leaks of the potent greenhouse gas, according to a study by S&P Global Commodity Insights.
The reduction of more than 34 billion cubic feet of methane from crude and natural gas production in the Permian Basin of Texas and New Mexico in 2023 is equal to the emissions avoided by every US electric vehicle on the road that year, the study found.