The findings of this report can help shareholders differentiate between potential investments, and can also inform regulators, lawmakers and company executives about the top causes of reported methane emissions, as well as which companies are disproportionately responsible for them. These findings may prove to be particularly important as EPA works to revise federal methane regulations this year.
New in this second edition are charts that track annual changes in emissions intensity, or the quantity of methane or greenhouse gas emitted per unit of production, for each producer from 2018 to 2020. The underlying data suggest that these shifts can be attributed to changes in operational practices, changes in corporate structure, or a combination of factors.
Emissions intensity varies even between similarly-sized operators in the same geographic area, according to the data, largely due to different equipment choices and operational practices. Pneumatic controllers were the largest source of reported production-segment methane emissions, making up 61% of the total. Fuel combustion equipment, including engines and heaters, was the largest source of total reported production-segment CO2 emissions, responsible for 58% of all reported CO2 emissions.