Observation-derived 2010-2019 trends in methane emissions and intensities from US oil and gas fields tied to activity metrics

The United States accounts for a large share of global methane emissions from the oil/gas industry. Analysis of satellite and surface observations of atmospheric methane reveals larger-than-reported year-to-year variability of 2010 to 2019 US oil/gas methane emissions. This variability reflects trends in oil/gas production rates, number of active wells, and drilling of new wells. Emissions surged after 2017 as production increased. The methane intensity from the US oil/gas industry (methane emitted per unit methane gas produced) decreased steadily after 2010. Extension of this decreasing trend to 2030 (target date of the Global Methane Pledge) would result in a 32% decrease in US oil/gas methane emissions and 15% decrease in total anthropogenic emissions relative to 2019 despite an increase in production.