As scientific data on methane leakage from US oil and gas production and transport systems has improved, the urgency of methane mitigation policy has increased. Higher estimates for methane released in oil and gas US operations continue to be verified via ground-based facility scale measurement combined with satellite and other aerial methods, suggesting that volumes of well over 2 to 3 percent of gross US natural gas production need to be detected and remedied.
Read MoreThis week, ExxonMobil estimated that methane leakage from its oil and gas oil field activities should fall by 30 percent by 2025 –contributing to a total decline of 12 percent company wide -- as it brings its overall carbon intensity targets for methane and flaring emissions down 40 to 50 percent. That target is unacceptably modest, even compared to its peer oil companies. But ExxonMobil’s lack of climate ambition is symptomatic of a larger problem. The United States and Europe will need to align methane policies.
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