US 'super-emitters' of planet heating methane identified by satellite analysis

A UCLA analysis using Carbon Mapper’s Tanager-1 satellite detections has identified hundreds of methane “super-emitter” events across the Permian, Appalachian and Haynesville-Bossier basins, finding 1,097 plumes between January 2025 and June 2026. The single largest facility was a Shreveport gas-processing site operated by Energy Transfer, averaging 1.56 tonnes of methane per hour - about 15 times the Biden-era EPA threshold for a super-emitter event. Researchers could assign a potentially responsible operator for roughly one-third of plumes; Energy Transfer was linked to 75 events, three times more than the next operator, with other major contributors including Enterprise Products, Targa Resources and Enlink. The study focuses on these basins because they are central to booming LNG exports, and repeated venting or leaks during production and transport can erase any climate advantage over coal.

The analysis argues that satellites reveal large, previously undercounted emissions - recent research estimates oil and gas methane is about 64% higher than EPA figures - and that regulatory and transparency gaps allow continued wasteful pollution. Some top sites showed no plumes in the latest observations, indicating possible fixes, but activists and researchers say meaningful reductions require stronger reporting, enforcement and limits on new permits. Political influence and rollback of Biden-era methane rules are highlighted as factors hampering action.