A new analysis by S&P Global Commodity Insights shows that absolute greenhouse gas emissions in Permian Basin declined since 2022 as production of crude oil and natural gas increased. S&P Global said that absolute greenhouse gas emissions in Permian declined by 25 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent during 2022-24. That’s a 20 percent reduction in a period when oil and gas production increased by the equivalent of 500,000 barrels per day.
S&P Global said Oct. 9, “Although the GHG intensity of oil and gas activity – the ratio of emissions per barrel produced – in the basin has consistently declined over the past several years, the reduction in absolute emissions during a period of production growth was a surprise.”
Improved operations, better equipment, and the utilization of artificial intelligence and other advanced technologies reduced the methane intensity of Permian production by more than 50 percent in 2022-24. The scale of methane reduction outpaced the impact of production growth leading to absolute emissions reduction.
Kevin Birn, head of the Center for Emissions Excellence at S&P Global Commodity Insights, said, “Major Permian producers have a long track record of improvements from an emissions-per-barrel standpoint, but at the end of the day more barrels produced typically means more emissions. However, over the last few years in the Permian more barrels come with lower emissions.” Raoul LeBlanc, vice president, added, “Data show methane emissions management is being increasingly normalized as part of field operations, and that is driving methane down.”
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