The BigGasPolluters website launched in May 2024 to track the methane claims and actions of the fossil fuel industry. Nearly one year later, our first annual update of the site’s interactive database reveals a number of key insights.
One year ago, we found that just over half (51) of the 100 largest onshore oil and gas producers in the United States hadn’t established any public goal for reducing their methane pollution. But rather than gradually improving with time, there are actually more companies – totaling 56 – without methane goals today.
This partially reflects industry consolidation, as a wave of company mergers and acquisitions snapped up or combined oil and gas operators over the course of 2024. It also highlights that when it comes to pollution and methane waste, many simply refuse to proactively commit to lessening their impact.
Among those without methane emission goals are companies like Hilcorp Energy and Continental Resources, which are run by politically–connected billionaires leading the charge to weaken common-sense methane pollution rules, two large gas producers purchased by Japanese utility conglomerates (TG Natural Resources and Sabine Oil & Gas), and numerous operators owned by wealthy families or shadowy private equity funds. The list even includes two operators, Discovery Natural Resources and Trinity Operating, whose respective ownership is quietly connected to notable household names Fidelity Investments (one of the world’s largest financial services companies) and NextEra Energy (America’s largest renewable energy developer).
The Companies Watering Down their Performance Goals
Of course, these voluntary environmental goals aren’t legally binding. They are only as good as each company’s commitment to take the actions necessary to achieve them. Here’s where we’ve spotted backsliding since 2024:
- In moving from 2023 to 2024, ExxonMobil’s annual sustainability reports appear to have dropped its plan to slash its total methane emissions (commonly referred to as an “absolute” reduction). Gone in its most recent progress report and website is its previous goal for an “Absolute reduction in methane emissions by 70%”, and instead, the company focuses just on reductions in its “methane intensity” (a metric that purposefully doesn’t promise an overall decrease in emissions).
- BKV Corporation, which made headlines for its “guilt-free gas”, shifted its goalposts from “Achieve net zero goal for Scope 1 and 2 emissions by year-end 2025” to “our updated goal is to achieve net zero Scope 1 and 2 emissions from our owned and operated upstream and natural gas midstream businesses by the early 2030s”.
- Civitas likewise pushed back its intention to reduce its absolute Scope 1 emissions by 50% by 2030 instead of 2027 after making a major expansion into the Permian Basin.
- California Resources similarly noted it is reevaluating its previously announced goals after expanding its operations in California, writing on its website the “goals communicated throughout the website and other communications are subject to change after this process is completed.”
- Caerus Oil and Gas appeared to kick the can down the road another three years, shifting its goal to limit its methane pollution intensity to .2% by 2030 instead of its previously announced 2027. Its most recent sustainability report also states that “Through cooperation with organizations such as The Environmental Partnership, ONE Future, and the Oil and Gas Methane Partnership 2.0, we remain at the forefront of global initiatives to reduce methane emissions.” Yet, the company is not on the most recent member lists of either One Future or OGMP.
- Canadian-headquartered producer Baytex, when faced with the potential threat of having to live up to its stated goals, says it dropped its previous methane and environmental goals altogether.
A Record-Setting Year for Air Pollution Violations, Fines and Settlements
At the same time, the past year was also marked by a deluge of eye-popping penalties and settlements for oil and gas polluters. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reached a total of 7 settlements with fossil fuel companies concerning alleged Clean Air Act violations from oil and gas production facilities – more than any prior year on record. These include:
- In February, APA Corporation agreed to pay $4 million in penalties for unlawful air pollution from its oil and gas production activities in New Mexico and Texas. Under the terms of its settlement, the company must take extensive steps at over 400 facilities to significantly reduce emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and methane gas.
- Also in July, Marathon Oil (since acquired by ConocoPhillips) agreed to a record $241.5 million in penalties for illegally dumping thousands of tons of methane and VOC pollution in North Dakota.
- In September, Ovintiv consented to a $16 million settlement with the EPA for violations of the Clean Air Act arising from its operations in Utah.
- In October, Hilcorp Energy conceded to pay $9.4 million for allegedly dumping thousands of tons of methane and VOCs over a two-year period of well drilling operations in New Mexico’s San Juan Basin, including on Jicarilla Apache and Navajo Nation lands.
- In November, ExxonMobil paid a $4 million penalty, and Hilcorp Energy acquiesced to a $1.275 million penalty. Both companies agreed to additional compliance obligations to significantly reduce harmful emissions from their oil and gas operations in Western Pennsylvania.
- And in December, PennEnergy agreed to a settlement and $2 million penalty with the EPA for allegedly failing to control air emissions from five of its oil and gas production facilities in Western Pennsylvania.
In addition to all of EPA’s announced settlements, the New Mexico Environment Department revealed in July that 75 of 124 facilities it inspected with EPA over a six-month period were in violation of state and federal law for VOC emissions. According to the state Environment Department, the inspected facilities included those operated by Chevron, Earthstone Energy, Franklin Mountain Energy, Inc., Kaiser Francis Oil Company, Marathon, Permian Resources, Tap Rock, and XTO Energy.
Finally, Diversified Energy and EQT also made headlines for a settlement agreement, preliminarily approved in November, where both companies paid up to $3.25 million and requiring Diversified to quadruple the number of unplugged and abandoned wells it cleans up in West Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Tennessee over the next decade.