july 2026
EOG Resources, one of the U.S.’s largest oil and gas producers, claims it has a “commitment to leading environmental performance” and reports that it has eliminated routine flaring, maintains a very low methane emissions rate, and has deployed numerous emissions reduction practices.
Here at the Big Gas Polluters coalition, we keep a close eye on what oil and gas companies are saying and doing about their methane pollution – like when EOG announced a target to eliminate its methane emissions footprint, stating its intention “to reach net zero Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions by 2040.”
However, EOG walked away from the 2040 goal in the company’s most recent sustainability report (issued in October 2025), a change it described as “maintaining flexibility rather than continuing with a fixed target date“.
Moreover, in examining recent, publicly available satellite data, we found 20+ super emitter events appearing next to the company’s facilities just since the beginning of last year.
And when InfluenceMap dug into the company’s record, they gave EOG a failing grade on its climate policy engagement (meaning that the company undertakes advocacy that is oppositional to the Paris Agreement’s goals).
If EOG really wants to demonstrate “leading environmental performance”, the company needs to set – and maintain – bolder goals, eliminate persistent super-emitter events, and start standing up and voicing support for federal methane rules instead of being silent and hiding behind industry associations.
Stats
- Pollution events large enough to be visible from space. Satellite data suggests EOG’s facilities were the source for several recent methane super-emitter events (which the Environmental Protection Agency describes as incidents releasing methane at a rate of at least 100 kilograms per hour). Since the start of 2025, at least 17 plume sources (and 23 plumes) documented in Carbon Mapper’s publicly accessible data portal appear next to the company’s facilities in New Mexico and Texas. These included:
- Evidence filmed on-the-ground. Earthworks thermographers have recorded more than a dozen videos documenting air pollution from EOG facilities over the last several years.
- Fines and penalties. Last year, a Clean Air Act emissions violation at one of the company’s facilities near Orla, Texas, resulted in the company receiving a $2.5 million penalty, according to Violation Tracker data.
- The methane waste continues. In New Mexico alone, EOG reports losing 1,733,375 mcf of methane gas to venting or flaring in the past year (data from August 2025 through April 2026 for the company’s operations, accessed on June 23rd; and note this data is self-reported). In addition, NMED’s most recent company excess emissions reporting also reveals 5 excess emissions events occurred at EOG facilities in the state over the past year (annual data released as of June 2026).
- Taking negative positions on methane and climate action. Thorough analysis of the company’s positions by InfluenceMap gives it a failing grade, stating that EOG “exhibits policy engagement that is oppositional to science-aligned climate policy… and has memberships to industry groups that undertake obstructive advocacy on climate regulations.”
- Multiple fines, hundreds of thousands in penalties. Just since the start of 2023, Oxy and its subsidiaries have racked up $8,863,515 in penalties for 19 environment-related offenses, according to Violation Tracker data.
- The methane waste continues. In New Mexico alone, Oxy and its subsidiaries report losing over 319,000 mcf of methane gas to venting or flaring since the start of 2025 (data as of September 18th; and note this data is self-reported) – this is roughly equivalent to the amount of gas consumed annually by about 5,800 U.S. households.
