NOVEMbEr 2025
Every November, official representatives from countries across the globe convene for the United Nation’s annual international climate summit. To mark the occasion during last year’s gathering, international oil and gas giant TotalEnergies announced to the world the company was “setting a new standard in monitoring of methane emissions” by deploying real-time methane detection equipment across all of its upstream assets by the end of 2025.
Total has long talked a good game on climate on the world stage. Yet, from August 2023 to January 2024, the company was the subject of an investigation by Earthworks. Over those six months, Earthworks conducted 294 site visits spread across 24 of Total’s facilities in Arlington, Texas – one of the most densely populated active fracking zones in the U.S. Certified thermographers with optical gas imaging cameras documented at least one source of pollution at 85 of their site visits, including pollution from operations within 300 feet of a child care facility. In all, 54% of the fracking sites visited were within 300 feet of homes, and 75% were within 600 feet. In several instances, pollution persisted over multiple visits to the same site. [Data source: Total Disregard]
More recently, in October 2025, Earthworks revisited those sites and found many of the same issues were still present – including venting tanks and leaking compressor units. In total, they found issues causing methane and/or other health-harming pollution at 6 of the 10 sites they visited.
So as world negotiators gather again this month for this year’s UN climate summit in Belém, Brazil, have TotalEnergies’ pronouncements actually reduced emissions and improved conditions for the residents living near the company’s operations in Texas? Earthworks set off to find out.
Stats
Polluting with Total Disregard. Since 2023 Earthworks has documented over 90 pollution events from Total’s wells in Arlington, TX – including 6 just last month.
“Reducing” emissions while a third-party keeps doing your dirty-work. Total’s gas isn’t just polluting at the well sites around Arlington. Earthworks also followed the gas from all 24 of the company’s well pads to the Bulldog Compressor Station, a central gathering and processing facility owned and operated by DFW Midstream, who Total has been under contract with since DFW acquired the facility in 2010. Earthworks recorded pollution all 16 times they visited the site, in fact they have been documenting pollution at this facility for over a decade!
A Law’t of trouble. TotalEnergies has been brought to court at least 15 times over climate and human rights abuses since 2005. Five of those cases have been filed since 2022. Here are some of them:
France: NGOs sue TotalEnergies for allegedly misleading the public.
High court blocks offshore oil drilling in landmark ruling
Ugandan communities sue oil giant TotalEnergies
Belgian farmer takes TotalEnergies to court, seeking climate damages | Reuters
Climate victims file criminal case against bosses of oil firm Total.
Deutsche Umwelthilfe v. TotalEnergies – Misleading claims of “Climate Neutrality”
Multiple fines, millions in penalties – just for its U.S. operations. Just since the start of 2023, Total and its subsidiaries have racked up $2,911,290 in penalties for 6 environment-related offenses, according to Violation Tracker data.
