"Environmental groups’ report found that few of the leaks, recorded in the Permian Basin over 16 months, had been reported to the state as required."
"A new report by Gas Leaks Project and Earthworks tallied 166 major methane leaks at 121 New Mexico oil and gas facilities between January 1, 2025, and April 30, 2026. According to the report, few of the leaks appear to have been reported to the state as required by New Mexico rules and operator permits.
The leaks were recorded by Carbon Mapper’s Tanager-1 methane detection satellite, which recorded 50 images of New Mexico’s portion of the Permian Basin in the January-April timeframe. Each image shows a near-instantaneous view of the Earth’s surface measuring approximately 77 by 15 miles. Gas Leaks Project and Earthworks tied the emissions to specific oil and gas facilities.
Andrew Forkes-Gudmundson, senior manager for state policy at the environmental group Earthworks, said the report cannot answer why the leaks happened, and “The only people that can do that are the operators.” Energy Transfer and Targa Resources, the two companies with the most entries on the report, did not respond to questions from Capital & Main. A spokesperson for EOG Resources, which had the second-largest single recorded incident, said, “I don’t anticipate we will contribute to the story.”
Forkes-Gudmundson said that added together, the images reflect “a decimal-point percentage” of the total 15-month study period and do not reflect all of the methane leaking events that likely occurred in that time."
