The Energy Transfer site, located near the city of Shreveport, is named as the biggest single “super emitter” in new rankings of US oil and gas operations for the largest releases of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas that is rapidly overheating our planet, according to a new UCLA study, which is based on satellite data.
Kelcy Warren, Energy Transfer’s billionaire chief executive, donated millions of dollars to Trump’s last election campaign and has previously described as an “insanity” when asked what he thought about a newspaper editorial that said net-zero carbon emissions policies would ultimately mean oil was no longer needed.
Top ‘super emitters’ of methane in US’s three biggest oil and gas basins, according to analysis
Satellite data shows potentially responsible operators of sites with the highest average methane emission rates in the Permian, Haynesville and Appalachian basins
| Table with 4 columns and 10 rows of data. (column headers with buttons are sortable) |
|---|
| Basin | Location | Potential operator | Emission rate (tonnes/hr) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Haynesville/Bossier Basin | Shreveport, Louisiana | Energy Transfer | 1.56 |
| Permian Basin | Loving, New Mexico | Delaware Basin Midstream | 1.55 |
| Permian Basin | Orla, Texas | Howard Energy Partners | 1.33 |
| Haynesville/Bossier Basin | Ringgold, Louisiana | Aethon Energy | 1.23 |
| Permian Basin | Coyanosa, Texas | Energy Transfer | 1.20 |
| Permian Basin | Knott, Texas | Undetermined | 1.19 |
| Appalachian Basin | Inez, Kentucky | Undetermined | 1.04 |
| Haynesville/Bossier Basin | Frierson, Louisiana | Black Bear Midstream | 0.93 |
| Permian Basin | Pecos, Texas | Western Midstream | 0.87 |
| Haynesville/Bossier Basin | Ringgold, Louisiana | Boardwalk Pipeline Partners | 0.86 |
Guardian graphicSource: UCLA’s STOP Methane Project, Carbon Mapper. Note: data for observed period from 1 January 2025 to 1 June 2026. Researchers used satellite plume data, NGO data and state documents to match emissions with an operator. They did not assign a match if there were multiple operators within a 100-meter radius of the methane plume.
Methane is a potent greenhouse gas, trapping around 80 times more heat than carbon dioxide over a 20-year period, and is responsible for nearly a third of the global heating that has occurred since the industrial revolution. It is released via oil and gas drilling and transportation, as well as from landfills and agriculture.