Satellite-derived methane emissions reveal persistent gaps in global oil and gas mitigation performance

Abstract Mitigating methane emissions from global oil and gas operations remains a critical climate priority, given methane’s high radiative efficiency and short atmospheric lifetime. Using MethaneSAT satellite observations (March 2024–June 2025), we quantify emissions across 34 regions representing ~ 50% of global onshore oil and gas production. Regional emissions vary by nearly two orders of magnitude (~ 5 to > 400 t h − 1 ), and the largest producing regions are also among the largest emitters. MethaneSAT estimates exceed reported “bottom-up” inventories by ~ 60%, with large regional differences, especially between oil-dominated and gas or mixed-production regions. Several regions show anomalously high methane intensity relative to production, identifying priority mitigation targets across North America, South America, Central Asia, and the Middle East. Across all regions, mean methane intensity is 2.9% of marketed gas (95% CI: 2.4–3.3%) and 0.19 kg GJ − 1 (0.16–0.22), ~ 10× higher than the Oil and Gas Decarbonization Charter target (0.2%). These results reveal major gaps in current methane management and underscore the scale of reductions required for alignment with commitments under the OGDC and the Global Methane Pledge.