Senator Investigates Permian Basin

U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, a well-known champion for climate change and a Rhode Island Democrat, has spearheaded an investigation into methane pollution in the Permian Basin. Among his targets is Oklahoma-based Devon Energy, along with some other prominent companies.

Sen. Whitehouse’s probe is primarily concerned with the apparent inconsistency between reported and actual methane pollution from the Permian Basin, which is America’s largest oil-producing field and one of the biggest in the world.

Whitehouse is seeking further information from Devon Energy, as well as seven other leading oil and gas production companies in the Permian Basin, including EOG Resources, ConocoPhillips, Occidental Petroleum, ExxonMobil, Diamondback Energy, Chevron, and Mewbourne Oil Company.

At the forefront of Whitehouse’s queries are the measures these companies are implementing to curb methane pollution in the Basin, their emission monitoring and measurement practices, as well as their present estimates.

Whitehouse has set an April 1 deadline for these companies to provide the requested information. He’s particularly interested in understanding their efforts to address methane pollution, their methods of monitoring and quantifying their emissions, and their current estimates.

Inside Climate News revealed that MethaneSAT data, gathered from May 2024 through June 2025, suggests that actual methane emissions in the Permian are about four times higher than what companies are reporting to the Environmental Protection Agency’s Greenhouse Gas Inventory.

Sen. Whitehouse pointed out that this discrepancy between reported emissions and satellite data hints at the possibility of significant, unreported emissions. He emphasized that this presents an opportunity to reduce wastage, enhance operational efficiency, and address climate change.

Whitehouse described methane as a ‘super-pollutant’ that’s 84 times more potent than carbon dioxide in the first two decades after its release. He underscored that methane emissions lead to severe health issues, smog formation, crop yield reduction, and contribute to about 30% of global warming. He remarked, “Leaked methane is wasted methane”, as methane or natural gas can be captured and used as a commodity.

According to Whitehouse, the oil and gas sector can mitigate methane pollution at virtually no net cost, especially at a time when natural gas and LNG prices are soaring due to the ongoing war in Iran. Capturing this wasted methane, he argues, would bolster global natural gas supplies and bring down prices for consumers and industries.

Whitehouse mentioned that many prominent oil and gas companies, some of whom are recipients of this letter, have already started implementing methane-detection flyovers and using satellite-based data to monitor emissions. Some companies in the Permian have committed to cut their methane emissions, guided by the Oil and Gas Decarbonization Charter, which aims for near-zero methane emissions by 2030. He warned that ignoring substantial methane emissions would conflict with these commitments and broader industry climate goals.

Earlier this year, Whitehouse, along with 24 members of Congress, led the charge in urging the European Union to uphold robust methane emission standards, amidst attacks from the Trump Administration. Last summer, he guided Committee Democrats in a spotlight forum on the damaging impacts of methane emissions from the oil and gas industry, as the Trump Administration eased regulations for companies to pollute. Whitehouse was instrumental in crafting the original methane fee proposal that was later incorporated into the Democrats’ historic Inflation Reduction Act of 2022.

Highlighting the discrepancy between reported emissions and satellite data, Whitehouse, a member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee and a staunch advocate for climate conservation, stated, “Significant, previously unreported emissions may be occurring.”