A new report from UCLA’s Stop Methane Project once again ranks Energy Transfer at the top of their list of the worst methane polluting sources in oil and gas regions. An earlier analysis from the group found that ET had the largest methane plume in the U.S. in 2025.
Methane is a greenhouse gas that is 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide over a 20 year time frame. Uncontrolled methane emissions from oil and gas infrastructure have long been underestimated and are a major driver of the dangerous impacts of global warming.
In addition to operating multiple methane-polluting facilities, Energy Transfer is the company that has pursued an abusive lawsuit against Greenpeace in the U.S. and Greenpeace International, resulting in a $345 million judgment. The Greenpeace defendants are currently petitioning for a new trial in the case, and intend to appeal the judgement. You can read our analysis of this lawsuit here.
The Stop Methane Project report used satellite observations from the Tanager-1 satellite, as compiled by Carbon Mapper, and listed the top 10 oil and gas sites with the largest average methane emissions (*). Facilities operated by Energy Transfer were ranked #1 (in Shreveport, LA) and #5 (in Pecos County, TX). Two other ET sources made the “Dishonorable Mention” list of five additional sources “whose emissions have been particularly stubborn over repeated observations.”
Overall a total of 75 plumes were observed from Energy Transfer facilities – three times as many as the second-place operator.
The Stop Methane report also notes that harmful air pollutants such as benzene (a carcinogen) are typically released together with methane emissions, leading to potential health impacts for workers and nearby communities. The report links to PSE Healthy Energy’s Methane Risk Map, which details possible local health impacts for multiple observed plumes.
Greenpeace USA’s earlier report, Bad Neighbor, also documented a pattern of methane emissions from ET’s facilities dating back many years. That report also compiled the company’s track record of oil spills, air pollution impacts, and enforcement violations. Energy Transfer has grown rapidly in recent years and now says that their pipelines transport 30% of U.S. natural gas.
ET’s co-founder Kelcy Warren is a long-time supporter of Donald Trump. After being re-elected in 2024, Trump has methodically revoked and weakened regulations and laws designed to curb methane emissions such as those documented in this report. Actions like these put the health and well-being of communities around the globe at risk.
(*) The report covers January 1, 2025 to June 1, 2026 and excludes all sites with 2 or fewer observed plumes. The values represent the average emission rate over all observations (including null detections). ET’s large plume from the earlier ranking does not appear in this latest list because that specific Carbon Mapper source only has two detected plumes. Emissions were not detected in the most recent observation of the ET source in Shreveport, which the UCLA report describes as “evidence of possible mitigation.”
