Oil and gas is a leaky business. There are many reasons why gas leaks — sometimes intentionally, but also inadvertently. Still, there’s no excuse for discarding the very commodity a company aims to sell when a myriad of instruments to detect large and small leaks and known fixes exist to stop them.

Leaking gas wastes energy, imposes inefficiencies, endangers people and property, risks energy security, and unleashes deadly disasters by super heating the planet. RMI’s Oil Climate Index plus Gas estimates that one-half of the oil and gas industry’s greenhouse gas emissions from production are due to leaking gas. Sadly, explosions and fires from leaking gas are not uncommon — and 2023 was the deadliest year in two decades for gas incidents. Leaked gas contains carcinogenic and extremely toxic chemicals, like benzene, toluene, and hexane, that sicken humans and contaminate food and water supplies.

These risks are escalating as gas is increasingly trading through elongating supply chains that move resources from underground, through complex processes, and into more pipelines to fuel consumers. Growing volumes of gas are also being shipped across oceans to Europe and Asia, further extending supply chains. Gas can leak anywhere along its journey.

A recent study of one million measurements found wide-ranging leakage rates from just under 1 percent of gas production in a high-productivity, gas-rich region to nearly 10 percent in a rapidly expanding, oil-focused region. Another study uncovered a 66 percent gas loss rate from offshore platforms in the Gulf of Mexico state waters. Clearly, there is work to be done to close the gap between the best and worst operators. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), operations in the best-performing countries are over 100 times less leaky than the worst.

Operators along the oil and gas supply chain — from producers and shippers to gas plants, refineries, LNG terminals, and petrochemical facilities — know first-hand that they can, and should, do better. It’s good business to set a leakage threshold below 0.2%, as several companies have already pledged.

Preventable gas leaks are squarely in the hands of operators to detect and fix. Producers’ leaks can result, for example, from faulty equipment — like failing seals, unlit flares, and inefficient engines — pressure changes in the reservoir, and poorly maintained marginal wells. Openly certifying equipment can ensure low leakage through routine measurement, better operating practices, and equipment upgrades. Policies and regulations can hold industry accountable, requiring them to cease flaring and safely shut in marginal wells. And incentives can be given to the least leaky operators while fees can be charged on the most wasteful.

When it comes to shipping gas, compressors that maintain system pressure to pump gas are prone to methane leaks. So too are breakages in pipelines and escaping gas during liquefaction and during ocean transport. Natural disasters, extreme weather events, piracy, and political unrest can also result in leakage. Careful operations, resilient designs, and emergency notifications can be bolstered by market signals to prevent leakage in this geographically dispersed segment of the supply chain.

Once produced and shipped, gas is handed off to an array of other recipients — storage facilities, distribution networks, utilities, industry, commercial users, and households. For some at the end of the supply chain, the best leak prevention is to decommission assets and remove gas from the system altogether. For example, a devastating explosion from a ruptured gas transmission pipeline in Northern California in 2010 has recently resulted in PG&E retiring targeted gas pipelines where electrification is cheaper and safer than supplying gas to customers. Such pilot projects also convert impacted buildings and appliances from gas to electric service.

Where getting off gas isn’t a ready option, however, equipment replacement, routine monitoring, open certification, and buyers’ prioritizing the procurement of low-leakage gas is the best alternative. Some operators, for example, are leading the way by certifying and selling low-leakage gas. Currently, over 20 percent of US gas is being openly and verifiably measured by the nonprofit, MiQ. And 54 companies in 30 nations recently signed the Oil and Gas Decarbonization Charter, aiming to drastically reduce gas leakage and stop routine gas flaring.

In most cases, leaks – large or small – can be detected remotely with satellites, aircraft, or drones or in control rooms via installed equipment sensors. In other words, operators must be constantly on the lookout for and never turn a blind eye to their system’s leaks. And when a leak is spotted, it must quickly be stopped and prevented from recurring. A Carbon Mapper case study highlighting how satellite detection of a leaking pipeline in the Denver-Julesburg basin resulted in quick repairs by the industry operator demonstrates how effective continual monitoring can be.

Zero tolerance for leakage can be fostered if companies verifiably certify low-leakage gas, policies are enacted to accurately account for systemwide leakage, buyers preferentially procure low-leakage gas, governments establish import standards, insurers selectively underwrite low-leakage gas, and financial actors employ fees and incentives to plug leaky infrastructure.

Stopping gas from leaking is prudent and relatively risk free. This prevents danger, damage, and waste. The IEA estimates that methane emissions can be slashed by 75 percent. Solutions are straightforward, ready-to-implement, and cost-effective. Low-cost options to prevent emissions are well known and have been deployed around the world in the form of advanced monitoring, mandatory reporting, government regulations, financial incentives, and voluntary actions, as depicted in the following graphic.

Given how big the opportunity is to plug gas leaks systemwide, it’s time for oil and gas producers, gas plant operators, and shippers to stop gas from escaping and doing significant harm. As the proverb goes, waste not, want not, because we never know when we’ll be in need.