Posts by Jack McDonald
Factsheet: Global Methane Pledge 2025
Last week, the UN released its 2025 Global Methane Pledge report. At 147 pages, the report is dense. Oilfield Witness waded through it so you don’t have too. While framed in an optimistic light, the report’s findings are grim: Even if the fossil fuel industry implemented every feasible methane control technology at every site across…
Read MoreBoats in the Desert? New Mexico’s Natural Gas Export Ambitions
Earlier this month the Japanese ambassador visited New Mexico. He was not in town to visit Carlsbad Caverns or to throw a pizza onto the roof of the Breaking Bad House. Unlike the usual tourists, he was in Santa Fe to discuss the newly announced Western States and Tribal Nations Energy Initiative roadmap for…
Read MoreS&P’s new emissions analysis and the role of the media
Earlier this year, S&P Global insights released a new report analyzing methane emissions from the Permian Basin. The report claims that emissions have been dramatically reduced, with a 50% reduction in methane intensity between 2022 and 2024. The report has some major flaws and Oilfield Witness has released a fact sheet analyzing it. The two…
Read MoreAutomation – The new Oilfield Worker crisis
Over the last few years, the prospect of AI integration has taken the oil and gas industry by storm but while this may benefit oil and gas executives and shareholders, it likely is bad news for the average worker. Major oil and gas companies have announced plans to integrate AI across their supply chains from…
Read MoreEmissions Sleight of Hand: Methane Intensity Explained
On July 24th, S&P Global released a press release touting that “methane emissions intensity” has declined by 29% from 2023 to 2024. On July 3rd, the International Energy Agency released a report on natural gas certification claiming that the practice could be “paving the way towards price premiums for low-intensity natural gas.” In April, ExxonMobil…
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