November 28, 2025
US GHG emissions from oil and gas industry account for a small but important share of total US greenhouse gases. In 2023, the United States emitted nearly 6.2 billion metric tons of greenhouse gases (CO₂e). Most human-caused emissions – over 70 percent – come from burning fossil fuels. The oil and gas sector accounts for about 0.32 billion metric tons, or roughly 5 percent of total emissions. This figure covers emissions directly from oil and gas production, transportation and processing. It does not include emissions from burning oil and gas by other industries or consumers.
Figure 1 tracks US oil and gas greenhouse gas emissions by industry segment from 2016 to 2023, in Mt CO₂e. Over this period, total emissions including CO2, Methane and other gases rise from about 277 Mt in 2016 to about 323 Mt in 2023—an increase of roughly 16%. Emissions grow steadily through 2019, drop in 2020–2021 during covid related slowdown, and then recover modestly, though they do not return to the 2019 peak of about 350 Mt.
The chart shows that onshore production and gathering and boosting are consistently the largest sources. Onshore production emissions climb from 87 Mt in 2016 to a high of 127 Mt in 2019, then fall to around 91 Mt by 2023. Gathering and boosting remains in a narrower range (about 76–90 Mt), but ends the period slightly higher than it started, reaching almost 90 Mt in 2023. Together, these two segments account for more than half of total sector emissions in 2023.
Natural gas processing and transmission compression form the next tier of contributors. Processing emissions are relatively stable, fluctuating around 56–61 Mt and finishing at 61 Mt in 2023. In contrast, transmission compression shows a clear upward trend—from 22.5 Mt in 2016 to 36 Mt in 2023—highlighting growing emissions associated with moving gas through high-pressure pipelines.
Downstream gas segments move in different directions. Natural gas distribution edges down slightly to 2019, then rises from 12.4 Mt in 2020 to 16.6 Mt in 2023, indicating growing emissions closer to end-users. Other segments are smaller in absolute terms but show clear growth.
See Also:
Is the Canadian Oil and Gas Industry Reducing Methane Emissions?
References:
“Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program (GHGRP).”, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, https://edap.epa.gov/public/extensions/OilGasDashboard/index.html#. Accessed 26 November 2025
“Energy and the environment explained.”, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/energy-and-the-environment/where-greenhouse-gases-come-from.php . Accessed 26 November 2025
“Petroleum & Other Liquids.”, US Energy Information Administration, https://www.eia.gov/petroleum/data.php . Accessed 26 November 2025
“Natural Gas”, US Energy Information Administration, https://www.eia.gov/naturalgas/data.php . Accessed 26 November 2025