##  [ Our Mission Page ](/mission) 

              ![View of production field at dawn](/sites/default/files/styles/1440px_width_scale/public/2026-06/oil_field.jpg?itok=oq4xkY27)   

#  Our mission 

Making near-zero methane emissions the new standard in the oil and gas industry

 

 

 

   ## Cutting methane is essential to a stable climate

Reducing methane emissions from the oil and gas sector is the fastest, most cost-effective way to slow climate change. Methane from fossil fuel operations and other sectors drives at least 30% of today’s rise in temperatures.

To cut these emissions quickly and widely, we need to know how much methane is coming from where, and who’s responsible. And we need data to track our progress.

## Seeing what other methane tracking can’t

MethaneSAT is the first non-profit methane-tracking satellite mission developed to provide data from the global oil and gas industry. It was designed to see emissions that other satellites don’t.

Aircraft and other satellites can identify large emission sources. But at least 70% of oil and gas industry emissions come from [countless smaller, widespread sources](/project-updates/study-smaller-dispersed-sources-account-majority-us-oil-gas-methane-emissions) – sources that are overlooked by instruments built to track big leaks.

 

    ![View of data from MethaneSAT against a satellite map of the world](/sites/default/files/styles/800px_width_scale/public/2026-06/data_map.jpg?itok=UILp8oMG) 

##  Turning data into a new normal 

MethaneSAT provides the data to prove that fixing everyday gas waste is just as important to a responsible company as preventing an oil spill.

 

 

 

 

 

    **MethaneSAT data is free and open to anyone, anywhere**. Knowing exactly how much methane is leaking, from where, and how it changes over time is the key to unlocking fast reductions.

- **We measure**: Total emissions across major oil and gas basins.
- **We track:** Frequently enough to show real progress over months and years.
- **We identify**: With the precision required for accountability.

By making robust independent data transparent to the world, MethaneSAT offers a tool for systemic change directly to companies, investors, buyers, governments, and the public.

Even before it launched, MethaneSAT’s promise of radical transparency was helping to strengthen international emission targets and spurring forward-looking companies to improve emissions reporting and performance.

## Highlights from early insights

Global data gathered by MethaneSAT during its year in operation show that:

- [**Overall oil and gas methane emissions were 50 percent higher**](/project-updates/first-look-system-wide-view) than reported in widely-cited inventories.
- Of the basins we measured, [**none reached the 0.2 percent emissions intensity goal**](/project-updates/first-look-system-wide-view) backed by industry leaders.
- New Mexico’s [**regulated fields emit less than half the methane**](/project-updates/methanesat-data-enables-novel-comparison-methane-mitigation-efforts-permian-basin) of unregulated Texas, showing the power of policy.

## **The future of MethaneSAT** 

Our team is currently assessing best ways to fill the gap left when the first MethaneSAT instrument lost communications in 2025. Options include aircraft measurements, combining our analytics with other satellite data, and building our own new satellite.

In the meantime, we continue to test and refine the data analytics that make our unique findings possible, releasing new analyses and providing expert insight as we go.

 

 ##  Updates and insights 

  [ ![MethaneSAT satellite above Earth](/sites/default/files/styles/400x300_focal_point/public/2026-02/MethaneSat_aboveEarth_uncropped.png?h=c6980913&itok=VygAu6xJ) 

 ](/project-updates/when-small-sources-add-new-insights-methane-pollution-marginal-well-sites) [##  When small sources add up: New insights into methane pollution from marginal well sites 

 ](/project-updates/when-small-sources-add-new-insights-methane-pollution-marginal-well-sites)

   [ ![Algorithm](/sites/default/files/styles/400x300_focal_point/public/2026-04/MethaneSAT_SneakPeek_newHeatmap2025_algorithms.jpg?h=c74750f6&itok=ULcA-O8p) 

 ](/project-updates/methanesat-reveals-high-emissions-intensity-californias-san-joaquin-basin) [##  MethaneSAT Reveals High Emissions Intensity in California’s San Joaquin Basin 

 ](/project-updates/methanesat-reveals-high-emissions-intensity-californias-san-joaquin-basin)

   [ ![MethaneSAT satellite above Earth](/sites/default/files/styles/400x300_focal_point/public/2026-02/MethaneSat_aboveEarth_uncropped.png?h=c6980913&itok=VygAu6xJ) 

 ](/project-updates/first-look-system-wide-view) [##  First look at a system wide view 

 ](/project-updates/first-look-system-wide-view)