Public record of Targa, our April #PolluterOfTheMonth shows:
-277 emissions exceedances in NM in early 2024.
-At least 16 methane super-emitter plumes in 2025.
-Nearly $5.5 million in penalties since 2020.
Methane accountability still has a long way to go.
#PolluterOfTheMonth
Satellite data from Carbon Mapper has captured methane plumes near Targa facilities. News reporting connects those emissions to real sites. Earthworks’ optical imaging shows the pollution on the ground.
What was once a “phantom” threat is now visible & measurable – see April’s #PolluterOfTheMonth.
Targa says it has methane reduction plans.
But its facilities have repeatedly made headlines for excess emissions, regulatory investigations, & pollution events caught from space. Methane accountability doesn’t stop at setting goals — swipe through to see why Targa is April's #PolluterOfTheMonth.
April’s #PolluterOfTheMonth: Targa Resources, one of the largest gas companies in the US. With emissions exceedances & super-emitter plumes seen by satellite, Targa's track record raises questions. When methane pollution keeps surfacing, it’s time to take a closer look.
Artwork by Deedee Cheriel.
As February comes to a close, we’re wrapping up our #PolluterOfTheMonth spotlight on Energy Transfer.
Over the past month, we highlighted a record that includes repeated methane super-emitter events, millions in penalties, and millions more to weaken methane pollution rules.
Millions in penalties. Massive methane waste. Repeated failures seen from on the ground AND from space. The numbers tell the story.
This is the cost of weak rules and unchecked pipeline pollution and why Energy Transfer is our this month's #PolluterOfTheMonth. https://bit.ly/4qdx6eP
Even when producers clean up operations, pipeline companies can undo that progress by venting and leaking gas downstream. Energy Transfer — one of the largest gas pipeline operators in the country — is a clear example and our #PolluterOfTheMonth.
We're back with February's #PolluterOfTheMonth: Energy Transfer, which moves nearly a third of US gas & keeps getting caught venting methane along the way.
We’re calling out the infrastructure company helping methane pollution spread: https://bit.ly/4qdx6eP
Featuring artwork by Indie 184!
Thank you to Craig Watkins for a stunning piece of original art to for Dec's #PolluterOfTheMonth!
His doodle creations of misfit characters, set against something darker & more menacing, serve as an excellent spotlight of the fossil fuel industry's thirst for profit & pollution of our planet.
If the numbers didn’t stun you, here are more reasons EQT earned December’s #PolluterOfTheMonth:
-Air-pollution events documented by Earthworks, even after their "net zero" pledge
-A proud member of the trade group that helped kill the US methane waste fee
Full breakdown: https://bit.ly/3Kn9bL8
Our #PolluterOfTheMonth, EQT Corporation, says it’s “Net Zero.”
But that claim only covers a fraction of its pollution — not the gas it sells, not the leaks from its pipelines. And what about the methane that satellites keep catching above its sites?
Learn more: https://bit.ly/3Kn9bL8
🚨 December’s #PolluterOfTheMonth: EQT Corporation.
EQT calls itself a climate leader — but satellites keep spotting methane billowing near its wells in PA & WV. See our receipts: https://bit.ly/3Kn9bL8
Featuring art by the incredible Wotto, aka Craig Watkins.
This month, we saw our #PolluterOfTheMonth — TotalEnergies — in a whole new light.
Thanks to the incredible art by Davey Leavitt, we were able to capture the duality of Total’s image: the polished “clean energy” narrative they sell vs. the pollution that keep revealing: https://bit.ly/4ofiCuI
The numbers tell the story — and it’s not the one our #PolluterOfTheMonth, TotalEnergies, wants you to hear.
From repeated methane emissions to pollution near homes and schools, the company’s claims for deploying real-time methane detection crumble under real data.
More ➡️ https://bit.ly/4ofiCuI
TotalEnergies, our latest #PolluterOfTheMonth, was penalized & ordered by a French court to remove its misleading greenwashing claims. This is the first-ever ruling of its kind against a major oil & gas firm.
Read the full story on the fossil fuel greenwashing: https://reut.rs/4oBCAjw
TotalEnergies loves to talk about its climate “leadership” — especially at global climate summits.
But while they promise progress on the world stage, communities in TX are still living with the same old leaks, venting, and toxic air.
Our Nov #PolluterOfTheMonth: https://bit.ly/4ofiCuI
Announcing November #PolluterOfTheMonth: TotalEnergies
At the UN climate summit, they boast about "continuous methane monitoring." Meanwhile, Earthworks investigations found repeated pollution events at Total’s fracking sites. See the full picture at: https://bit.ly/4ofiCuI
Artwork: Davey Leavitt
Occidental Resources is our October #PolluteroftheMonth 😠
Here we see a large plume of uncombusted methane and volatile organic compounds (such as benzene, a carcinogen) being released into the atmosphere at an Oxy subsidiary.
Learn more: bit.ly/Oct-POM-Oxy
Our #PolluterOfTheMonth, by the numbers:
❌ 4+ methane super-emitter plumes since July
❌ Just 1 hour of combined emissions = a year of driving 180 cars
❌ $8.8 million in penalties since 2023
❌ Enough wasted gas to power 5,800 homes
Oxy keeps talking “net zero,” but the math doesn’t lie.
PR spin vs. reality.
Oxy claims to be “leading the way to clean energy.”
In reality? Methane pollution so big it’s visible from space, fines piling up, and gas wasted that could have powered thousands of homes.
This isn’t leadership. This is why Oxy is our October #PolluterOfTheMonth.
🚨Our October #PolluterOfTheMonth: Occidental Petroleum (Oxy)
In July alone, satellites caught multiple methane plumes blasting into the sky from Oxy wells in TX & 5 pollution events from their wells in CO since the start of 2025.
See the full receipts at BigGasPolluters.org
Artwork: Amy Ross
Here, we see methane emissions escape from an inefficient enclosed flare at a well site in Sandoval County, NM, owned by a subsidiary of Enduring Resources, our September #PolluteroftheMonth.
Read more about this bad actor operator: bit.ly/Sept-POM-End...
September's #PolluterOfTheMonth operates >1,000 wells on Navajo, Ute, or Apache land, many in a region known as the "Checkerboard," where regulatory jurisdiction can change quickly.
This allows operators like Enduring Resources to dodge/evade enforcements.
🔗 bit.ly/Sept-POM-End...
September's #PolluterOfTheMonth operates >1,000 wells on Navajo, Ute, or Apache land, many in a region known as the "Checkerboard," where regulatory jurisdiction can change quickly.
This allows operators like Enduring Resources to dodge/evade enforcements. https://bit.ly/3VEP257
Why is Enduring Resources our #PolluterOfTheMonth?
- > $600k Clean Air Act violation fines
- ~200k mcf of methane gas lost to venting in NM alone
- At least 3 methane plumes visible from space
- 17 pollution events since Apr 2025, 6 within 1 mile of schools
➡️ & learn more: https://bit.ly/3VEP257
Meet our September #PolluterOfTheMonth, Enduring Resources. They primarily operate in the San Juan Basin in NM. ~70% of its wells are located on Navajo, Ute, or Apache land. Visits to the company's well sites indicate that pollution events are frequent. https://bit.ly/3VEP257
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Art by Ezra Brown
Reasons why Hillcorp is our #PolluterOfTheMonth:
💨 Spews methane pollution from New Mexico to Alaska
💸 Racked up nearly $24 million in environmental penalties
🏫 Caught releasing methane just ¾ of a mile from elementary schools
☠️ Supported trade groups that lobbied to kill the methane emissions fee
Swipe through to see what deregulation looks like — and why Hilcorp is our August #PolluterOfTheMonth.
biggaspolluters.org/polluter-of-...
That’s a super-emitter event. And it happened just 3/4 of a mile from two elementary schools: Naaba Ani and Rio Vista.
This isn’t a one-time incident. Hilcorp has been linked to at least 55 methane plumes visible from orbit. No wonder they are our #PolluterOfTheMonth.
👀 Meet our #PolluterOfTheMonth for August: Hilcorp Energy — the country’s #1 methane polluter in oil and gas.