PARIS, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Methane emissions from fossil fuel operations show no sign of declining in 2025, while reducing methane emissions has the potential to bring additional volumes of natural gas to market, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said Monday in an annual report.
In its Global Methane Tracker 2026, the agency said oil, gas and coal production reached record highs in 2025, with methane emissions from these activities totaling 124 million tonnes (Mt) annually.
The fossil fuel sector accounts for around 35 percent of methane emissions from human activity, said the report. About 70 percent of methane emissions from fossil fuels, or nearly 85 Mt, can be abated with existing technology, including three-quarters of emissions from oil and gas and about half of coal emissions.
The ongoing crisis in the Middle East is reshaping the global energy system and disrupting around 20 percent of global liquefied natural gas (LNG), the IEA said, adding that as countries seek alternative gas sources to replace lost volumes, large quantities of produced gas are not being put to productive use owing to methane leaks, as well as flaring and venting from oil and gas operations.
The IEA estimated that nearly 100 billion cubic meters (bcm) of natural gas could be made available annually through global efforts to cut methane from oil and gas operations, with a further 100 bcm unlocked through the elimination of non-emergency flaring worldwide.
In the immediate future, if countries with spare export capacity and gas importers implement abatement measures across their upstream and downstream operations, nearly 15 bcm of natural gas could be made available in a sufficiently short period to provide some relief to gas markets, according to the report. ■