MIQ - 3rd Party System That "Certifies" Methane Output - Not Even Close On Actual Totals, Enables Gaming The System
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MiQ runs the largest voluntary methane certification programme globally, covering about a fifth of US natural gas production and 7% globally. It maintains that its framework is specifically designed to comply with the EU methane regulation. The EUMR, in force since August 2024, requires energy firms to monitor, report and verify methane emissions at their drilling sites and conduct regular leak detection surveys. It will also require importers to obtain methane-intensity data from their suppliers starting next year. Penalties for non-compliance include fines and other enforcement measures.
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A February 2026 report from MethaneSAT, a methane-monitoring satellite launched by Environmental Defense Fund and Harvard in 2024, found emissions in the Permian Basin from May 2024 to June 2025 to be four times higher than the US Environmental Protection Agency’s official estimates, which are largely based on operator-reported emissions. Researchers estimate average methane emissions across the basin range between 2.4-4% of production, among the highest worldwide and exponentially higher than even a C grade from MiQ. Similar patterns emerged across the border in New Mexico, where methane was observed leaking from tanks, inefficient flares and faulty equipment at ExxonMobil’s Poker Lake complex, which has held an A rating from MiQ since 2022. At one location, a pressure relief valve was emitting uncombusted gas.
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In a January study, Kevin Kircher, an energy researcher at Purdue University, compared US government estimates of LNG-related methane emissions largely based on self-reported facility data with satellite-based measurements. His analysis found that emissions linked to the rapid expansion of shale oil and gas production in the Permian Basin have risen well above official estimates over the past two decades. “There’s actually a pretty stark difference between what companies self-report and what’s there when you actually show up and look at it,” he said. A March report by RMI, one of MiQ’s founders, also found that data submitted by operators to the Railroad Commission of Texas vastly understated methane emissions, with actual gas waste in 2024 estimated at three to four-and-a-half times reported levels.
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Trading in such certificates is already picking up. In February, British energy trader Centrica Energy signed a 10-year agreement to buy certificates linked to natural gas produced by Seneca Resources in the US, whose natural gas production has held an A rating from MiQ since 2022. The deal does not include the delivery of physical gas. A month later, a European energy supplier and a US integrated energy company completed what was described as the first trade of certified methane emissions reductions on the Xpansiv CBL spot exchange, with emissions verified under the MiQ standard. Brandon Locke, a researcher at the Boston-based environmental organisation Clean Air Task Force, said decoupling can discourage gas producers from pursuing the operational changes needed to curb methane emissions. “Companies can effectively ‘copy someone else’s homework’ rather than clean up their act,” he said. Unlike many other offsetting certifiers, MiQ does not maintain an open database, with information on buyers of its certificates available only to operators and traders.
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https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/apr/01/invisible-plumes-and-terrible-pollution-the-reality-of-the-us-gas-sites-rated-grade-a