Permian Basin's Oil Boom Exposes Environmental Management Challenges

The Permian basin has been driving oil production in the United States, and recent data show that just ten counties across the basin accounted for around 93% of US oil production growth between 2020 and 2024.

Associated gas production is rising rapidly, increasing by 60% between 2021 and 2025 to 27.6 Bcfd (Fig. 1), due in part to rising gas-to-oil ratios as the basin matures.

As a result, environmental programs are facing increased demands from managing wet gas and produced water to supporting new infrastructure and maintaining emissions visibility across a larger asset base.

Operators must also manage greater gas volumes alongside oil production, increasing equipment, components, emissions sources, and inspection requirements.

The Permian's growth is expanding the scope of environmental management, with existing infrastructure under increasing strain from mature or low-producing wells adding closure, plugging, remediation, and reclamation work to already full agendas.