Large-scale assessment of global oil and gas carbon intensity

Large-scale assessment of global oil and gas carbon intensity has emerged as a critical area of research for understanding and mitigating greenhouse gas emissions from the energy sector. Pioneering work by Ph.D. researcher Masnadi et al. (2018) in Science established a comprehensive global database of crude oil production carbon intensity, covering nearly 9,000 oil fields across 90 countries. This research revealed significant variability in emissions intensity across different oil fields and production methods.

Subsequent studies have expanded on this work, examining various aspects of the oil and gas supply chain. For instance, Jing et al. (2020) in Nature Climate Change analyzed the carbon intensity of global crude oil refining, identifying substantial mitigation potential. Masnadi et al. (2021) in Nature explored the carbon implications of global marginal oils, considering market-derived displacement effects.

These large-scale assessments have been facilitated by advancements in data collection, modeling techniques, and the integration of diverse data sources. They have provided crucial insights into the heterogeneity of emissions across the global oil and gas sector, informing policy decisions and industry practices. The ongoing research in this field continues to refine our understanding of carbon intensity, supporting efforts to reduce emissions and transition to more sustainable energy systems.

Producing, transporting, and refining crude oil into fuels such as gasoline and diesel accounts for 15-40% of the well-to-wheel life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions (Masnadi, et al., 2018).

Related Publications

Mukherjee, M., Littlefield, J., Khutal, H., Kirchner-Ortiz, K., Davis, K., Jing, L., Ramadan, F., El-Houjeiri, H., Masnadi, M., & Brandt, A. (2025). Greenhouse gas emissions from the US liquefied natural gas operations and shipping through process model based life cycle assessment. Communications Earth & Environment, 6(1), 16. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-024-01988-2
Negron, A., Kort, E., Plant, G., Brandt, A., Chen, Y., Hausman, C., & Smith, M. (2024). Measurement-based carbon intensity of US offshore oil and gas production. Environmental Research Letters, 19(6), 064027. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ad489d
Jing, L., El-Houjeiri, H., Monfort, J.-C., Littlefield, J., Al-Qahtani, A., Dixit, Y., Speth, R., Brandt, A., Masnadi, M., MacLean, H., Peltier, W., Gordon, D., & Bergerson, J. (2022). Understanding variability in petroleum jet fuel life cycle greenhouse gas emissions to inform aviation decarbonization. Nature Communications, 13(1), 7853. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-35392-1
Masnadi, M., Benini, G., El-Houjeiri, H., Milivinti, A., Anderson, J., Wallington, T., De Kleine, R., Dotti, V., Jochem, P., & Brandt, A. (2021). Carbon implications of marginal oils from market-derived demand shocks. Nature Research, 599(7883), 80–84. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-021-03932-2
Kang, M., Brandt, A. ., Zheng, Z., Boutot, J., Yung, C., Peltz, A., & Jackson, R. (2021). Orphaned oil and gas well stimulus—Maximizing economic and environmental benefits. Science of the Anthropocene, 9(1), 00161. https://doi.org/10.1525/elementa.2020.20.00161
Nie, Y., Zhang, S., Liu, R., Roda-Stuart, D., Ravikumar, A., Bradley, A., Masnadi, M., Brandt, A., Bergerson, J., & Bi, X. (2020). Greenhouse-gas emissions of Canadian liquefied natural gas for use in China: Comparison and synthesis of three independent life cycle assessments. Journal of Cleaner Production, 258, 120701. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.120701
Jing, L., El-Houjeiri, H., Monfort, J.-C., Brandt, A., Masnadi, M., Gordon, D., & Bergerson, J. (2020). Carbon intensity of global crude oil refining and mitigation potential. Nature Climate Change, 10, 526–532. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-020-0775-3
Masnadi, M., El-Houjeiri, H., & Schunack, D. (2018). Global carbon intensity of crude oil production: New data enable targeted policy to lessen GHG emissions. Science, 361(6405), 851-853. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aar6859
Brandt, A., Masnadi, M., Englander, J., Koomey, J., & Gordon, D. (2018). Climate-wise choices in a world of oil abundance. Environmental Research Letters, 13(4), 044027. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/aaae76
Masnadi, M., El-Houjeiri, H., Schunack, D., Li, Y., Roberts, S., Przesmitzki, S., Brandt, A., & Wang, M. (2018). Well-to-refinery emissions and net-energy analysis of China’s crude-oil supply. Nature Energy, 3, 220–226. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41560-018-0090-7
Masnadi, M., & Brandt, A. (2017). Climate impacts of oil extraction increase significantly with oilfield age. Nature Climate Change, 7. https://doi.org/0.1038/nclimate3347
Masnadi, M., & Brandt, A. (2017). Energetic productivity dynamics of global super-giant oilfields. Energy & Environmental Science, 10, 1493-1504. https://doi.org/10.1039/C7EE01031A
Tripathi, V., & Brandt, A. (2017). Estimating decades-long trends in petroleum field energy return on investment (EROI) with an engineering-based model. PLoS ONE, 12(2), e0171083. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0171083
Energy Intensity and Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Oil Production in the Eagle Ford Shale. (2017). Energy Fuels, 31(2), 1440–1449. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.energyfuels.6b02916
Cooney, G., Jamieson, M., Marriott, J., Bergerson, J., Brandt, A., & Skone, T. (2016). Updating the U.S. Life Cycle GHG Petroleum Baseline to 2014 with Projections to 2040 Using Open-Source Engineering-Based Models. Environmental Science & Technology, 51(2), 977–987. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.6b02819
Englander, J., Brandt, A., Elgowainy, A., Cai, H., Han, J., Yeh, S., & Wang, M. (2015). Oil Sands Energy Intensity Assessment Using Facility-Level Data. Energy & Fuels, 29(8), 5204–5212. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.energyfuels.5b00175
Cai, H., Brandt, A., Yeh, S., Englander, J., Han, J., Elgowainy, A., & Wang, M. (2015). Well-to-Wheels Greenhouse Gas Emissions of Canadian Oil Sands Products: Implications for U.S. Petroleum Fuels. Environmental Science & Technology, 49(13), 8219–8227. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.5b01255
Englander, J., Bharadwaj, S., & Brandt, A. (2013). Historical trends in greenhouse gas emissions of the Alberta oil sands (1970–2010). Environmental Research Letters, 8(4), 044036. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/8/4/044036
Brandt, A., Englander, J., & Bharadwaj, S. (2013). The energy efficiency of oil sands extraction: Energy return ratios from 1970 to 2010. Energy, 55, 693-702. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2013.03.080
Brandt, A. (2012). Response to Comment on “Variability and Uncertainty in Life Cycle Assessment Models for Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Canadian Oil Sands Production”. Environmental Science & Technology, 46(7), 4254. https://doi.org/10.1021/es300426p