Between the start of the year and March 7, oil and gas producers reported more than 7,125 spills across New Mexico — about 111 a day on average. Those spills include oil, produced water, other chemicals and natural gas, the last constituting the overwhelming majority of cases.
In fact, companies lost as much natural gas through venting and flaring in that period as is used in more than 12,000 homes and small businesses in New Mexico for a year. That is despite state rules that prohibit routine venting and flaring. But none of that burned or vented natural gas flowed into the state budget. All of it flowed into the state’s skies, contributing to New Mexico’s — and the planet’s — ongoing climate crisis, which is costing the state dearly.
