AT&T Gigaton Spotght: Carbon X
Gigaton Pathway: Methane Waste to Value
Carbon X targets overlooked methane sources through screening, field assessments and methane testing to pinpoint high-impact, legacy wells.
Verified carbon credits are generated based on methane detection and quantification before and after plugging, ensuring the registry-backed methodologies and inputs are conservative, reliable and third-party validated, establishing a repeatable system to fund additional oil and gas well mitigation and scale remediation efforts nationwide.
Following a 2025 project in Breckenridge, Texas, where 23 leaking wells were plugged, generating ~321,000 MT CO2e in carbon credits, Carbon X has expanded into larger portfolios, including a Western Oklahoma project targeting 150+ wells with ~4.5 million MT CO2e, demonstrating scalability and impact potential.
Carbon X is contributing to AT&T’s Gigaton Goal
With methane ~82 times more impactful than CO₂ over a twenty-year period [1], Carbon X delivers measurable and meaningful reductions by identifying, quantifying and permanently eliminating emissions through engineered well plugging, resulting in transparent, auditable data.
Millions of abandoned wells across the United States contribute to ongoing methane emissions, making scalable methane abatement a meaningful and diversified pathway toward AT&T’s goal of enabling 1 billion metric tons of emissions reductions by 2035.
By connecting remote well sites, field crews, methane sensors, monitoring systems and verification workflows, AT&T connectivity supports Carbon X’s mission to accelerate the transition from isolated methane-abatement projects to a widespread, repeatable, data-rich national remediation platform.
[1] Section 7.6, pg. 1017, https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009157896.009
Connectivity helps enable Carbon X’s success
AT&T connectivity transforms remote legacy wells into connected field assets by transmitting real-time methane measurements, GPS-tagged data points, photos, work orders, inspection records and post-plug monitoring data to secure cloud-based systems.
IoT, 5G and fiber enable near-real-time data capture and secure transmission, supporting the auditable records required by registries, verifiers, regulators, landowners and credit buyers.
AT&T connectivity helps Carbon X scale methane abatement project development by reducing manual data collection, improving field visibility, accelerating response times and creating a digital record from leak detection through credit issuance, enabling a repeatable, transparent and financeable process.
Connectivity supports permanence and risk management through continuous monitoring to confirm wells remain sealed while allowing rapid detection and remediation of post-plug leaks, reducing risk and improving overall safety.
