HOUSTON — Exxon Mobil announced a program on Monday to reduce emissions of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas, from its oil and natural gas production and pipeline operations across the United States.

Methane has many sources, including decomposing landfills and ranch operations. But the oil and gas industry is most likely the biggest emitter of leaked methane, a greenhouse gas that traps more than 80 times as much heat within the atmosphere as carbon dioxide over a 20-year period, though it dissipates more quickly.

Exxon Mobil is the nation’s biggest producer of natural gas, so its program to make repairs, monitor operations for leaks and replace leaky equipment may serve as an example for the industry. Several large gas producers are moving forward with methane control programs, but others have resisted the effort as too burdensome.

Sara Ortwein, president of Exxon Mobil’s gas subsidiary XTO Energy, said in a statement that the goal of the Exxon program was “to continually reduce methane emissions.” She added that the company would “look to develop and deploy new, more efficient technologies.”