The Trump administration is preparing to weaken key Biden-era methane controls on oil and gas operations, with the Environmental Protection Agency targeting requirements for marginal wells, large-leak detection and associated-gas flaring.
EPA Targets Super Emitter Program Rules
EPA said it will create separate categories of marginal well sites with different standards. Speaking Wednesday at the New Mexico Oil and Gas Association’s annual meeting in Santa Fe, New Mexico, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said the proposal would address the "burden on marginal wells and oil and gas operators in general."
The agency will also seek to rescind the Super Emitter Program, which lets certified third parties identify major methane releases and requires operators to investigate EPA notifications.
The move extends Trump’s broader deregulatory push at the agency, which has also targeted the greenhouse-gas "endangerment finding" underpinning vehicle rules. Marginal wells sit at the center of the new fight because they produce relatively little fuel while emitting disproportionately large amounts of methane.
Marginal Wells Drive Regulatory Fight
EPA data show low-producing wells accounted for just 7% of U.S. oil and gas production in 2021 but roughly 60% of natural-gas production emissions and 40% of oil-production emissions.
Zeldin said Americans "can’t" afford producers being "weighed down by unnecessary burdens." Reuters reported EPA estimates the planned rollback could save $45 billion annually. The administration has linked regulatory relief to energy affordability, including recent fuel-rule waivers aimed at easing pump prices.
Publicly traded U.S. oil and gas producers that could see lower compliance costs include Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE:XOM), Chevron Corp. (NYSE:CVX), ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP), Occidental Petroleum Corp. (NYSE:OXY), Diamondback Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) and Chord Energy Corp. (NASDAQ:CHRD), all of which have significant U.S. onshore production footprints.
Biden Methane Rules Face Broader Rollback
EPA will also revisit rules governing associated gas, which producers often burn through flaring when they cannot capture or transport it. The Biden administration’s 2023 methane rule sought to phase out routine flaring at new oil wells and tighten controls on new and existing sources. EPA estimated that rule would prevent 58 million tons of methane emissions between 2024 and 2038, roughly an 80% reduction versus projected emissions without the standards.
Methane is the second-largest contributor to climate change after carbon dioxide, Reuters reported. The Sierra Club called the rollback "foolish and short-sighted," while Zeldin said EPA is responding to producer concerns that the rules are unworkable. The proposal follows other Trump EPA reversals of Biden-era pollution limits, including power-plant greenhouse-gas rules.
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