EPA Proposes Oil And Gas Methane Emissions Rule

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed a new regulation for regulating methane emissions from the country’s oil and gas sector. According to a press release, the proposed rule would:

• Ensure all well sites are routinely monitored for leaks at less cost, and until they are closed properly;
• Provide industry flexibility to use innovative and cost-effective methane detection technologies, and a streamlined process for approving new detection methods as they become available;
• Leverage data from remote sensing technology to quickly identify and fix large methane leaks;
• Require that flares are properly operated to reduce emissions, and revise requirements for associated gas flaring;
• Establish emission standards for dry seal compressors, which are currently unregulated;
• Set a zero-emissions standard for pneumatic controllers and pneumatic pumps at affected facilities in all segments of the industry.
• Increase recovery of natural gas that otherwise would go to waste – enough gas from 2023 to 2035 to heat an estimated 3.5 million homes for the winter.

As The Hill explained, the proposal is in addition to a Biden administration proposal issued last year that aims to cut methane emissions from regulated sources by 74 percent in 2030 compared to 2005 levels.

Taken together, the EPA said its two methane proposals would reduce about 36 million tons of methane emissions between 2023 and 2035, which it said is nearly the equivalent to the greenhouse gases emitted from all of the country’s coal-fired power plants in 2020.

As The Hill reported, the methane rule received a fairly neutral reaction from some industry groups. Anne Bradbury, CEO of the American Exploration and Production Council (AEPC), said she appreciated the EPA considered industry input, but also said AEPC still has “concerns that should be addressed to make key provisions truly workable.”