Trump to propose relaxing methane rules for oil and gas industry

The Trump administration will propose to loosen restrictions that rein in methane from oil and gas production, it announced Wednesday.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said in a press release that in the coming days, it will propose changes to Biden-era regulations .

It did not release a specific proposal but said it would make changes to several aspects of the Biden-era rule, including the repeal of a program that would require energy companies to respond to credible reports of major methane leaks.

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The EPA also said it would propose to change regulations for a group of low-producing, high-emitting wells known as “marginal” oil and gas wells.

It did not detail what changes it will propose on regulations for these wells and did not immediately provide more information after a request from The Hill.

ProPublica reported last month , citing a draft that was under White House review, that the rule would dramatically loosen requirements for leak inspections and equipment upgrades at marginal wells, which are estimated to produce just 7 percent of the nation’s oil and gas but about half of its methane emissions.

The EPA said Wednesday it would “revisit” its approach to excess gas that’s extracted alongside oil after the Biden administration sought to eliminate the burning off of this gas — known as flaring — at new oil wells. The EPA did not say what changes it was eyeing, but that it would seek to make “compliance possible all over the country and ensure a reasonable approach.”

Lee Zeldin, administrator of the EPA, said in a written statement that the moves could save an estimated $45 billion.

“The Trump EPA is days not weeks away from announcing our proposal for the second part of the oil and gas reconsideration. This proposal takes on many of the problems American producers and operators have raised with us,” Zeldin said.

“That includes the burden on marginal wells and oil and gas operators in general, the Super Emitter Program, associated gas, and control device requirements,” he added. “Americans must be able to afford to heat their homes in the winter and fill up their car and drive to work. They can’t do that when the people producing the energy are weighed down by unnecessary burdens.”

Methane is a planet-warming gas that’s about 28 times more potent than carbon dioxide and is responsible for about 25 percent of global warming.

It mainly comes from the production and transport of fossil fuels — as well as from livestock and other agriculture and decaying waste in landfills. Natural gas is primarily made up of methane.

In 2023, the Biden administration tightened methane regulations for oil and gas, a move the administration said would prevent 58 million tons of methane from entering the atmosphere between 2024 and 2038 — the climate equivalent of taking 28 million gas-powered cars off the road for a year.

Environmental advocates criticized the latest announcement from the Trump administration.

“The Trump EPA is trying to give a free pass to the worst actors in the oil and gas industry. Many companies had already complied with these rules, but a few rogue actors refuse to check for leaks or monitor their equipment adequately. Those deadbeats would get bailed out by this action,” David Doniger, senior strategist at the Natural Resources Defense Council, said in a written statement.

“Methane leaks are the dumbest kind of pollution because the industry is losing the very product it is selling. That’s what made the standards so cost effective: Checking for leaks means the industry has more gas to sell,” Doniger added.