EPA tightened standards for oil and gas sector methane reporting in a move that could make more petroleum companies liable to pay fees by 2026.
EPA on Monday unveiled the final revision to its greenhouse gas reporting guidelines for petroleum three weeks after the rule completed White House review. It is one of the last EPA rules to be complete before new Biden administration regulations become vulnerable to being overturned via a Congressional Review Act resolution.
Congress directed EPA to revise reporting guidelines for oil and gas facilities two years ago as part of the Inflation Reduction Act. Studies have shown that EPA’s formula for oil and gas sector emissions reporting undercounted releases of the powerful greenhouse gas.
The revised reporting rule will help determine which operators must report their greenhouse gas emissions to EPA each year and may show that more of them meet the IRA’s thresholds to pay a methane charge on excess methane beginning in 2026.
