EPA’s draft overhaul of Biden-era methane regulations for oil and gas began White House review Tuesday, as the administration races to complete its deregulatory to-do list before the end of President Donald Trump’s second term.
The proposal is expected to make substantial, industry-sought changes to the 2023 standards for new and existing petroleum production, processing and transmission. EPA finalized a more minor amendment to the standards in April, after the Biden EPA agreed to reconsider a few provisions that industry objected to.
The forthcoming proposal is expected to make more sweeping changes to standards requiring oil and gas producers to find and fix leaks of climate-warming methane, including installing pollution-control equipment and ending routine flaring of gas at oil wells.
But EPA’s draft is not expected to remove methane requirements completely. That’s because the bulk of the oil and gas sector now supports federal methane regulation as a key to accessing global markets and satisfying investor demands.
