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The Trump administration is preparing to relax methane rules in the oil and gas industry, saying it would boost production and ease price pressure, but environmental groups warn the move would undermine emissions reductions and climate policies.
trump Expected to happen on the 27thtexas Campaigning with Republican Senate candidate Paxton, he announced the relaxation of methane emissions regulations for oil and gas companies. Methane is a “superpollutant” and the move is seen as one of the most significant steps taken by the Trump administration to reduce federal climate policy.
Environmental groups asked the Trump administration not to be laxbiden The rules of the period say that methane leakage from oil and gas operations is a waste and deserves to be reduced. “Methane leaks are the stupidest form of pollution because the industry is basically losing what it’s selling,” said David Doniger, a strategist at the Natural Resources Defense Council.
The New York Times reported that methane is called a “super pollutant” because it traps about 80 times more heat in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide. Methane is responsible for about one-third of global warming since the Industrial Revolution. Experts say reducing methane leaks is one of the quickest ways to slow global warming. Two unnamed government officials said Trump is expected to announce the plan at a campaign event with Republican US Senate candidate Ken Paxton in Texas on the 27th.
The Biden administration issued rules in 2023 that would require oil and gas facilities to monitor operations and prevent methane leaks, but the Trump administration has delayed those rules from taking effect. Now, the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is moving to relax requirements for hundreds of thousands of “marginal” oil and gas wells. These wells, which are near the end of their useful lives and have low production rates, account for about 7% of U.S. oil and gas production but produce about half of the industry’s methane emissions.
Trump administration officials said the move was meant to boost U.S. oil and gas production and ease consumer price pressures. The US-led war on Iran has sent fuel prices soaring and is putting pressure on Republican candidates ahead of the next cycle’s midterm elections. In Texas, polls show Paxton trailing Democratic challenger James Tallarico.
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin was the first to unveil the changes earlier this month, saying some oil and gas producers said Biden-era methane rules were impractical and estimating that relaxing the requirements could save the industry $45 billion by 2050. “Americans need to be able to turn on the heating and fill up with gas to drive in the winter. Americans can’t do that if energy producers are overwhelmed with unnecessary burdens,” he said.
Lee Xiulton said this month that the EPA would rewrite the rules for marginal wells. Marginal wells are generally defined as those producing equal to or less than 15 barrels of oil per day. In 2024, nearly three-quarters of the more than 900,000 oil and gas wells in the United States will be such wells. Despite the small proportion of production, several studies have shown that the proportion of methane emissions is high.
Summary FAQ
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Trump is expected to announce a relaxation of methane emissions rules for oil and gas companies while campaigning in Texas, which is seen as a key step in undermining federal climate policy and could become part of his election appeal.
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Environmental groups believe that oil and gas leaks of methane are a waste of salable products. Reducing leakage can not only reduce pollution but also save money. Therefore, they criticize that relaxing regulations would harm climate control.
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The EPA is considering relaxing requirements for hundreds of thousands of marginal wells, which account for about 7% of production but about half of the methane emissions, in a move the government says would ease the burden on operators and lower energy prices.
