The Trump administration will delay an Obama-era rule limiting emissions of the powerful greenhouse gas methane from oil and gas operations on federal and tribal lands, it said Dec. 7, a move slammed by environmentalists.
The Bureau of Land Management, an office of the Department of Interior, will officially suspend the rule Dec. 8 to “avoid imposing likely considerable and immediate compliance costs on operators for requirements that may be rescinded or significantly revised in the near future,” it said in a document to be published Dec. 8.
Implementation will be delayed one year until Jan. 17, 2019.
Energy companies say the rule, finalized at the end of the Obama administration, could cost them tens of thousands of dollars per well, and some driller groups had sued the previous administration.
The implementation deadline and substance of the rule could be changed as the Trump administration is expected to announce a new draft in coming weeks in line with its policy of maximizing fossil fuel production and dismantling regulations it says prevent job growth.
The rule targets accidental leaks and intentional venting of methane from operations on public lands, where about 9% of the country’s natural gas and 5% of its oil was produced last fiscal year. Some of its 2017 provisions have already been phased in but the majority has yet to go into effect.
Drillers who had sued the Obama administration over the rule welcomed the delay. “It makes no sense for companies to comply with a rule that is being significantly rewritten,” said Kathleen Sgamma, president of Western Energy Alliance, a trade association representing more than 300 companies.
The American Petroleum Institute, which has opposed the rule, this week launched a voluntary program to report emissions cuts of methane from oil and gas operations.
Environmentalists said the administration was handing management of the lands to industry. Chase Huntley, the energy and climate director at the Wilderness Society, said delaying the rule demonstrates the lengths to which President Donald Trump and Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke will “gut land, water, and climate protections to help oil and gas companies make a quick buck.”
Recommended Reading
Air Products Sees $15B Hydrogen, Energy Transition Project Backlog
2024-02-07 - Pennsylvania-headquartered Air Products has eight hydrogen projects underway and is targeting an IRR of more than 10%.
First Solar’s 14 GW of Operational Capacity to Support 30,000 Jobs by 2026
2024-02-26 - First Solar commissioned a study to analyze the economic impact of its vertically integrated solar manufacturing value chain.
TechnipFMC Eyes $30B in Subsea Orders by 2025
2024-02-23 - TechnipFMC is capitalizing on an industry shift in spending to offshore projects from land projects.
SunPower Begins Search for New CEO
2024-02-27 - Former CEO Peter Faricy departed SunPower Corp. on Feb. 26, according to the company.
Green Swan Seeks US Financing for Global Decarbonization Projects
2024-02-21 - Green Swan, an investment platform seeking to provide capital to countries signed on to the Paris Agreement, is courting U.S. investors to fund decarbonization projects in countries including Iran and Venezuela, its executives told Hart Energy.